Expendable For A Cause.

By Venning

On July 7, 1985, Sophie Dickman was raped and robbed in Monterey Park by a man with a gun and soft curly brown hair. But her case, like many others in the Night Stalker investigation, raises disturbing questions, not only about the suspect’s identity, but about eyewitness unreliability, investigative overreach, and prosecutorial inconsistency. Was Richard Ramirez really her attacker? The evidence, when examined closely, tells a much murkier story.

Why the Dickman Case Was Linked to the Serial Killer

At the time of Sophie Dickman’s attack, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was grappling with what appeared to be a serial killer spree. On May 30, Mabel Bell and Florence Lange were bludgeoned in Monrovia (Bell died on June 15). On June 28, Patty Higgins had her throat slashed in Arcadia. Then, on July 2, Mary Cannon was stabbed and bludgeoned – also in Arcadia. On July 5, Whitney Bennett was beaten and strangled in Sierra Madre but survived. Finally, on July 7, Joyce Nelson was bludgeoned and strangled in her home – just one mile from where Sophie Dickman was raped the same night.

Linda Arthur, an LASD Deputy and crime scene analyst, lived opposite Sophie Dickman (Arthur was featured in the Netflix documentary). She alerted Detective Gil Carrillo to the crime scene, even though it was out of LASD jurisdiction – Monterey Park has its own police department who attended the Dickman crime.

Arthur believed that this rape was somehow to do with the “Valley Intruder” – as the Night Stalker was known back then. Her reasoning, given in City in Fear: Night Stalker (a documentary for MSNBC), was that the rapist “drove away.” She also cited feelings and vibes as opposed to evidence. Arthur was one of the few investigators that believed in Carrillo’s serial killer hypothesis – other detectives did not yet accept that there was one serial killer.

Yet linking Dickman’s case to the spree made little sense. It was not a homicide, and at that point, there had been only one comparable rape-robbery: the Carol Kyle case in Burbank. But Kyle’s assault hadn’t yet been tied to the Night Stalker series, and it wasn’t even known to LASD – Burbank Police were handling it separately, and it wouldn’t be folded into the serial narrative until late August.

Despite this, both the Monterey Park Police and LASD quickly listed Dickman as a possible victim of the serial killer. The press followed suit, reporting her assault as part of the growing Night Stalker crime wave.

An Eyewitness Under Pressure?

The Night Stalker underwent one of his many metamorphoses in the Dickman case. She told Monterey Park officer William Costleigh that her attacker was white, aged about 27 and stood at 5’8″ or 5’9″ tall. He had brown curly hair that curled in a “soft” and “natural” way (this was the era of the perm). Below is an image of her crime report, from a supporting document to Ramirez’s 2008 federal habeas corpus.

Sophie Dickman was also interviewed by Monterey Park Detective David Corrigan. He helped her to prepare a composite sketch which reaffirmed the rapist’s height as 5’8″-5’9″. This information was printed on flyers and disseminated at a neighbourhood watch meeting in Monterey Park on July 11, 1985. Below is the composite drawing dated July 7:

The newspapers, using information given by the police, claimed that the Sophie Dickman composite sketch also portrayed the Joyce Nelson killer, ergo, he was the serial killer. In the newspaper clipping below, note that the suspect’s height is given as “about six feet tall” instead of 5’8-9″.

Background Context:

There is a reason that the height changed. While looking for clues in other crimes throughout Los Angeles and the county, Detective Carrillo had seen a June 15 teletype from a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) traffic stop involving a runaway suspect driving a stolen vehicle. The suspect’s description seemed to fit the man Carrillo was pursuing.

Firstly, there had been a child abduction not far from the traffic incident and Carrillo believed that the serial killer was also responsible for multiple kidnappings, so marked this driver as a person of interest. The child abduction aspect of the Night Stalker case is covered in other articles and will not be discussed here.

