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Higgins

Is this the same Pattie Elaine Higgins, described under victims? http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-25/local/me-24940_1_miss-higgins —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.33.43.9 ( talk) 00:01, 11 February 2011 (UTC) reply

Question

  • Is there a legitimate reason why this page is not here anymore? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.75.45.225 ( talk) 00:46, 21 June 2011 (UTC) reply

His preference in music?

Is this really important? BrianAlex ( talk) 14:03, 4 June 2011 (UTC) reply

For a person that has taken the lives of others, who cares what he listens to, hopefully, he has NOTHING to listen to and by now cannot remember who or what he liked before he was imprisoned. This is not the WM3 case. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.97.135.148 ( talk) 04:12, 18 September 2011 (UTC) As for the question, I think yeah his musical tastes are important, because they led to some of the 90's anti-heavy metal nonsense. 124.168.181.224 ( talk) 04:31, 22 December 2011 (UTC) reply

No it is not important and has no purpose being posted in this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.15.30.125 ( talk) 20:54, 12 April 2012 (UTC) reply
Why? Give a good reason. 2602:306:BC83:DC10:802:E890:B790:C17D ( talk) 19:35, 28 November 2012 (UTC) reply

Because Wikipedia is an Encylopediea and not a place of worship for serial killers, look at the pages of Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King and you wont find much if any about their tasted in food or music. 84.112.106.126 ( talk) 20:09, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

In Ramirez' biography, written by Phillip Carlo, Carlo seems to put blame on the music Ramirez was listening to. For him heavy metal had an influence on Ramirez' way of thinking and pumped up his aggression. Carlo wrote about it quiet often in his book. It might not be that important to the reader and to be honest, it is usually a lot of BS, but it is part of the whole story. At least for the biographer. And I hate to say it, but in this case the music/lyrics had an influence on the killer, considering that he was what you might call "criminally insane". It happens, one in a 100.000 times.-- 87.184.157.77 ( talk) 09:02, 12 May 2016 (UTC) reply
If memory serves (I'll double-check when I get home), Carlo mentions the music (usually AC/DC), but never draws any cause/effect conclusions. Your conclusion that "the music had an influence on the killer" is original research, and therefore can't be used here. DoctorJoeE  review transgressions/ talk to me! 19:57, 12 May 2016 (UTC) reply
Doublechecked, and the memory—for once—was accurate. Also reviewed medical literature on this subject, and the consensus remains that music is a mirror of listeners' lives, rather than a causative factor in their behavior. The worst that anyone actually qualified to give an opinion has said is that music is perceived as harmful only when applied to preexisting states of negative arousal. DoctorJoeE  review transgressions/ talk to me! 21:10, 12 May 2016 (UTC) reply

It's really dim-witted to not think that cruising with blazing music "highway to hell" while looking for his next victim isn't a big factor in this serial killer's attitude and behaviour. You don't need to be Einstein to work that one out. All the documentaries mention it, for obvious reason. Needless to draw a parallel between this and the well known influence violent movies & games have on kids behaviour these days. 86.174.211.41 ( talk) 18:56, 18 December 2019 (UTC) reply

A 1985 article of the Los Angeles Times confirms Ramirez "was particularly attracted to the band’s -the AC/DC- 1979 hit album “Highway to Hell,” said Ray Garcia, 27, of El Sobrante, Calif. The album’s cover depicts a band member wearing devil’s horns, and one of the songs included is titled “Night Prowler.” — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.38.235.149 ( talk) 13:27, 16 May 2020 (UTC) reply

Section on this on the article on the relevant song

There's a good section on this at Night Prowler (song)#"Night Stalker" controversy Possibly the solution would be a small section on here with a Main Article link at the top of it to the Night Prowler song article's section on Ramirez. Romomusicfan ( talk) 10:12, 29 March 2022 (UTC) reply

"The alternative juror who replaced Singletary was too frightened to return to her home."

