Notorious Serial Killer Richard Ramirez Dies At Age Of 53

Richard Ramirez has died at the age of 53 at Marin General Hospital, where he was escorted from death row at the San Quentin State Prison, according to a state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation official. The “Night Stalker” died early Friday in the hospital of natural causes, though no other details have been released.

San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Sam Robinson told The Associated Press that Ramirez “passed away this morning,” but he didn’t go any further into discussion about the convicted serial killers’ death.

Ramirez was convicted and given the death sentence for 13 murders that took place between 1984 and 1985 in Southern California. He broke into unlocked homes through windows and doors and even forced victims to “swear to Satan.”

There were satanic symbols left at the scenes of the crimes, and he was eventually brought down after he was captured and beaten by local residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood while making an attempt at a carjacking.

The horrifying events left Californians in shock for many years and some are still affected today. Richard Ramirez has now died after waiting for his execution at San Quentin State Prison.

The “Night Stalker” earned his horrific name through the killings, and he was eventually found guilty of the charges in September of 1989 before being sentenced to death through the gas chamber in November of the same year.

He’s execution never came, and he’s now passed away at the age of 53. Before being convicted, his mugshots were released which led to nearly every major newspaper at the time posting the photos on front pages for everyone to see.

It was on the very next day that Ramirez was nearly beaten to death by locals in Los Angeles during his attempted carjacking, which came to an end once police officers broke up the scuffle before he was killed.

Here is a mugshot of Ramirez taken in 2007.

All of California and Americans across the nation were relieved to see him captured, and he called San Quentin his home ever since. Now Richard Ramirez has died at the Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif.

[Image via Colby Palmer]