Tag: Richard Ramírez
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Ballistics Bollocks?
“In one response to a basic question about what the defendant does during the trial, Mr. Ramirez’s irrationality leaks through: “Sit and watch the whole facade – the stupidness of it. You have lay persons giving legal jargon that they don’t go to school for even and pretend to do scientific stuff.” When I asked to whom he…
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A Web of Informants: Part 5. Eva Castillo
Eva Castillo was named by Manuel Hechavarria (Cuba). He guided detectives to her last known residence but she was not there – she had been arrested for burglary in September 1984 and was in prison, using the alias Rosa Solis. When detectives interviewed Castillo in prison, she admitted to committing burglary with Cuba and someone…
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Family Matters – Part Two
Note: Richard’s early years have been covered here, detailing his various head injuries, physical and mental problems, and his time in the custody of the Texas Youth Council, so I need not repeat that. Likewise, the influence of his infamous cousin, Miguel, and the associated trauma and violence. Please see the posts indicated for more…
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A Web of Informants: Part 3. Sandra Hotchkiss
Sandra Hotchkiss was a burglar, drug addict and prostitute who committed burglary with Richard Ramirez in 1985. Significantly, Hotchkiss was yet another burglar who traded with Felipe Solano, in her words, 15 to 20 times. Like Ramirez, Hotchkiss suffered from epilepsy. She spotted him unsuccessfully trying to sell jewellery at a pool hall and exploited…
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A Web of Informants: Part 4. The Mugshot
As mentioned in Part 1, two sets of Ramirez’s ‘friends’ independently reported him to police for his burglaries that occurred close to dates of Night Stalker attacks. SFPD’s Frank Falzon was led to Ramirez’s friend Armando Rodriguez who told him Ramirez’s name. Police argued over whether to release Richard Ramirez’s 1984 mugshot, with Falzon insisting…
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A Web of Informants: Part 1. Closing In
The Net Closes A series of events caused detectives to home in on Richard Ramirez. After the Khovananth attack, the LAPD disseminated a police bulletin as well as a ‘wanted poster’ of the suspect. They told the public that this man, a Latino, had attacked a dozen people and was armed and dangerous. His distinguishing…
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A Burglary in Marina
On August 15th, 1985, a burglary occurred in an affluent neighborhood in the Marina District area of San Francisco on Baker Street, at the townhome of dentist Jack Saroyan. While his niece Rosemary Ovian and her friend were sleeping, burglar(s) gained entry to the home, and the house was robbed. At 11:40 p.m., the Saroyan’s…
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California Dreamin’
A Den of Thieves We usually do not write about the charges against Richard Ramirez in San Francisco (SF) because the SF legal documents are unavailable. Most of what we know about the San Francisco charges against Richard comes from news articles available at the time, as well as small pieces of information contained within…
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The Murder of Mei Leung
This is a long, double post by VenningB and Jay – split into two sections: the history of the incident (Venning) and the DNA aspect (Jay). This blog is primarily focused on the Los Angeles trial. Because the alleged Night Stalker crimes in San Francisco (the Pan Incident) and Orange County (the Carns/Erickson Incident) never…
Expendable For A Cause. 