California serial killer Richard Ramirez dies at age 53

Richard Ramirez, a convicted serial killer who terrorized Southern California in the mid 1980s, has died at age 53, according to officials.

The Associated Press reports that San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Sam Robinson said that he had “passed away this morning,” but offered no other details. The cause of death is still unknown.

Ramirez, who was nicknamed the Night Stalker, died at Marin General Hospital and was on death row. He committed 13 murders in the area between 1984 and 1985. He was captured and beaten by residents in East Los Angeles in 1985 when he was trying to steal a car.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Ramirez’s victims were found either with their throats slashed, strangled or fatally shot. He would also paint the Satanic pentagram symbol on the walls of his victims.

He was convicted on Sept. 20, 1989 and sentenced to death. He reportedly said, “Big deal. Death always went with the territory.”

In 1989, a TV film titled Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker aired, with Gregory Cruz playing Ramirez.

image: WikiMedia Commons

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