Here's everything you need to know: Ramirez reportedly had dental health issues from an early age. In 2003, Rolling Stone says that Metallica headed inside San Quentin for a 10-song concert for the prison inmates, including perhaps surprisingly songs from their 1984 album "Ride the Lightning.". Dentists testified that nine of his teeth were decayed and that he was missing teeth from both his upper and lower gums. While Ramirezs identity was a mystery a first, several key details helped officers identify him as the murderer, one of which being his missing and rotting teeth. But Richard Ramirezs teeth would keep him behind bars. Two days later, Melton shot himself in the head outside his second-floor room, after the investigators received an anonymous phone tip disclosing his location. He was sentenced to die by gas chamber, but died instead on death row in 2013. Indeed, Richard Ramirezs teeth helped detectives to get closer to identifying the Night Stalker. When The New York Times ran a story on Ramirez's death, they mentioned Lioy, but no divorce. The following year Ramirez was a witness to his cousins fatal shooting of his wife. The vehicle was soon found alongside Ramirezs fingerprints. Maria Hernandez, 22, was also shot, but recovered from her injuries. Police later confirmed the man he saw was Ramirez. Dubbed the Night Stalker, he broke into homes, viciously attacked the people inside, and carried off their valuables. She paid for just about anything else except for the trial. While police were investigating the scene at the Romero house and taking down a report, Ramirez was just more than a mile away on Chrisanta Drive. Ramirez was one of them. During the summer of 1985, more than 100 days into Ramirezs crime spree, he ran off after he was stopped in a stolen car. Adults and kids alike described him as having brown-stained gapped teeth, Carrillo explains in the docuseries. Their conversations aren't monitored, so we don't know what they talk about. Ramirez was was convicted on 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, 11 counts of sexual assault, and 14 counts of burglary. They stretch up on either side, a tall, multi-level block with bars outside of the walkways, stretching up to the roof. According to KQED News, that's not super uncommon. An X-ray revealed that Ramirez had stuffed a handcuff key inside his rectum along with a ballpoint pen, a syringe, and strangely, a sticker that read, I luv chocolate.. That contact had ended sometime around 2000, when a fight reportedly started by him broke out in the yard. During his time in prison, Richard Ramirez hatched two secret plots to escape so he could continue his murder spree. He's my best friend, he's my buddy." Not only did he vary in his victim profile they ranged in age, gender and race but he was all over the place with his choice of weapons, which ranged from knives and guns to blunt objects. She had been fatally shot by her boyfriend, James Melton. However, according to A&E, Richard Ramirezs teeth, which included nine decayed teeth as well as several missing teeth, were fixed while he was awaiting trial. Flanked by his court-appointed attorneys, Night Stalker suspect Richard Ramirez bows his head during arraignment proceedings. Who knows. ", As strange as it sounds, Richard Ramirez was ridiculously popular. Is Armando Bacot in Outer Banks? Ramirez's lack of hygiene and drug use - led to tooth decay and a loss of teeth. Ramirez died at the age of 53 at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, California, on June 7, 2013. On several occasions throughout his 16 months of violence, Ramirez was identified by his teeth. That dentist, Dr. Peter Leung, would later testify to Ramirezs whereabouts on May 30, 1985, the day he committed three rapes and a murder. Her body was later found hanging from a pipe in April 1984. When they looked at the stats in 2016, they found that since 1978, the state had executed 13 inmates from death row, while another 69 had died of natural causes. Known for his flirty and spectacular performances in front of the cameras, Richard Ramirez once planned to bring a gun into the courtroom and shoot his prosecutor. Where Is 'Murdaugh Murders' Morgan Doughty Now? He was busted after his killing spree in the greater Los Angeles area and San Francisco area. ", Shelly Ramirez is the niece of the notorious serial killer, and after his death, she spoke out about what a relief it was. The serial killer known asthe "Night Stalker" had dental issues that proved to be more than just a toothache they helped lead to his conviction. The lack