Crimes that are committed for no apparent reason cause anxiety among people and law enforcement agencies. Richard Ramirez committed nearly two dozen murders before he was found and rendered harmless.
Childhood
Forensic scientists and psychologists have long been looking for signs by which a potential criminal can be identified in advance. There are certain successes in this matter, however, it has not yet been possible to formulate effective methods to prevent unmotivated killings. Richard Ramirez has been killing people he has never met for fifteen years. In most cases, these atrocities were spontaneous or ritualistic. For a long time, the US law enforcement system, with all its technical and organizational capabilities, could not get on the trail of the criminal.
The future sadist and murderer was born on February 29, 1960 in an ordinary American family. The boy turned out to be the fifth, youngest child in the house. Parents at that time lived in the small town of El Paso, Texas. His father, a former policeman, worked on the railroad. The mother was engaged in housekeeping and raising children. The state guardianship authorities knew how large families live without sufficient financial support. The head of the family was distinguished by an unbalanced psyche and often stifled fits of anger with alcohol.
From theft to murder
At an early age, Richard often had epileptic seizures. Only by puberty did the disease recede. At school, the boy studied mediocre. He preferred not to communicate with his classmates. I tried drugs for the first time at the age of ten. After that, Ramirez's interest in studying disappeared completely. He couldn't even get a secondary education. I dropped out of school and started spending most of my time on the street. To get money for cigarettes and Coca-Cola, the teenager became involved in shoplifting.
A seventeen-year-old thief was arrested for possession of marijuana. However, the case did not come to court. When Ramirez turned 18, he decided to move to the famous city of San Francisco. For several years he shuttled between California and his hometown. There was a chronic shortage of money for drugs and Richard began to rob houses and apartments. The first victim of a drug addict was an eighty-year old woman. He cut her throat and took her money and jewelry. In the biography of the serial killer, it is noted that he quickly got used to the sight and smell of blood.
Arrest and privacy
The police's titanic efforts were crowned with success. In August 1985, the bloody career of the maniac was interrupted. He was arrested while visiting a store. The people who identified Ramirez from photographs nearly tore him to pieces. The police officers who arrived at the place of detention saved the criminal from the just wrath of those around him.
In September 1989, a jury found Ramirez in 13 murders and 43 serious crimes. The verdict is the death penalty. Richard spent many years on death row. Within the walls of the prison, he married one of his fans. Husband and wife could only meet in the visiting room. The prisoner died in June 2013 from kidney failure.