This makes no sense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.30.250.248 ( talk) 15:53, 3 September 2011 (UTC) reply

What don't you understand? It's saying that the alternative juror was too frieghted to leave the hotel to go home because the woman she was replacing was shot and killed and at that time, they suspected that Ramirez may have organized it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.15.30.125 ( talk) 20:57, 12 April 2012 (UTC) reply

Copyright problem removed

Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/justice_7.html. Infringing material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. Moonriddengirl (talk) 15:53, 3 July 2011 (UTC) reply

Thanks for finding and fixing that.   Will Beback  talk  20:52, 3 July 2011 (UTC) reply
Quite a shame, really. :/ It was an IP who found it, though; I just followed through with listing it for him or her. -- Moonriddengirl (talk) 20:53, 3 July 2011 (UTC) reply

Satanic influences

Hi there, as this article was in need of reference citations to verify the information within it, I have inserted several. (I will insert more as I have time in the near future). In reading articles etc to reference the information in the article, I noticed that virtually all the articles I read made reference to Ramirez's satanic beliefs. However, in this wiki article there is very little reference to this aspect of his life. As these beliefs seemed to be a pivotal part of his life and justification for committing the 'night-stalker' crimes, it seems odd that this is not really addressed in the wiki article. What do other contributors think about creating a new section which explores his relationship with satanism? Jihadcola ( talk) 13:58, 21 May 2012 (UTC)Jihadcola reply

There are references to Richard Ramirez in the wikipedia articles about Anton Lavey and his "church of satan" organization in SanFrancisco but apparently the references don't go both ways. Denial of the satanism connection has also been a recurring situation in some major media treatment overall in relation to whether or not serial killers of the 1970s and 1980s had connections to satanism when it appeared several were going out of their way to proclaim it while Lavey and his group were trying to publicly duck legal liabilities. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.193.222.193 ( talk) 02:36, 11 September 2012 (UTC) reply

Kermit the Frog

I really don't think he is the voice of Kermit the Frog. I guess someone started April Fool's early. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.25.103.33 ( talk) 19:45, 27 March 2013 (UTC) reply

Citation needed: nothing in the referred source mention's Ramirez' "face" being splattered with blood

Hello. I noticed that the text as stands claims that when Richard's cousin Mike murdered his wife, Richard was present and "her blood splattered on Ramirez's FACE." However, if you check the source, it never mentions the word "face." It states, "Author Philip Carlo, speaking on CNBC's Rivera Live, revealed that Ramirez was spattered with the woman's blood." Obviously this could also mean that Ramirez' shirt, his hand, sneakers, or other areas could have blood on them while "his face" did not. Please find a source that states "his face was splattered in blood" or simply revise the text to claim, as per the source, "...Ramirez was splattered with her bloood." Thanks 114.158.149.78 ( talk) 03:31, 10 April 2013 (UTC) reply

Cause of death

Typical when a subject has recently died, we have two seemingly conflicting "causes of death". Many sources say he died of "natural causes" (at the age of 53), while others indicate "liver failure". [1] [2] Seeing as he was an IV drug user (and other reports say he had Hepatitis C): my money's on liver failure. Time will tell. Please bear in mind that the C.O.D. is not official yet, and reports conflict. Doc talk 01:35, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply

inasmuch as liver failure ~is~ fundamentally a natural cause, i see no conflict here. -- emerson7 01:48, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply
Liver failure is far more specific a cause of death, much like "heart failure", and thetefore preferable as his C.O.D. Just my opinion. Doc talk 01:52, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply
hate to belabour the point, but liver failure is ~very very general as a number of ailments could lead to it. hepatitis, sclerosis, cancer...just to name a few. at any rate, we do have proper and reliable....sourcing for it and i don't see a problem with noting it in the article until and unless something more specific is reported. -- emerson7 02:02, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply
Is liver failure a complication of B-cell lymphoma? I was surprised to read that he died of that, given the substantially high rates of remission. Then again, some people do die of it or else it'd be a 100% remission rate! Matthias Alexander Jude Shapiro ( talk) 16:14, 20 October 2019 (UTC) reply

Questionable information regarding early life and head injuries

The head injuries were probably alleged to be "serious" by the defense, desperately seeking to find some exculpating issues. Experts know how to distinguish trivial concussions from those likely to be life-changing. We don't know how serious these injuries were. The only citation for "serious head injuries" in childhood is "true crime stories," a Wordpress blog, a secondary source, that provides no citations of its own. In other words, most of the information about his early life given in this article have the truth value of an urban legend until better sources can be found..