of hygiene and his sweet tooth, combined with the damaging oral effects of drugs, caused his teeth to decay heavily. Ramirez's teeth played a key role in disproving his alibi in court. Did he deserve to live a life behind bars? He threatened to cut one victims eyes out, demanded that another swear to Satan, and only later in his spree demanded that his victims call him the Night Stalker. While Ramirezs teeth were not the ultimate clue that brought him down, they did comeinto play during his trial. Ramirezs lack of hygiene and drug use led to tooth decay and a loss of teeth. I used to tell him to close his mouth or brush his teeth.. That's not to say he didn't have a plan, though, as he was reportedly going to fake an illness to get sent to a hospital which typically had much less security than the prison. Everything To Know About 'Ted Lasso' Season 3, Super Chic Under $50 Home Decor Finds On Amazon, A Timeline Of All This Hailey And Selena Drama, Where Is Elizabeth Holmes Now? The remains of a little girl named Mei Leung were discovered on Apr. WebRichard Ramirez teeth before and after getting them fixed on death row. Not only did their testimony assure jurors His trial began in early 1989, and in September he was convicted of 13 murders and a variety of other crimes. Two days later, Ramirez was detained during a citizen's arrest in East Los Angeles. It's unknown just how many people Richard Ramirez tortured, assaulted, and killed. He died in 2013 of lymphoma behind bars as he awaited his execution. Is there a way to prevent this? Who's next? Alternate titles: Night Stalker, Ricardo Leyva Muoz Ramirez. In 1990, KRON 4 interviewed some who showed up at his trial. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. They claim it took Dr. Alfred Otero a dentist associated with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department a whopping nine months to fix Ramirez's teeth. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. YouTubeBy the time he was arrested, high sugar consumption and cocaine use had rotted Richard Ramirezs teeth. Ramirez's rotting teeth did lead him getting caught after a 13-year-old boy named Joseph Romero III spotted him, A&E reported. X-rays showed that he had an impacted tooth, so the detectives expected hed be back for more work soon. In June 1984 Ramirez committed his first known murder, raping and stabbing a 79-year-old widow. It should have been a scene of kids on their bikes, arcades, boardwalks, and long days when the curfew was dictated by when the streetlights came on. Ramirez then fatally shot 34-year-old Dayle Yoshie Okazaki in the forehead on March 17, 1985. WebRichard Ramirez, in full Ricardo Leyva Muoz Ramirez, byname Night Stalker, (born February 29, 1960, El Paso, Texas, U.S.died June 7, 2013, Greenbrae, California), Ray Garcia, a former schoolmate of Ramirez, also added he remember the killer eating "mostly junk food" and "never brushed his teeth." ", In 1991, the El Paso Times reported that there were hundreds of women who lined up for their chance to go behind bars to visit and security was, at the time, shockingly lax. While he was on trial, he leaned hard into the whole Satanic, child-of-darkness thing, at one point saying, "Legions of the night night breed repeat not the errors of the Night Stalker and show no mercy. How Richard Ramirezs Decaying, Gross Teeth Helped Catch and Convict And Glen Creason, a Los Angeles librarian, also described noticing Ramirezs absolutely disgusting, rotted teeth when he walked into the Los Angeles Public Library. They should have just asked Doreen, she would have paid for it. Richard Ramirez and Other Serial Killers Whose Family Members Were Murdered. Despite having raped people prior to June 1984, he wasn't caught until August 1985. Three dentists gave testimony about Ramirezs teeth during the proceeding, according to a1989 Associated Press report. Inside that vehicle, detectives located a business card from a Chinatown dental office. Thats what the department placed two of their own detectives in the waiting room to survey the dental office, in case the suspect came back for afollow-upappointment. Copyright 2016-2022 True Crime Magazine, A GRAPHIC Look At Peter Sutcliffes Reign of Terror, Meet the Photographer Who Spent Three Hours With Ted Bundy, The Fascinating Process of Human Decomposition, A GRAPHIC Look Back At Ted Bundys Execution, The Real Reason Why Serial Killers Pose Their Victims. Yellow lines prevent anyone from getting too close to the cells, and those cells? He was convicted and sentenced to death but died while in prison. It