“Rarely do we find people who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On February 29, 1960, at 2:07 a.m., at Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso, Texas, a dark-haired, dark-eyed baby boy entered the world at a healthy 9 pounds, 6 ounces. Ricardo Munoz, as he would be called, was the fifth and youngest child of Julian and Mercedes Ramirez.
* Richard was reportedly born on the 29th of February; however, all legal documents give his date of birth as February 28th.
Richard, affectionately known to his family as Richie, grew up in a close-knit bilingual home and was doted upon by his big sister, Rosa. By all reports, he was a happy, healthy baby and toddler. He loved music and dancing, so much so that at the age of two, he climbed on a dresser to reach a radio, and the dresser fell on top of him, causing a large cut to his head and a concussion. This would be the first of several head injuries Richard would sustain as a child and an adolescent.
from Mercedes Ramirez’ 2008 statement in the federal petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Timeline of head injuries
When he was five, Richard was at a local park and walked in front of a swing, was hit, and knocked unconscious.
At the age of ten, Richard suffered a blow to the head while playing in a football game. He was diagnosed as having a concussion. After this, Richard spent five days in the hospital for tests related to “fainting spells.” At this time, he also had an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG), which indicates abnormal brain electrical activity.
Age 12: Richard underwent another EEG, which was abnormal. He was diagnosed with epilepsy. He began medical treatment for a seizure disorder and was prescribed the anti-seizure medication phenobarbital.
Age 14: Richard fell from a moving train and was knocked unconscious; The fall exacerbated the ongoing headaches he was already experiencing.
Age 18: Richard was thrown from a horse and admitted to the hospital for broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a head injury.
Age 19: Richard got into a fight while employed at the Holiday Inn. He received severe injuries to his face and head. His eyes were swollen shut.
Age 25: Richard suffered the coup de grace of all head injuries when the thugs that chased him down the day he was arrested, repeatedly beat him over the head with a metal pipe causing more brain trauma and necessitating multiple stitches to his head.
It’s quite clear from Richard’s history he suffered several brain injuries, all during a time in which the human brain undergoes significant development. As a direct result of the brain injuries, Richard started having seizures at the age of ten. The seizures would have a direct impact on his functioning.
The phenobarbital Richard was prescribed at the age of 12 to control the seizures had several adverse effects, such as nausea, vomiting, confusion, dizziness, irritability, depression, severe drowsiness, and sedation. In the 1970s, there weren’t as many treatment options for seizure disorders as there are today. Still, there were others with fewer adverse effects, so we aren’t sure why phenobarbital was selected for Richard. Phenobarbital is no longer used as a first-line seizure treatment because of its adverse effects.
The phenobarbital caused Richard to have difficulty staying awake at school, affected his ability to complete schoolwork and prevented him from playing football. Around the age of 13, Richard stopped taking the phenobarbital because of the side effects and began to experiment with drugs, specifically marijuana. His drug usage started as a means to self-medicate symptoms of the seizure disorder. Richard would later say marijuana helped alleviate the headaches and insomnia he experienced.
Before the onset of seizures, Richard had been a good student and did not get in trouble at home or school. He had a good attendance record and received good grades. It was after the seizure disorder began that Richard began to struggle both in school and at home. With the onset of seizures began a constellation of symptoms that Richard would suffer with for the rest of his life
from Mercedes Ramirez’ 2008 statement in the federal petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Many years later, after his arrest as the alleged Night Stalker, Richard was examined by multiple specialists that determined he suffered from a seizure disorder specifically known as temporal lobe epilepsy. This seizure disorder contributed to many of the symptoms Richard experienced since he was a child and a teenager, such as headaches, insomnia, and depression.
Statement from Marilyn Cornell, in the 2008 federal petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Brief overview of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)
During both normal awake and sleep states, our brain cells produce electrical activity. If the electrical activity in many brain cells becomes unsynchronized, a seizure can occur. If this happens in one area of the brain, it’s called a “focal seizure.” A temporal lobe seizure is a “focal seizure” that originates in the temporal lobe area of the brain. There are many causes of temporal lobe seizures and one of those causes is traumatic brain injuries. Temporal lobe epilepsy can cause many neurological and psychological complications.
from Rosa Ramirez’ 2008 statement in the federal petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
Symptoms of TLE
Anxiety
Depression
Memory impairments
Vivid hallucinations
Hyper-religiosity
Blank stare or “staring into space.”
