The Life of the Characters in Richard Leva Ramirez's Works

Ramirez is a Hispanic American whose parents are Mexican immigrants. As the youngest of six children in the family, Ramirez was once a good boy in his father's eyes, and it was drugs that initially destroyed many immigrant descendants. Because he started taking drugs for a long time when he was a teenager, Ramirez was a recidivist before he became a murderer. When he was in his hometown of El Paso, he often became a "guest" of the police station because of theft, robbery and drug abuse. In fact, Ramirez later decided to move to Southern California to facilitate theft.

During the period from 1984 to 1985, both Los Angeles and San Francisco were shrouded in an atmosphere of terror, and everything was also caused by a mysterious serial killer. He likes to sneak into other people's homes at night, then shoot or strangle adult men, then violently rape, kill and dismember women and children, and stick his symbol, an inverted five-pointed star, on walls, mirrors and even the dead after finishing his work. Different from other serial killers, he ordered the police to do nothing about this innocent killer without a clue (shooting, beating with sticks, cutting his throat, killing with his bare hands, strangling, etc.). ), and it is not aimed at a certain kind of people (the victims are from a few years old to 70 years old, from all walks of life). Some citizens even believe that he has the power of the devil.

The turning point of the whole case is that the police found a car that is believed to be used by the murderer to take his prey to the suburbs (he also likes to take his children to the suburbs to hunt), and found fingerprints belonging to a juvenile recidivist, richard ramirez, on the car. Although the police immediately released his photo to the media, it was not until August 1985 that this arrogant killer was arrested. At that time, he was trying to pull a woman out of the car in the suburbs of Los Angeles, but her husband fought back and stopped him. Then the onlookers recognized him as the murderer and was beaten up before handing him over to the police. At the moment when he was sentenced to death, he still maintained his usual arrogance. "The death penalty? How terrible! Are you trying to scare me to death? People will die eventually. See you at Disneyland! "

first offender

Ramirez left his birthplace at the age of 18 to make a living in Southern California, but he soon got mixed up with some idle people in society. They take drugs together and occasionally do petty theft. Ramirez was arrested for car theft in 198 1 and 1984, which may be the earliest criminal record of the police against him.

So, Ramirez was actually a thief from the beginning, and his killing method at the beginning was also very similar to a typical passion crime-1On June 28th, 984, he sneaked into the home of the first victim, 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, and perhaps because he didn't get anything, he stabbed the sleeping liberal arts with a knife in a rage.

After eight months of silence, Ramirez's animal nature awakened by blood made him need more stimulation.

Angels by day, demons by night.

From then on, Ramirez began to move around at night looking for prey. He said, "I like the feeling of killing people at night. Very exciting and challenging. I like it! " Indeed, he really got into the habit of killing people at night. During the day, Ramirez, who is cautious, is still helpful, and his neighbors call him "our sunshine boy".

1985 On the evening of March 17,1:30, Angela barrios, a 20-year-old girl, returned to her home in the northwest of Los Angeles after a tedious day's work. Because she was so tired, she stopped the car in a hurry and planned to go home and have a rest at once. When she walked out of the garage, a tall and thin man in a black robe and a blue navy hat rushed at her from the darkness, holding a gun in his hand and controlling Angela. The man put a gun to Angela's forehead and looked at her coldly. Poor Angela didn't dare to shout loudly, so she had to beg the other person to let herself go in a low voice. Angela is very clever. She tried not to look at the gangster's face for fear of angering him. At the same time, the gangster seems to be moved by Angela's plea. Just as Angela was trying to escape, the fierce gangster suddenly shot and Angela fell down. But Angela was not injured. The bullet that shot into her palm was actually bounced off by the car key. Frightened Angela ran away, and the gangster fired several shots, but Angela ran into the garage. Just as Angela, whose legs were weak, was waiting to die in the garage, she found the mysterious gangster calmly put the gun back to her waist and walked away as if nothing had happened. This mysterious person is richard ramirez, and Angela has become the first and only victim of Ramirez's men who has not been hurt.

However, Angela's roommate, 34-year-old Dali, was not so lucky. Angela almost fainted when she fled home for help-Dali died in the kitchen at home. According to Angela's memory, Dali's body was soaked in a washbasin full of blood, and the kitchen floor and walls were covered with blood. Angela immediately ran out of the house and called the police. Later, the police who heard the news found the navy hat worn by the murderer near the place where Angela was attacked, and this navy hat was a birthday gift from the victim Dali. Apparently, the murderer broke into Angela's house first, killed Dali and ransacked the house. Then he came to the garage door wearing Dali's hat and waited for Angela to come home from work.