Much of the information in this article about Ramirez's early life is copy-and-paste from the True Crime Stories blog. Wikipedia readers deserve better.

Information given under oath at Ramirez's trial is probably available in the trial transcript, but the transcript is probably not available online. There are probably more reliable sources available, if anybody wants to hunt for them. If the trial transcript can be found, the defense's exculpating evidence was probably questioned by the prosecution. Ideally, the bigger picture would be considered.

Citations from Tru-TV are also embarrassing. This is not a reliable and objective information source.

Ramirez very likely had a severe mental disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder, possibly organic brain syndrome, and possibly antisocial personality disorder. Evidence was probably presented at trial. This information should be included in the article. 108.219.39.17 ( talk) 17:20, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply

The article is in dire need of improvement (a major overhaul) and will be worked on. Please feel free to make any constructive improvements of your own. Doc talk 23:11, 8 June 2013 (UTC) reply

Mental disorder(s)

What was he diagnosed with: ASPD? schizophrenia? Jim Michael ( talk) 12:48, 9 June 2013 (UTC) reply

Nope. Anna7711 ( talk) 01:11, 7 October 2021 (UTC) reply

Public Reaction

I'm unsure if this is appropriate, but I happened to be staying with friends in Long Beach, California shortly before Ramirez was captured. I went to a nearby home improvement center and discovered that it was completely sold out of the three-inch bolts that are frequently used to "pin" double-hung wooden windows, making them very difficult to pry open. I had to adapt another type of bolt for the windows of my friends' house. Checkers at the home improvement center told me that they had never sold so many deadbolts and other security hardware within recent memory.

After Ramirez was captured, my friends and I spent the day at Disneyland and didn't return until well after dark. When we arrived back at their house, we found every light blazing. It turned out that their roommate heard, or thought he heard someone outside a bedroom window, and the entire neighborhood was flooded with police within minutes of him reporting it. This may have been due to the fact that authorities may not have yet been certain that Ramirez always acted alone, it might have been a "copycat" incident, it may have just been a demonstration of how on edge everyone was, or possibly a combination of all three. RogerInPDX ( talk) 16:42, 13 June 2013 (UTC) reply

Miscellany

"The trial of Richard Ramirez was one of the most difficult and longest criminal trials in American history, taking over four years to finalize." - this obviously conflicts w/ the dates immediately prior as to jury selection beginning, guilty verdict, and penalty phase date. It comes from an 'About.com' article on the subject - which was masquerading in the links as a NYT article. I've deleted it. Irish Melkite ( talk) 23:56, 21 July 2013 (UTC) reply

Photograph for infobox

I would like to suggest that the 1984 mug shot of Ramirez be swapped with the image currently in the infobox because it is by far the most recognizable image of the subject, the subject is now deceased, and the images would also then be in chronological order. What are others' thoughts? Hoops gza ( talk) 02:50, 5 September 2013 (UTC) reply

Comment - As the '84 mug is not yet technically public domain, this move would be opposed procedurally through WP:NFCC. We must get this article beyond the current "Start" class rating. We need to expand this article, adding lots of referenced info about: the detectives who hunted him and the physical evidence, the section on his capture, his lengthy trial (one of the most expensive in that state's history), and much more. Any help raising this article above start-class would be greatly appreciated. Doc talk 03:50, 16 September 2013 (UTC) reply

