He looked like any other child \u2014 dark eyes, shy smile, innocent face.<\/p>\n
Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, he would become one of America\u2019s most feared killers.<\/p>\n
A childhood of terror<\/strong> At fifteen, he witnessed his cousin \u2014 a Vietnam vet who showed him photos of torture \u2014 shoot his wife in the face. From then, he withdrew completely, dropped out of school, and turned to crime.<\/p>\n The Night Stalker emerges<\/strong> Between March and August 1985, he broke into homes at random, killing men, women, and children. His crimes mixed brutal violence with Satanic rituals \u2014 pentagrams, mutilations, and forced oaths to the devil. The press called him \u201cThe Night Stalker.\u201d<\/p>\n Caught by chance<\/strong> Trial and death<\/strong> He spent 24 years on death row, married a fan, and died in 2013 of lymphoma \u2014 never showing remorse.<\/p>\n Looking back at his childhood photo, it\u2019s hard to believe how such evil began \u2014 and that no one saw it coming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He looked like any other child \u2014 dark eyes, shy smile, innocent face. Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, he would become one of America\u2019s most feared killers. A childhood of terrorThe youngest of five in a Mexican American family, his father ruled with violent rage. By age six, he\u2019d suffered severe head injuries,…<\/p>\n
The youngest of five in a Mexican American family, his father ruled with violent rage. By age six, he\u2019d suffered severe head injuries, developing epilepsy. His father once tied him to a cemetery cross overnight. By ten, he was drinking and using drugs, escaping into the desert to hunt and mutilate animals.<\/p>\n
In 1984, he killed nine-year-old Mei Leung in San Francisco. Two months later, he murdered 79-year-old Jennie Vincow \u2014 the beginning of his reign of terror across California.<\/p>\n
Police finally got a break when a 13-year-old boy noted the license plate of a suspicious car, leading to a fingerprint match: Richard Ramirez. When his photo was released, locals recognized him, chased him down, and held him until police arrived.<\/p>\n
In 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders and sentenced to death. He sneered, \u201cBig deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland.\u201d<\/p>\n