Compulsions
Headaches
Insomnia
Paranoia
Fetishes
After Richard started having seizures, he experienced every one of these symptoms at some point in his life.
Several of the problems Richard experienced in his life were directly or indirectly a result of the untreated/improperly treated seizure disorder he experienced. The seizures not only caused physical ailments, like headaches and insomnia, but they also caused many other issues, such as depression, anxiety, paranoia, and delusional thinking. As a result, Richard began using drugs for relief. In other words, he “self-medicated.”
After moving to California at 19, Richard began using cocaine. Cocaine is highly addictive and causes stimulation of the central nervous system. As such, it will cause the user to experience an elevated mood. Given Richard’s history of depression (this will be discussed in a future article), it makes sense that this would become the drug he abused the most throughout his life. He was attempting to alleviate the depression symptoms through the use of cocaine and became addicted. No, I am not making excuses for Richard’s drug use but merely trying to show that he began using drugs to treat physical and emotional pain (this will also be addressed in future articles).
“Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experiences. A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors.”
“After moving to California at 19, Richard began using cocaine. ”
I have a question regarding his cocaine addiction. I don’t really know where to post it, so I try it here . Several of Richard’s ‘friends’ said that he started to inject cocaine in the 80s, that he needed cocaine for 500 $ a day etc. Then, I believe it was in Carlo’s book, was said that he had stopped taking cocaine (on his own, which would be really hard if not almost impossible for the most of the addicts). Then there is this mugshot from his arrest, where you can see his naked upper body including his arms. The quality of the foto Is not the best… So, can we see any fresh needle marks in this foto? Shouldn’t his arms be full of fresh needle marks if he was a heavy cocaine consumer? Did he stop taking cocaine? Did he just stop injecting it? If he stopped taking it, why was he anyway messed up enough to commit all the horrible crimes, they claim he committed? Why did he still need so much money and had to do a lot of burglaries? His situation should have become better, but apparently got only worse. I really don’t understand all that. Do you have more/more specific information about his drug use in 1985? He was in jail in December 1984/January 1985. Maybe he couldn’t get drugs in jail and that helped him to stop. But if that was the case , than all that “fueled by cocaine while commiting the crimes” wouldn’t make sense.
On the photo that shows a close-up of his wrist/hand injury, you can see some little scabs, which I thought could have been needle marks. But yeah I don’t think he’d be able to quit easily at all; if someone is self-medicating, they’d need to solve their other issues as well as weaning themselves off drugs and most can’t do that without some intervention, but yeah I heard that too.
What I don’t understand is that he allegedly stole $30,000 in Thai jewellery from Somkid Khovananth, yet just a month later he’s begging Felipe Solano for $1,000. No way did he blow $30k on coke! But no, we don’t have more information. It’s a mystery area. I know he was doing ‘speed balls’ in the summer on 1984 though, according to Eva Castillo.
I really don’t know what to think about Richards drug use in 1985. Richard had kind of a strong will. (“If he wanted to do something, he did it.”) So, maybe he really succeeded in quitting taking drugs (or at least cocaine). But then, why all the crimes anyway? And he looked really messed up the day of his capture. Regarding the $30.000: Who knows, which was the real worth of the jewelry since it came from her brother (if I remember it correctly) who was a jeweler himself. Maybe they exaggerated a bit. Then, if you steal jewelry you get only a small percentage of the real worth. And Richard wasn’t good at making prices. Let’s say he got only 10% of the $30 k., that would be $3.000, an amount that can be spent easily on cocaine in a few days. That’sthe problem with cocaine.. If you take heroin for example you are high for a while (maybe you even fall asleep or you can’t even move) and after that you feel quite normal for another while. The effect of cocaine lasts only for a few minutes and after that you fall into “a hole” and feel bad. So you want the next dose within an hour or so. And if you invite someone because you don’t want to get high alone, your money is gone even faster.