Different Birthdates

I did some research and both February 28 and February 29 1960 give equal results as Ramirez's date of birth. Not only that but both dates of birth are found in numerous reliable sources (including this [3]] NYTimes article written a day after his death showing his DOB as Feb 28. Here's where it gets even stranger. I searched the Texas Birth Database at Family Tree Legends and two results come up for Ricardo Ramirez (his birth name) one for Feb 28, 1960 and another for Feb 27, 1960. So now we have a possible third birth date, huh?? Can someone who has more knowledge in this area help to find out what Ramirez's actual date of birth is because right now it should at least say Feb 29 OR 28 in the article? Thanks. Emivam ( talk) 04:06, 1 September 2014 (UTC) reply

I'll help look into this. If reliable sources are equally divided on the day of his birth, your solution is the right way to go. I know that Carlo has his birthday as the 29th - it's also worth noting that Feb. 29th is a leap year day that only occurs once every four years. If he was born on a leap year, there should be some notes on that out there. Keep digging. Doc talk 01:00, 2 September 2014 (UTC) reply

While Carlo's book says Feb. 29th I've found pictures of his birth certificate online and there are a few Q&A type papers he himself filled out in prison saying his birthday is Feb 28th, not the 29th. Kiwirush ( talk) 10:25, 1 July 2021 (UTC) reply

Satanist

Ramirez was a devil worshipper, not a satanist. I am not a satanist myself, but I know that satanism is essentially a form of humanitarianism, NOT worshipping satan. The fact that he called himself a satanist is about as relevant as someone calling themself a vegeterian, while eating seafood. Just as those people are pesciterians, no matter what they say, Ramirez is a devil worshipper, no matter what he says -- 188.110.121.169 ( talk) 08:38, 22 January 2015 (UTC) reply

Complete and utter rubbish. Consult a dictionary, or any good solid specialist source. Crackpot personal views have no place on the Wiki TP's, anon. HammerFilmFan ( talk) 21:31, 17 March 2015 (UTC) reply
Um, no. OP is talking about LaVeyan Satanism [ [4]] as is the person in the comment that follows below. However I guess it is pataytoe patahtoe to most people. 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:FD66:73F2:8691:FB57 ( talk) 09:27, 21 January 2021 (UTC) reply

The definition of satanist is someone who worships themselves as their own God. Ramirez worshipped the devil and truly believed Satan was a real being. Satanists are considered atheists, because they do not believe in a God nor do they believe in Satan himself. People commonly get these two mixed up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:569:BE21:FE00:555C:947A:9C3B:89D8 ( talk) 01:02, 31 January 2019 (UTC) reply

It may be helpful to mention these maxims of LaVeyan Satanism:

When in another's home, show them respect or else do not go there. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal. Do not harm little children. Ramirez was apparently not this kind of Satanist. Lest this appear an apology of LaVey, I mention also When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him. which tends to show that LaVeyans can be dangerous killers once they judge themselves to have been "bothered." 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:FD66:73F2:8691:FB57 ( talk) 09:35, 21 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Anton and his group were more like cosplay or Shades of Grey than satan-worshippers. They just thought it was cool to have scantily-clad girls on the alter and all that stuff. Mr Lavey was sort of a fraud, if you really wanted to worship the devil. 2603:3023:752:E000:45F6:E34B:D0F3:86BF ( talk) 02:13, 4 July 2021 (UTC) reply

You left out something

My mom's cousin was the woman who almost got carjacked by Richard Ramirez and her husband came outside and began chasing him THEN, the neighbors came out and also began chasing and beating him until police arrived Artlover700 ( talk) 21:21, 10 July 2016 (UTC) reply

LA Magazine article

There's a new article from LA Magazine, dated May 15, 2017, about James Romero's role, if anyone wants to flesh that part out a bit more: http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/13-year-old-boy-brought-down-notorious-serial-killer-richard-ramirez-night-stalker/ Specifically, the sequence of events is slightly different than what we have here. Ramirez went to the Romeros' home first, but left without breaking in (James was awake and woke up his parents), then he drove to the home of Cairns and Erickson. howcheng { chat} 23:14, 16 May 2017 (UTC) reply

