Born in El Paso, Texas on February 28, 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer. The youngest of seven children born to Mercedes and Julian Ramirez. Richard was known for the “Night Stalker.” Ramirez would break into Californian homes, raping and tortured more than twenty five victims, and killing at least thirteen, over a two year rampage. Richard had a troubled childhood by spending all his time with his cousin Michael. Michael was a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed killing and raping the Vietnamese women for his entertainment. Michael showed him photographs of himself raping a Vietnamese woman. The last picture was the same rape victims severed head, held by Michael in his hand. Later Michael taught him how to hold and shoot a gun. One day, Michael got in a fight with his girlfriend and he ended up killing her. Richard saw the whole thing and Michael was sent to jail for seven years. Ramirez's criminal record began in 1977, when he was placed in juvenile detention for a string of petty crimes. He also received a probationary sentence in 1982 for marijuana possession. He soon moved to San Francisco, California, and then to Los Angeles, progressing to cocaine addiction and burglary, and cultivating an interest in weapons and Satanism. While in California his criminal record became increasing by time, from being a rapist person to killing people he sometimes didn’t even know. Theft turned to violence in 1984. Ramirez's first known murder took place on June 28, 1984; his victim was 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, who was viciously sexually assaulted, stabbed and murdered during a burglary in her own home. What followed was a spree of brutal murders, rapes and robberies, leaving more than 25 victims in its wake. Ramirez's second known killing occurred nearly nine months after his first. On March 17, 1985, he attacked Angela Barrios, who managed to escape him, and then killed her flatmate, Dayle Okazaki. Not satisfied with these assaults, he also shot and killed Tsai Lian Yu the same evening, spurring a media frenzy that saw Ramirez dubbed the "Valley Intruder" by the press. A full-scale police operation yielded no concrete results, and Ramirez repeated his attack pattern on pensioners William and Lillie Doi in April 1985. Over the next two months, his murder rate escalated rapidly, claiming another dozen victims in a frenzy of burglary, assault and brutal violence, complete with satanic rituals, and driving Los Angeles into a panic. Ramirez's next and final attack, on August 24, 1985, led to the identification of his stolen car by the victim four days later. After a televised appeal, the car was found, complete with his fingerprints inside, and his criminal record enabled the police to finally put a name to the "Night Stalker." National television and print media coverage, featuring his prison photo, along with a series of clues from witnesses and survivors, led to Ramirez's capture the very next day, after he was badly beaten by East L.A. residents while attempting a carjacking and police were called to the scene. Following a four-year trial, in 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 killings. He received the death penalty and was sent to San Quentin Prison in California. He died on June 7, 2013, at age 53.