Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez, known as
Richard Ramirez (February 29, 1960 – June 7, 2013), was an American
serial killer,
rapist, and
burglar. His highly publicized
home invasion crime spree terrorized the residents of the greater
Los Angeles area, and later the residents of the
San Francisco area, from June 1984 until August 1985. Prior to his capture, Ramirez was dubbed the "
Night Stalker" by the
news media. He used a wide variety of weapons, including
handguns,
knives, a
machete, a
tire iron, and a
hammer. Ramirez, who was an avowed
Satanist, never expressed any remorse for his crimes. The judge who upheld his thirteen
death sentences remarked that Ramirez's deeds exhibited "cruelty, callousness, and viciousness beyond any human understanding". Ramirez died of complications from
B-cell lymphoma while awaiting execution on
California's
death row.