When Angela was still in shock,1On March 27th, 985, another appalling murder happened in the local area. An old couple in their 60 s was shot dead at home, in which the male owner Zara was shot in the head and the body was abandoned on the sofa in the house; The situation of the hostess maxine is even worse. She was shot in the abdomen by a gangster and then dragged out of the bedroom before being shot. The whole second floor was flooded with blood. Even experienced policemen were ordered to receive psychotherapy because the murder scene was too bloody. An old detective who once participated in the on-site investigation of the case said: "It was like a bloody hell. The smell of blood filled the whole second floor. My two colleagues and I began to vomit almost as soon as we entered the door. "

In the next three months, there were seven similar wounding cases in Los Angeles, and the modus operandi and time were strikingly similar: the murderers all committed crimes in the early hours of the night, and the victims were all shot in the head. According to the description of the survivors, the murderer was tall and thin, wearing a black robe.

Once the case was disclosed, the whole city of Los Angeles shook, and the murderer was nicknamed "Nightcrawler". At the same time, many people who are used to living alone invite their relatives and friends to move in, and Los Angeles is even more depressed after nightfall. While the police were searching for the suspect, "Nightcrawler" regarded the police as nothing. After a week of silence, he had another attack. Mavila, an 83-year-old woman, and her 80-year-old sister were attacked by gangsters with heavy hammers, and Mavila's head was smashed into pieces. A month later, the night rambler raped a 6-year-old girl. A day later, 32-year-old Patty was found dead at home, and her throat was cut with a sharp knife. On August 5, 60-year-old Dudley was beaten by the murderer with an iron. ...

Satan's disciples

1985 In the short five months from March to August 30th, 17, he committed crimes frequently, with victims ranging from 6-year-old girls to 69-year-old people, and the number of victims was as high as 14.

Under the influence of devil worship, Ramirez gradually entered a crazy mental state. According to his own confession after the murder, after the murder, he will play the records of his favorite "AC/DC" band in the victim's room, and slowly draw Satan's signs around him while eating.

Erickson, the victim who survived Ramirez's clutches, said that Ramirez raped her and forced her to swear to love Satan, and was "obligated" to give oral sex to Ramirez, a follower of Satan. Eriksson is one of the few victims who was not brutally killed by Ramirez, and almost all the other survivors were rescued when their lives were dying.

The murdered China.

Ramirez was convicted of 65,438+03 murders, including 65,438+0985. Tsai-Lian Yu, an immigrant from Taiwan Province Province, was shot dead in the street after visiting friends in Monterey Park late at night.

Yu Cailian, who worked as a compiler for a Chinese newspaper in Mongolia, was dragged out of her car and fired several shots at 600 Alhambra Street in 1985 on March 7. She was only 30 years old and died on the way to the hospital for emergency treatment.

But Ramirez killed more than 13 people. Two years after his arrest, the San Francisco police conducted a DNA comparison and found that he was also involved in the murder of a 9-year-old Chinese girl Mei on April 1984. She was killed in the basement of a family hotel in Tiandelong, San Francisco. Ramirez stayed in a nearby hotel. She may be the first victim to be poisoned by Ramirez.

Devil worship

Individual media and experts believe that Ramirez is so vicious because of genetic problems-his parents were exposed to atomic radiation in Mexico, and his mother immigrated to the United States and worked in a chemical plant for a long time after she became pregnant with Ramirez; It is precisely because of the dual effects of nuclear radiation and chemical toxins that his genes are inherently violent. The studio thinks this kind of evidence is far-fetched, obviously irresponsible, and may even be racial discrimination against Latin American immigrants.

I don't know when Ramirez's devil worship psychology began, but there is no doubt that this distorted belief runs through his life (even when he was tried in court, Ramirez shouted: "Long live Satan!" " )), people who worship the devil so much will inevitably not be recognized and accepted by society. Perhaps it is precisely because he thinks he has become a member of the "devil family" that Ramirez, as a Latin American immigrant, began to hate "Americans" or "Americans" (the discrimination against the disadvantaged groups such as blacks and immigrants in American society is probably also an important objective influencing factor. )。

Ramirez once said, "You don't know me, and you don't want to do this." . The catalyst for Ramirez's transformation from "hatred" to "killing" is his youth "idol"-his cousin Mike; Mike is a veteran returning from Vietnam War and a member of the Green Beret. Mike often takes Ramirez to take drugs and talks to him about the cruel scenes of war. Until one day, when Mike's wife complained about these two idlers, Mike shot his wife in the face in front of Ramirez, and blood splashed on Ramirez's face. At this moment, life seems so insignificant and fragile, which has brought great shock to his young mind.