Secondly, the driver had drawn a pentagram in the dirt on the car’s hood. The most recent murder before the traffic stop was Bell and Lang (May 30) – where pentagrams were drawn at the crime scene.

Behind the scenes, LASD detectives asked the LAPD to hold the car for prints but it was parked in an outdoor impound and the prints melted away in the sun. However, a dental appointment card was discovered, leading them to a dental surgery. The dentist told police that his patient was a tall, thin Hispanic man with curly hair and severe tooth decay and went by the name “Richard Mena.”

The detectives did not know this yet, but Richard Mena was Richard Ramirez. They discovered this around July 9th. So, when Sophie Dickman’s rape and Joyce Nelson’s murder hit the news, police told the media that the killer was around 6 feet tall. Richard Ramirez was 6’1″.

The most interesting thing about this is that before July 7, no victim had described a suspect who looked like Richard Mena, aka Richard Ramirez. That is another aspect that is discussed in other articles.

Cross-Examination of the Height:

At trial, under cross examination by Ramirez’s attorneys, Sophie Dickman denied telling Costleigh that the suspect was 5’8″-5’9″. She insisted that she had said the rapist was 6’1″ – Ramirez’s height.

“She later testified that she had described his height to the police as 6′ or 6’1”.

_{– Petition, pg. 396.}

The problem is, she gave the same description to Detective Corrigan when making the composite sketch. Dickman was asked if her 5’8″ description was on the flyers that Corrigan distributed around Monterey Park’s neighbourhood watch meeting. She claimed she could not remember. It was then revealed that Dickman previously admitted at the preliminary hearing that her original 5’8″ description was on the flyer. According to Philip Carlo’s, Ramirez’s biographer, she became snappy and said, “Well, I don’t remember telling you that, but if I did, I did.” (Carlo, pg. 311).

Carlo alleges that Detective Carrillo and his partner Sergeant Frank Salerno were anxious for her to leave the witness stand because she was such a poor eyewitness.

Leading the Witness?

The Monterey Park Police Department allowed Sophie Dickman to be questioned by the Detective Carrillo. He showed her a photo spread of suspects. She chose a man who looked nothing like the curly-haired, short, thin white man in her initial description.

The suspect was Arturo Robles, a 6’0″, broad Mexican man with straight hair. Back in April 1985, Carrillo had already arrested and released Robles in connection with the Dayle Okazaki case – the first alleged Night Stalker attack.

“Police showed Sophie D. the same photographic lineup not including defendant’s photograph that had been shown to Maria Hernandez, and Sophie D. picked out the same person who, as noted above, was apprehended, questioned and released.”

_{– Ramirez’s 2006 Appeal}

It is strange how Carrillo should show both women photos of Arturo Robles and both chose him even though he looked nothing like their respective attackers. This wide variety of suspect descriptions damages Sophie Dickman’s credibility as an eyewitness.

A Rigged Line-up

Sophie Dickman identified Richard Ramirez at a line-up on September 5, 1985. The line-up was proven to be tainted and two Sheriff’s deputies were caught on film signalling to witnesses to pick Suspect Number Two – Richard Ramirez. Here is the video below:

Under cross-examination, Dickman admitted to seeing Richard Ramirez “lots of times” on television multiple times a day, as well as in the papers which could also have contributed to her identifying Ramirez. Yet, like other victims, Maria Hernandez, Carol Kyle, Somkid Khovananth, Sakina Abowath and Virginia Petersen, she did not call the police when she saw her alleged attacker on the news. According to Philip Carlo, Dickman arrogantly stated, “That is their job. They didn’t need any hints from me.”

Ramirez’s 2008 appeal says that Dickman learned she was part of the Night Stalker cases from the news after Ramirez was caught.

“She learned from the news that the Night Stalker was responsible for her attack about five days after the arrest, which was prior to the live line-up.”

_{– Petition, pg. 397.}

The Confusion Surrounding the Rape

Sophie Dickman was sexually injured. She said:

“He was just thrusting and pounding and that was it. He turned me over and tried sodomy … he was thrusting and pounding against the rectal area, except it was more like my tailbone … it felt like I was being torn in two.”