"love object"

That is a terrible section title. I would suggest it be changed to nearly anything else, maybe "romantic relationship" or something less lurid. 104.254.230.90 ( talk) 01:36, 1 September 2017 (UTC) reply

Please make the above suggested change to section title. Thanks. 104.254.230.90 ( talk) 21:27, 14 September 2017 (UTC) reply

Already done - FlightTime ( open channel) 21:45, 14 September 2017 (UTC) reply

Inflation

At the end of the Trial and conviction it mentions his trial cost. To show inflation adjusted amount, just copy and paste this after the $1.8 million price:

(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1800000|1989}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)

It will output this: ($4.42 million in 2023 dollars). 50.64.119.38 ( talk) 04:46, 18 November 2017 (UTC) reply

Done  —  Ammarpad ( talk) 20:20, 20 November 2017 (UTC) reply

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Semi-protected edit request on 1 November 2018

The statement that Lioy and Ramirez were separated in the Romantic relationship section needs a citation 74.12.43.133 ( talk) 21:57, 1 November 2018 (UTC) reply

 Done -- DannyS712 ( talk) 02:52, 2 November 2018 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 13 June 2019

File:Richard Ramirez.jpg
Richard Ramirez-The Night Stalker Police Mugshot 1984

I'd like to replace the current Profile Pic with this one. Stammberger13 ( talk) 18:13, 13 June 2019 (UTC) reply

 Not done: A color version of this image is already on the article, and it has properly completed copyright information. — KuyaBriBri Talk 19:18, 13 June 2019 (UTC) reply

PCL-R Rating

The citation to the PCL-R rating doesn't seem to be credible. It seems to be just one person's opinion. There isn't even an about page on the blog. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sherlockiain ( talkcontribs) 23:02, 22 January 2020 (UTC) reply

Done - content failed WP:RS so it has been removed. Thadeuss ( talk) 03:03, 3 July 2020 (UTC) reply

Psychopathy/sociopathy

The article mentions that he may have leaned towards sociopathy instead of psychopathy, but there is no medical distinction between the two and the claim is unsourced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.91.161.112 ( talk) 12:08, 18 February 2020 (UTC) reply

Done - unsourced and possibly OR diagnosis has been removed. Thadeuss ( talk) 03:03, 3 July 2020 (UTC) reply

Child abductions/rapes

The new documentary on Netflix ("Night Stalker, Hunt for a serial killer") shows that he committed several child abductions and raped children on several occassions. Shouldn't this be mentioned? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.228.71.154 ( talk) 10:30, 14 January 2021 (UTC) reply

+1, should be included. Googling "Anastasia Hronas" gives a bunch of results. She was 6 when she was abducted and sexually abused by Ramirez; he let her go and she helped to track him down. He also abducted a number of other children. — Bob • ( talk) • 05:15, 8 March 2021 (UTC) reply

Pop culture addition?

Original Marilyn Manson band member Jeordie White adopted the persona Twiggy Ramirez based on the pattern of "fashion model first name" followed by "serial killer last name": https://apnews.com/article/18f8a75f87c7d66f1f0204c2d7e409a4 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.244.226.238 ( talk) 18:39, 15 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Apprehension

He was apprehended on 31st August 1985 not 24th. Clairebear83 ( talk) 16:42, 17 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Thank you. Do you have a source for this claim? If so please share it. This can be updated in the article. Rasnaboy ( talk) 16:55, 17 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Unable to grep paragraph

On the night of July 2, 1985, he drove a stolen car to Arcadia, and randomly selected the house of Mary Louise Cannon, age 75, widowed grandmother's.[36]

Huh? Needs editing! - {{u| Checkingfax}} { Talk} 09:36, 23 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Netflix doc