Arrested after beating

Ramirez is a big fan of Australian heavy metal band AC/DC. His favorite song is Nightcrawler. Perhaps he felt that the content of this song seemed to be a beautification or even a compliment to his behavior at that time. Unfortunately, his "thief" didn't get away with it as calmly and smartly as in the lyrics:1On August 30, 985, Ramirez tried to steal the car, but he didn't attract attention.

Pi Nuo, the owner of the car, is lying under the car to repair it. When Pi Nuo heard that his car had started, he immediately jumped out from under the chassis and grabbed Ramirez by the neck. Ramirez blushed because of suffocation, but still did not forget to threaten him: "I have a gun!" " Pi Nuo, 56, doesn't care because "no one can take my car!" Ramirez tried to drive away from Pi Nuo, but the fearless owner didn't let him succeed: the car he was driving first knocked down a fence and then plunged into the garage. Then Pi Nuo opened the door, dragged Ramirez out and threw him into the street.

At this time, Ramirez climbed a few meters on the ground and got up and ran away. After crossing a street, he tried to rob the Ford car of 28-year-old Angelina Della Torres again. He loudly threatened the Spanish woman to hand over her car keys immediately, or he would kill her. Torres' scream for help was immediately answered-her husband, Manuel, 32, picked up some iron bars for the fence, rushed out of the backyard and hit Ramirez in the back with an iron bar.

Ramirez was completely shocked by the sudden continuous and powerful counterattack, and he ran to another street. At this time, the "thief" realized that he had become a street rat, not only Manuel, who was in hot pursuit, but also Jamie Bourgau (2 1 year-old) and his younger brother Julio Bourgau (17-year-old) who came to help with boxing. After running exhausted, Ramirez turned to prepare to fight with the trapped animals, but this time he was no longer facing a helpless and vulnerable victim-yes, his pursuers had recognized him as a serial murderer wanted by the police, and this time, Ramirez was facing a group of angry people.

Then the action scenes that should be "thrilling" are actually very short. Ramirez was knocked to the ground and had little chance to fight back. In fact, when the police arrived at the scene, Ramirez lying on the ground was already in a semi-coma state. He admitted that he was a wanted murderer and asked the patrolman for protection. The "night hunter" who once frightened the whole west coast of the United States fell at the feet of indignant people. Compared with his previous rampant murder and robbery, Ramirez's embarrassing situation when he was arrested can be said to be almost ridiculous-he may have just realized that in fact, the consequences of violating public anger are more terrible than breaking the law.

sentence

Subsequently, the investigation and trial of Ramirez lasted four years. Although his lawyer repeatedly delayed the trial process through defense appeals, on September 20, 1989, the Los Angeles City Court made a judgment: Ramirez was convicted of 43 counts, including theft, rape, sodomy ... and 13 counts of murder; He was sentenced to death.

According to media reports, Ramirez didn't want his lawyer to ask the court to exempt him from the death penalty, but after being sentenced to death, he was embarrassed again: "It's nothing, everyone will die, see you at Disneyland!" "You don't know me, you don't want to do this, and you don't have the ability. I am beyond your knowledge, and my behavior is beyond the scope of holiness and evil. I don't believe in the hypocrisy of so-called civilized society and Taoist dogma. I don't want to see liars, haters, killers, liars and cowardly bigots in court-these bugs on earth, everyone has their own standards. Your thoughts make me sick, hypocrite. We can all be sacrificed for some reason, and no one knows what the open or secret policy is. All the governments in the world will kill you in the name of the country or God … I want revenge! The devil is hidden in each of us. "

Waiting for the death penalty for 24 years

The persistence of the family members of the deceased and the constant reminders of literary works such as movies and novels keep those bloody and reflective cases from being forgotten. Many unsolved cases become unsolved because sometimes even if they go to court, they know that the person in front of them is the murderer, but because of the lack of key evidence, it is difficult for the murderer to get the expected severe punishment.

Just like Ramirez lived in cecil hotel the year he was arrested. The man who was convicted of 43 counts of theft and rape and sentenced to death on 1989 is still in prison. What is the reason?

Jury: To be fair, postpone the trial.

Since 1985 was arrested, Ramirez's story seems to have just begun. Since then, a long process of evidence collection and trial has begun. Ramirez's family hired two lawyers, Daniel and arturo, to defend Ramirez. Two lawyers have been trying to delay the trial.

Lawyers told the prosecution that they needed time to sort out, visit the crime scene and sort out the evidence; At the same time, because all middle-class families in Los Angeles are immersed in the fear of "midnight stalkers", the jury may be strongly encouraged and Ramirez will not face a fair trial.