is usually a slow process and so people won't always realise they have tartar build-up and gum disease until the teeth start becoming loose, and by that point it can often be too late to save them. The charges were in connection to his horrifying acts that took place in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He hated being cooped up in a cell, but he valued his freedom to roam the streets and kill.". Richard Ramirez in 1989, after he had dental work performed in prison. Richard Ramirez leaves the courthouse after being sentenced to die in Californias gas chamber. It was, ironically, a trip to the dentist's office that undid one of Ramirez's alibis. After being chased away, and attempted to carjack two others, he was captured by a group of civilians who waited for police to arrive on scene. Joshua St Clair is an Assistant Editor at Men's Health Magazine. How Richard Ramirezs Teeth Finally Brought An End To His Murderous Reign of Terror. The Real Story Behind Youtubes Wholesome How Worlds Most (Im)perfect Sketch Helped Catch a Thief, The Story of a Man Who Escaped the Death Row And Died. He wasn't allowed to touch someone or hug them. Vincent Gigante, The 'Oddfather' Mob Boss Who Pretended To Be Crazy, The True Story Of Julianna Farrait, The Wife Of 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. But those who survived his attacks often recalled one thing Richard Ramirezs teeth. Updates? 'Murdaugh Murders' Mallory Beach: Her Life & Death. The arrest was made possible by details given to police by Inez Erickson, who Ramirez attacked and raped. Ramirez's lack of hygiene and drug use - led to tooth decay and a loss of teeth. "He was the color green. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is available to stream now on Netflix after releasing on January 13th, 2021. But Otero couldnt do anything for the rot that Richard Ramirez had inflicted on California. It was, after all, only in 2009 that the Los Angeles Times reported that DNA evidence had connected him to a brutal cold case. Summertime. His bottom lip is just covering the missing lower teeth. Between June 1984 and August 1985, Richard Ramirez terrorized communities in northern and southern California. Richard Ramirez, in full Ricardo Leyva Muoz Ramirez, byname Night Stalker, (born February 29, 1960, El Paso, Texas, U.S.died June 7, 2013, Greenbrae, California), American serial killer, rapist, and burglar who murdered at least 13 people in California in 198485. His teeth bore the burden of both bad habits, and they had begun to rot and fall out. Detective Frank Salerno said: "Our biggest clues were his teeth and feet, and thats where we focused our energy.. All he would ever eat were chocolates and Pepsi, Garcia explained. Ramirezs dietary history and cocaine usage likely explains why he had decayed and missing teeth. During the trial, Ramirez's father had claimed his son was with his family in El Paso in May 1985, not in Los Angeles, where he had allegedly raped and murdered three women. Carrillo and Salerno interviewed the dentist, who told them that the suspect was just in for a dental appointment. Watch the trailer for Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel to learn more about Ramirez's association with the property: Over the years, Ramirez became known as the "Night Stalker" and was eventually tracked down and convicted of of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries, due to his teeth (or lack thereof). He would also expose himself inside the housing unit to guards. His methodology for hunting and killing his victims in the middle of the night while they were asleep earned him the nickname the Night Stalker. Richard Ramirez sits in a police car after being arrested on August 31, 1985. Rotten or missing, Ramirezs decayed teeth gave him a gaping, sinister sneer that left an impression on his victims. On June 28, 1984, Vincow stabbed repeatedly as she was sleeping in bed. Known to use a wide variety of weapons, such as a handgun, knife, machete, tire iron, and hammer, Ramirez went down as one of the most ruthless serial killers of all time, earning him the flashy, fearsome tabloid nickname The Night Stalker., In fact, the judge who sentenced Ramirez remarked that his deeds exhibited cruelty, callousness, and viciousness beyond any human understanding.. Police Inspector Holly Pera explained, "It's the type of case as a new officer, a involving a little girl that you can't forget.". She was found nearly decapitated. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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