Many people reported Richard as being a loner. I doubt he really cared about doing cocaine alone. But maybe I am wrong. He doesn’t appear as someone who is high on cocaine would on the day of his arrest. Or as someone who just came off a high. So, I am not sure what you mean by the statement “he looked really messed up the day of his capture.” He certainly was a mess in that he had spent an entire night on a bus, probably couldn’t sleep either. Then he saw his picture on the front page of the newspaper and started running for his life. Then he was beaten over the head. By the time we see him, he’s been running for miles, he’s sleep deprived, food-deprived, sweaty, and bleeding.
I meant generally in a bad condition. Very skinny, almost emaciated, very nervous etc. sure, also because of the stress of the hours before his arrest, but not only because of that. It looked as if he had a hard time fore weeks or months. (which he of course had while living on the streets) He looked way better in December 1984 and he looked way better after some month in jail (in 1986 and later) That’s what I meant.
Regarding getting high with someone… Yes, he always stated he was a loner, but that’s only partially true. He always did hang out with other people. Like the Greggs and Armando in SF or Eva Castillo, Cuba and the other guys around Solano in LA.. He also took drugs with his brother, smoked marijuana with his sister and other people in El Paso. That loner-thing was more about the quality of his relationships, not about their quantity. He knew really a lot of people, wherever he lived. I also thought of getting high with some women maybe (prostitutes or other drug addicts)
I agree, he looked vastly different than the 84 mugshot, Rosa said she struggled to recognise him, so there was deterioration.
He did seem to be constantly around others, perhaps he struggled with some kind of social awkwardness, but he was hanging out with a lot of different people, for sure.
He and Patricia Kassfy seem to have had a comfortable relationship, in particular.
Yeah there is a distinct difference between that Dec 1984 image and his arrest footage. His face is hollow and bonier than before and Donna Myers said he was worried about his weight loss. Even Rosa and Ignacio said they didn’t recognise him because he’d changed so much.
According to Carlo, Sandra Hotchkiss said he lived with two lesbians. All three of them could have done drugs with him. We know Eva did.
I have this feeling he was trying to fix himself somewhat, as he must have known he was slipping into ‘trouble’ with drugs, with all those supplements he had in his bag, and trying to get his teeth sorted.
He may have gotten “high” with others. He also seems to have spent a lot of time alone, if we can believe the reports of his acquaintances. It seems he had a few people here and there in the places he went to that he associated with. I wouldn’t call him emaciated. He was certainly thin when he was arrested.
Amongst his possessions in that bag was a bottle of goldenseal capsules. Goldenseal has a lot of uses, including antibacterial, respiratory problems, sore gums, etc, but some studies have shown it can detoxify the liver, whilst other studies say it can mask the effect of some drugs. I wonder why Richard had it, it could have been for many reasons but I always wonder what he was specifically taking it for.
When I mentioned the jewellery, I was of course being hypothetical. I’m not of the belief he committed these crimes. For that case as a standalone, I need more evidence than “The victim said curly hair and stained teeth” and a strangely placed shoe print!
Same here. There are so many inconsistencies in this case, the constant embellishments, fabrications, and it is has to be completely obvious to anyone who’s looked into it that what happened in 89 was a travesty. That was a show trial and nothing more, they struck gold because he had the worst defence team in history. A rich guy would have hired lawyers that would have blown that case to pieces. There are too many question marks over that “evidence”.