_{– Carlo, pp. 308-309}

Carlo also wrote that prosecutor Halpin asked Dickman if she could tell if the suspect actually penetrated her genital area to which she replied, “I don’t think so. He didn’t have an erection.”

The prosecution did not submit semen evidence from the Dickman case. Carlo wrote that Carrillo and Salerno were surprised because Dickman was swabbed with a rape kit and semen was found. How does a man ejaculate without an erection, much less make a woman feel like she was being torn in two?

The Jewellery Expert?

Reporting on the trial, the Los Angeles Times wrote that Sophie Dickman testified that the rapist was knowledgeable about jewellery.

“The woman, who concluded her testimony Thursday, also said Ramirez was able to instantly distinguish real diamonds from cubic zirconia, the popular imitation diamond.”

_{– Los Angeles Times, 17th March 1989.}

This is in direct contradiction to what Ramirez’s burglary accomplice, Sandra Hotchkiss testified.

“One the first occasion, Hotchkiss bought several rings and chains from Petitioner [Ramirez]. Hotchkiss later bought jewelry from Petitioner at good prices because he was unaware of the weight of the gold or the value of stones.”

^{– Petition, pg. 142.}

Hotchkiss portrayed him in a way that is starkly at variance with the angry, demanding rapist in Dickman’s house. Later, the Petition reveals that Hotchkiss was the one leading Ramirez.

“She picked the homes to be burglarized. According to Hotchkiss, Petitioner [Ramirez] did not know how to identify valuable jewelry.”

^{– Petition pg. 143.}

The Los Angeles Times, observing Sandra Hotchkiss’ testimony reported that:

“Once inside, she said, Ramirez often behaved nervously, going in and out of the house while making a lot of noise. Ramirez was, she said, “too slow” and “just wasn’t smooth,” adding: “He didn’t know jewelry.”

_{– Los Angeles Times, 25th May 1989}

Ramirez often abandoned Hotchkiss during burglaries. Ramirez’s ‘fence’ Felipe Solano also stated that Ramirez knew nothing about jewellery. Both he and Hotchkiss took advantage of his cluelessness (Habeas Corpus petition, pg. 113).

Circumstantial Evidence – Stolen Items

Sophie Dickman identified rings, pins and earrings recovered from Felipe Solano’s homes at the property line-up on September 5, 1985. Solano said that Ramirez sold them to him.

On the surface, this looks compelling but is more complicated than it seems. In court, Felipe Solano’s testimony unravelled, when it was revealed he was protecting multiple criminals – one of these could have committed some of the Night Stalker crimes.

According to Philip Carlo, Sandra Hotchkiss claimed that Solano was beaten up by police until he told them he received the jewellery from Ramirez. Hotchkiss tried to tell the District Attorney, insisting this beating was recorded on tape. The recording was never presented as evidence and the police denied the beating.

Ultimately, the chain of custody of the stolen items was never established, none were recovered from Richard Ramirez and his fingerprints were not found on any of them. At the end of the article, there will be a link to posts explaining the network of burglars in the Night Stalker case.

The Shoes Did Not Match

A major part of the prosecution’s evidence was Avia Aerobics model 445B shoeprints. These were found at seven Night Stalker crime scenes. Avia prints were not found at the Dickman crime scene but they were found at Joyce Nelson’s house on the same night. Dickman said the rapist wore hi-top sneakers in black with a white strip round the side. Avia Aerobics did not come as hi-tops with white strips. Did the Night Stalker change his shoes as well as his modus operandi?

Ultimately, there was no forensic evidence to tie Richard Ramirez to this crime but he was tied with questionable circumstantial evidence. He received the death penalty for the Dickman crime.

Originally written on 27th December 2022.
Updated on 29th May 2025.

Further reading:

Solano – the stolen jewellery aspect.