I think the paragraph about the 2021 Netflix doc is overly long, and contains irrelevant details such as the "Rotten Tomatoes" rating. It seems inappropriate and possibly not objective. Matuko ( talk) 03:31, 25 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Disneyland link

It seems likely Ramirez was referring to the I'm going to Disney World! commercials. If that is made explicit in any of the sources, the interlink should reflect as much. Thmazing ( talk) 17:58, 25 January 2021 (UTC) reply

Doubtful pedophilia claims

In the first paragraph, Richard Ramirez is claimed to be a pedophile. Pedophilia is a disorder in which affected persons show a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to children. The selection of his victims seems rather indifferent to their age and therefore contradicts such an statement. The reference associated with the first paragraph does not support this claim either. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:F6:6715:9E00:2583:A58A:768C:8872 ( talkcontribs)

Agreed. He does not meet the definition of a pedophile. There seems to be no evidence that he had a preference for children. He did however sexually and physically abuse and murder a child on at least one occasion. I will therefore replace "pedophile" by "child abuser" which subsumes these crimes. Rappatoni ( talk) 11:43, 11 May 2021 (UTC) reply

Romantic relationship

Not engaged to Christine Lee at time of death. She was 23 years old in the early 1990s.

[1]

[2]

References

Semi-protected edit request on 29 June 2021

Change “despite Ramirez confessing to both murders long after his convictions while in prison.” It needs to be deleted as this has never been confirmed that he admitted to these or any crimes whilst in prison. 86.18.138.122 ( talk) 21:30, 29 June 2021 (UTC) reply

 Done ScottishFinnishRadish ( talk) 10:53, 30 June 2021 (UTC) reply

Never confessed to Higgins or the Leung case

Why is it now stating that he confessed to these crimes whilst in prison? He never confessed to either. TMirners ( talk) 21:34, 29 June 2021 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 29 June 2021 (2)

Delete “ despite Ramirez confessing to both murders long after his convictions while in prison.” There're no reliable sources for this as it did not happen TMirners ( talk) 21:37, 29 June 2021 (UTC) reply

 Done ScottishFinnishRadish ( talk) 10:53, 30 June 2021 (UTC) reply

My apologies for this error. Multiple less reliable sources claimed this to be the case, and since at the time to me it lined up with how Ramirez became slightly more forthcoming about his crimes in the years following his convictions, I initially believed then to have been true. There is a lot of misinformation surrounding extraordinary and disturbing cases like this which can sometimes make it difficult to distinguish facts from rumors, and I sincerely apologize for having made editing mistakes based on this misinformation. I hope my genuine attempts at further improving the article since have shown I have no ill intent here, and that at least some of my edits have been helpful and informative. Thank you both for correcting me and helping me improve as an editor, and cite more direct sources, and previously cited sources. Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 07:30, 9 July 2021 (UTC) reply

Crimes

This mf really do be a serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, child abuser, burglar. He really do be doing all the crimes.

Yup. Even if some other killers like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Rodney Alcala had higher body counts, Ramirez is still among the worst of the worst. Aside from the obvious severe brutally of his crimes, I always was particularly disturbed by how we still don’t know exactly just how many people Ramirez killed, how it’s likely higher than the generally accepted consensus of 15 murders confirmed as being his doing, and the fact that unlike most serial killers, Ramirez didn’t have any real victim profile, aside from being someone in a random house he broke into explicitly to burglarize, rape, and kill, or him seeing you on the streets and having felt like killing you. Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 21:04, 21 July 2021 (UTC) reply

Did he stop anyone on freeway and shoot them?

