Everything that Night Stalker left out about Richard Ramirez and his murders

Night Stalker was polished off pretty easily within a single evening for the majority of us, and it’s easy to understand why. The series was rich with gruesome details of how Richard Ramirez would break into the homes of his victims and kill them, with the story of how he was tracked down and eventually arrested by the two homicide detectives keeping us all on the edges of our seats throughout.

However, Netflix missed out some key points about Richard’s early life, as well as details of what happened to him once he had adjusted to life in prison. So, from his troubled childhood to his prison marriage, let’s take a look at some of the details that weren’t included in Night Stalker.

He was strongly influenced by his older cousin’s crimes during his childhood

Potentially the largest influence on Richard and his crimes would be the influence of his older cousin, Miguel, who was a Vietnam veteran.

Telling Richard in great detail about what happened in Vietnam, including raping and killing women, he even had photos showing the violence. Miguel also taught Richard how to stealthily kill, which could’ve been formative in setting him up for killing later in life.

…and he witnessed his cousin murder his wife

In May of 1973, Miguel shot his wife in the face during an argument, and Richard was there when it happened. He was found not guilty of the murder due to insanity, and after four years was released.

From physical abuse to drugs, his early life was full of evil

Richard’s father physically abused him, leading to him sleeping in a graveyard to avoid the environment at home. In addition to this, he started smoking weed at the age of 10 and taking LSD as young as 13 years old.

Moving into his sister’s house, he’d often join his brother in law, Roberto, on nighttime missions in which they’d peep through people’s windows.

His appearance was a much larger part of his arrest than portrayed

Although the series stressed that it was his shoe print that ended up becoming the biggest indicator that he was the one to commit crimes, the multiple reports of his poor teeth and AC/DC cap were of equal importance for tracking him down.

The dentist’s card found in the vehicle was a huge development, and although the alarm in the office failed to alert the police, it was the teeth that helped produce such an accurate image of him for law enforcement, as well as to build a bigger case in court – three dentists testified about his teeth during proceedings.

He used to work at a Holiday Inn where he would steal from guests

Ramirez practiced various tactics that would aid him in his later crimes whilst working at a Holiday Inn, where he would use his passkey to get into the rooms of guests.

At one point he attempted to rape one of the patrons, but was stopped by her husband who beat Richard. Charges were dropped, and he was free to go. He was fired for this.

His first murder was carried out with a suspected accomplice whose identity was never released

In the documentary, it is shown that Ramirez’s first victim was nine year old Mei Leung, but it wasn’t mentioned that more evidence was found later on.

In 2016, evidence was found which suggested there was a second suspect present at the scene when Leung was murdered. Although they haven’t been publically revealed, they are described as being a juvenile at the time. No charges have been brought forward for lack of evidence.

One of the jurors on his case was murdered

During the trial, a juror named Phyllis Singletary didn’t arrive at court. It was later discovered that she had been murdered by gunshot, and although there were worries that it had been ordered by Ramirez, it was later found that her boyfriend had shot her before turning the gun on himself.

He dropped out of school when he was 14

Leaving school in ninth grade when he was just 14, Richard Ramirez moved to California when he was 22. Within two years of moving, he would commit his first murder of nine year old Mei Leung.

He got married in prison

As featured in the series, Ramirez developed a fandom of women that wrote him letters and visisted him whilst he was in prison. One such lady, Doreen Lioy, wrote to him regularly and in 1988 they were engaged. In 1996 they married in the prison, and she claimed on multiple occasions that she would commit suicide when he was executed.

When it was confirmed in 2009 that he had indeed murdered and killed Mei Leung, she left him. When he died, he was engaged to a 23-year-old writer by the name of Christine Lee.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• How did the police catch the Night Stalker? The evidence that finally led to his arrest

• 17 reactions that prove we’re all feeling the same watching Night Stalker on Netflix

• Who was Richard Ramirez? Subject of Netflix true crime series Night Stalker