On this day March 17 1985 serial killer Richard Ramirez also known as The Night Stalker committed his first two known murders in Rosemead Park and Monterey Park in Los Angeles. These attacks marked the beginning of his brutal crime spree that terrorized California throughout 1985.
Ramirez targeted random victims breaking into homes and committing horrific crimes. He was later convicted of 13 murders 5 attempted murders 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries. In 2009 forensic evidence linked him to an earlier murder in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district in 1984 proving his killing spree had begun even earlier than previously thought.
80s insight: Richard Ramirez was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989 but remained on death row for over two decades. He passed away in prison on June 7 2013 at age 53 while awaiting execution.