Says "The rest of Ramirez’s known homicides usually involved him breaking into a home to kill, or shooting someone who was in a car on the freeway after stopping them, while Leung was lured to the basement to be killed." To me this makes it sound like he caused someone to pull to the side of the freeway (the "shoulder" of the freeway) and killed them. But I don't think this happened. He may have followed someone who he saw on the freeway and killed them on surface streets. Believe this needs to be more clearly phrased. Greg Dahlen ( talk) 11:05, 27 September 2021 (UTC) reply

I went ahead and rewrote it. Greg Dahlen ( talk) 11:47, 27 September 2021 (UTC) reply

Thanks for this, it was an oversight of mine. He did so in just one confirmed case. I did that initially incase it eventually came out that he was responsible for any unsolved freeway shootings in SoCal or anywhere he was southwest between 1984 and 1985 or anything like that, since his first murder, that of Mei Leung in April 1984, wasn’t conclusively linked to Richard Ramirez until 2009. So it’s not unprecedented and IMHO even unlikely he could be responsible for other cold cases, especially since determining the true number of murders committed by prolific serial killers is far more difficult than you’d think, and proving it is even more difficult as far as I’m aware. I’m far from an expert by any means, but worth mentioning at least as a significant possibility I feel. Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 13:37, 8 November 2021 (UTC) reply

Mental health of Richard Ramirez

He did not suffer from a mental illness. In your article you mention he had schizophrenia. There is no evidence of that and you did not back up that claim with any references that claim this. Anna7711 ( talk) 01:10, 7 October 2021 (UTC) reply

I don't see any mention of schizophrenia, only schizoid personality disorder. It's a related personality disorder, but distinct. Source is a book on personality disorders by Dr. Michael J. Stone, who studied the case, and the diagnosis is attributed to him. Thadeuss ( talk) 21:23, 21 October 2021 (UTC) reply

Question

We acknowledge him as a child molester, but some of his crimes in that area are left out of the article. Why is that? 140.186.106.98 ( talk) 21:33, 12 November 2021 (UTC) reply

I thought the crimes he committed of that nature were delved into well enough. He raped an adolescent child twice, one of whom was his first murder victim, and in the 1970’s when he was in High School prior to him getting fired from the Holiday Inn he worked at for a foiled attempted rape where Ramirez was badly beaten by the victim’s husband, he fondled and molested two elementary school aged children in an elevator, but was never reported. I believe it was a boy and a girl. No idea if they were siblings or had any relation to each other though. It’s talked about in several reputed documentaries and news articles by Richard Ramirez’s former long term childhood friends who were interviewed. Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 18:26, 23 November 2021 (UTC) reply

Lack of citations

This article does not have many citations in the initial paragraphs (above first heading.) It is a large chunk of text and I believe that adding citations to sources that provide evidence for both his military skills and cocaine use would be beneficial.

Mittens For Short ( talk) 21:43, 12 January 2022 (UTC) reply

While it may take some time due to having to go very far back in news and police archives to find them in most cases, I think these can be dug up and cited eventually.

I know for a fact there is countless news articles, documentaries, and police documents that have since been made public after Ramirez has long since been incarcerated that document this, from people who knew Richard Ramirez personally both before and during his crime spree and murders.

While I could be wrong, while he was cagey, cryptic, and often deliberately misleading about his murders, while incarcerated, Ramirez did often speak at length to detectives and anybody who wrote him letters about his cocaine use and addiction, and his fondness of using the drug and experiencing it's effects. I believe he also often spoke about his prior cocaine addiction and fondness of the drug with other inmates he was serving his sentence on death row with, who were willing to talk to him when he spoke to them. Again, I could possibly be wrong, but I distinctly and vividly remember hearing about this from multiple reliable sources, including occasionally Ramirez himself in interviews and other people's correspondences with him before his death from cancer in 2013.

As for his military skills, a lot of this is difficult to document because of not only how long ago he learned these things from his equally disturbed and deranged fellow serial killer and serial rapist cousin Miguel "Mike" Ramirez, who served as a green beret in the Vietnam war and committed numerous gruesom war crimes Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 09:28, 21 February 2022 (UTC) reply

Gruesome war crimes* My apologies on the grammatical error and abrupt ending of my last talk page entry. Editing on mobile is garbage, and my thumb slipped and I accidentally hit the publish button way before I intended to, and I don't know how to edit talk page entries on mobile. I apologize for any confusion and inconveniences as a result.