Great question and another mystery. We don’t have much specific information about his drug use. He did tell Carlo in the interviews that he had used cocaine, but there weren’t any details. I agree that if Richard was using cocaine heavily at the time of his arrest he would have had fresh needle marks on his arms. There’s a news article interview in the San Francisco Examiner with a guy who stayed at the Cecil during the same time period Richard did in 1985. He stated he could often smell marijuana coming from Richard’s room. So it’s likely he was smoking marijuna during this time period also. This would have definitely been a cheap drug for him to get. However, it wouldn’t have the same effects that cocaine would. Cocaine is a drug that people with a lot of money use because it’s too costly for those who have limited financial means. Richard definitely self-medicated and quitting cocaine or any drug like that is difficult without support. But it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I’ve met people through my job that have quit various drugs without formal support programs. I’ve always found his body language in the short clips of him in court shortly after his arrest interesting. He does not appear as someone who is withdrawing from cocaine would. He seems anxious, fidgety, and “all over the place.” Because cocaine is a stimulant, you would see the opposite when someone is withdrawing from it, they are lethargic, very tired, withdrawn, and in a “slump”. I’ve read in various places that Richard had symptoms of anxiety. If that’s the case, then marijuana may have had a soothing effect on him and helped decrease anxiety. This would make sense since he was very anxious appearing in those early court appearances.
Yes, I totally agree and partially had the sam thoughts. But doesn’t marijuana make you lazy and peaceful somehow? I “knew” only one cocaine addict, who also lived on the streets. He was a really smart guy, but totally nervous, jumpy and paranoid. He was always like that, I couldn’t say if he was high or not (only by his pupils maybe). But I didn’t know him well, just met him now and then on the streets or at a center with social workers etc for drug addicts (where I visited another person with drug problems). I really don’t get it. That was also what made me start my research. If I looked at Richard I just couldn’t imagine him doing all the horrific things that the Night Stalker had done. I thought: Ok, maybe when he was under the influence of certain drugs… But which drugs if not cocaine?
Is that why you started? I was going to ask you. For me it was finding a news article from March 85 that said all the child victims had indecently described a guy of approx 5ft9 with dirty blonde hair. That’s what started it, because nothing made sense.
If you would see my first boyfriend or even the singer I had a (totally innocent) crush on, when I was 9 years old, you’d understand. He is so perfectly my type, if I had met him in 1984/1985 I would have “followed him everywhere”. My alarm bells didn’t ring at all. And they ring often if I come across someone who could put me into trouble (and especially when someone is violent or has violent tendencies). So I had to admit to myself that I’d have dated a(n alleged?) serial killer. That of course somehow shocked me. How is that possible? I’m not hybristophile. That’s why I started my research. But it wasn’t only about his looks, he also said some things in his interviews that made me believe that we have similar views on the world regarding some things (and I’m not talking about violence or drugs or crimes, it’s about philosophy somehow and, no, not about Satan either 🙂 ) But although he was my type, I wouldn’t have been blind. If I’d have noticed that he had a drug problem I’d have kept my distance, because I know that I can’t deal with that.
It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? I wanted to know (back then) “What the f*ck happened to you? How did you end up there?”
The research took me in directions I never expected, and I happen to agree with Richard when he told Randall Martin that it was all “politics”.
The title of my tumblr blog was “Black mirror” . That’s what Richard had become to me. He somehow showed me the world and the people around him or around myself with whom I talked about him, like in a pretty clear, but black mirror. That mirror just showed the darker sides of people or of our society pretty clear. If that makes sense.
I will never forget the beginning of my search for the truth. It all began with Covid and a “Very Scary People” marathon that left me saying ” WTF” and where’s the rest of the story.
RE: Weed, yes that’s what I’ve heard. When I was a student, I lived with an addict who experimented with many drugs. He was jumpy, agitated, paranoid. He mostly smoked weed, but did cocaine, mushrooms and mescaline and would act quite bizarre but I never felt unsafe around him, he would trip peacefully. I see Ramirez as sort of the same type of person; a harmless stoner who experimented with hallucinogens. Someone with mental issues who self medicated. The guy I knew eventually committed suicide.
That’s sad. But, yes, suicide, not homicide. And regarding Richard, as you (or rather Jay) said in the Man-Child post, nobody really feared him when he was in jail/prison. He wasn’t violent or physically threatening. He was much more subtile when he wanted to scare someone (away). If you think of the crime scene pics he had and he just said “There is blood behind the Night Stalker”. It worked and it wasn’t incriminating either because he didn’t talk in first person. That’s quit smart in my opinion.
Marijuana does make some people lazy but for people it just decreases their anxiety. There are also cases where marijuana has caused psychosis in some people.
Expendable For A Cause. 
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