By February 1988, the case had been delayed for half a year. At this time, the lawyer said that he had discovered many felonies of Ramirez and applied to the Los Angeles court to investigate Ramirez's case again. The prosecution applied for dismissal on the grounds that "it is meaningless to increase the burden on the police", but the Supreme Court did not listen to the prosecution's request. In this way, the case dragged on until July 22nd. 1988. Because Ramirez himself refused to check whether he was insane or guilty, the trial had a chance.

Evidence: The lack of key evidence makes it difficult to solve the case.

When Ramirez's case entered the trial stage, the case had cost 1 more than ten thousand dollars, and even 1 witnesses had died.

The two lawyers continued to stall for time because of the jury's prejudice against Ramirez, which was rejected by the Los Angeles prosecutor Philip Hepling, who thought that their reiterated demands were simply incomprehensible. However, Chaplin also admitted that this was the "most complicated criminal case" he had ever experienced. At that time, he had nearly 1000 potential witnesses and hundreds of pages of statements, reports and photos. In the trial of1989 April 14, even 137 witnesses were used to simulate 52 1 scenes, which still remained unsolved. There are even witnesses who doubt whether others were mistaken for Ramirez's situation at that time.

The evidence presented in the trial came from different crime scenes: a car with Ramirez's fingerprint, Ramirez's fingerprint extracted from the victim's thigh and so on. , are important evidence of serial cases.

Officer Thomas said that during the interrogation, Ramirez said, "Of course I did, so what? Kill me, "but his defense lawyer said that the police had no records at that time, so there was no evidence that could be used as tangible evidence.

The prosecutor in Los Angeles also admitted that the evidence provided by the prosecutor was "uncertain" and "flawed". They said that unidentified hair and blood samples were also found at various crime scenes, which did not belong to Ramirez or the victims. At the same time, the prosecution also said that Ramirez's father's testimony showed that Ramirez was at least in a city in Texas around1May 24, 985, and a rape victim claimed that he was raped by Ramirez in Los Angeles during this time. At the same time, the prosecution lawyer found that when the witness testified against the suspect, a policeman secretly pointed out to the witness where Ramirez was standing. The lack of key evidence is also the reason for the delay in this case.

Waiting for the death penalty, still waiting in line

19891010.3, the jury finally made a seemingly innocent verdict. Ramirez was found guilty and should be executed. After learning the news, Ramirez said indifferently, "Death doesn't scare me. I will go to hell and be with Satan. " He even told reporters, "I will wait for you at Disney World."

By 1989 1 1.9, Ramirez had been officially declared executed 19 times. He consulted with his lawyer, and finally he said his "famous saying": "I am beyond your cognition, and my behavior is beyond the category of sacredness and evil. I don't believe in the hypocrisy of so-called civilized society and the dogma of Taoism. "

However, on the way to death, there is still a long "procedure" waiting for Ramirez. Generally speaking, there is a necessary procedure for a condemned prisoner to request pardon, and the warden has the right to exempt him from death penalty. Ramirez was lucky enough to be transferred to San Quentin Prison, a "prison for the living dead" in California. San Quentin Prison is the only prison in California that executes prisoners. The number of executions each year is limited, and prisoners sentenced to death need to wait in line for execution. According to the Daily Mail, some death row inmates died of natural causes in prison before being executed.

Supporters: Married to crazy fans, protected by human rights institutions.

According to a survey of 300 people when Ramirez was arrested, more than 93% of the respondents said they had heard of Ramirez, and most people thought he was guilty. But strangely, a large number of "female fans" of Ramirez gathered outside a hearing held in 1987. Some of these people firmly believe that Ramirez is innocent, while others simply think that he is handsome and cute.

It is even mentioned in a biography about him that a woman with an IQ as high as 152 wrote 75 courtship letters to Ramirez after 1985 was arrested. Ramirez finally decided to marry her. 1996, 36-year-old Ramirez and 4/kloc-0-year-old Leo completed the wedding ceremony in San Quentin prison. This marriage is also continuing Ramirez's life, and it seems that it will end soon. At the appeal of human rights and women's protection agencies, the government postponed the execution of Ramirez almost indefinitely. To this day, Ramirez's lawyer has persistently appealed to Leo not to become a widow, and it is for this reason that Ramirez's chances of living have greatly increased.

Death in prison

The so-called good and evil will eventually be rewarded. Nightcrawler, the most notorious serial killer of Satan worship in American history, died of liver failure in a hospital in California on the morning of the 7th.