Anyways, continuing from where I left off, these things are unfortunately difficult to document and definitively verify, even if I and others are certain they happened, not only because Ramirez learned these things as an adolescent well over 40 years ago from his elder cousin by 12 years Mike, who was a green beret and Vietnam war veteran, on top of also being a serial killer, serial rapist, and a reputed war criminal, but because the interviews with detectives and the press on these issues were also over 20-30 years ago by now, and most of it buried deep in archives, and others possibly lost to time entirely.

To be perfectly clear, I do think these things on his cocaine usage and military skills he learned from his deranged and deeply disturbed war criminal and Vietnam vet older cousin Mike can still be cited, verified, and documented, but it will just be more challenging and take longer because of the above mentioned documentation and archival issues. Thank you for your time and your interest in improving this important historical article. Titanoboa Constrictor ( talk) 09:37, 21 February 2022 (UTC) reply

Trial & conviction superlative


  • What I think should be changed:

"The trial cost $1.8 million ($3.93 million in 2021 dollars), which at the time made it the most expensive in the history of California..."

Maybe "most expensive MURDER trial" ?

  • Why it should be changed:

The current wording is incorrect/misleading, the McMartin preschool trial ended years earlier in the same county & state and cost $15 million, over 8x as much.

  • References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

/info/en/?search=McMartin_preschool_trial#Legacy

DemonicLlama ( talk) 19:31, 12 October 2022 (UTC) reply

References

 DoneSirdog ( talk) 09:02, 18 October 2022 (UTC) reply

The night stalker

To add in the popular culture, if that’s what you call it, criminal minds episode called our darkest hour 5x23 2600:1702:228A:4240:1DE2:3634:5463:5FBA ( talk) 03:59, 16 October 2022 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 9 November 2022

190.19.18.80 (
talk) 01:53, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
reply

Wrong surname spelling in the “Early life” section. Ricardo "Richard" Levya Muñoz Ramirez[4] was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960 “Leyva” is mistyped.

 Done Jiltedsquirrel ( talk) 01:49, 10 November 2022 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 1 December 2022 for Mental Health Section

Please add a psychological assessment was also done on Richard Ramirez for conduct disorder to the Mental Health page. Ramirez would cause commotion in society that was not normal. Ramirez was then evaluated by the American Psychiatric Association for Conduct Disorder. Within the 15 questions that Richard Ramirez was evaluated against, Ramirez matched 10 of the questions. It is argued that Richard Ramirez suffered from Conduct Disorder due to all the abuse he dealt with while growing up.UKEssays. (November 2018). Psychological Assessment of Richard Ramirez. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/psychological-assessment-richard-6923.php?vref=1 Laura1459 ( talk) 16:53, 1 December 2022 (UTC) reply

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Per the source: Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay. ScottishFinnishRadish ( talk) 14:21, 2 December 2022 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 27 May 2023

Richard Ramirez birthday is on February 29, 1960, not the 28th

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Ramirez 2604:2D80:B20A:3C00:94EB:1CFB:9C91:A466 ( talk) 22:46, 27 May 2023 (UTC) reply

 Done See also [5] and [6] -- Pinchme123 ( talk) 03:10, 28 May 2023 (UTC) reply

Semi-protected edit request on 6 September 2023

Addition to the “In Popular Culture” section:

Richard Ramirez is mentioned in the song “God Bless” by artist Combichrist on their 2005 album “Everybody Hates You”. 50.88.198.93 ( talk) 18:40, 6 September 2023 (UTC) reply

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. M.Bitton ( talk) 21:43, 6 September 2023 (UTC) reply

Additional pop culture reference

The song city of angels from the testament album titans of creation is also about Ramirez.

https://genius.com/Testament-city-of-angels-lyrics

https://heavymusichq.com/testament-titans-of-creation-review/ Dvanbalen ( talk) 13:41, 11 December 2023 (UTC) reply