Night Stalker serial killer who terrorized California with a spree of satanic murders dies in hospital after 24 years on death row

• Richard Ramirez, 53, died of liver failure while awaiting execution
  
• Ramirez was convicted in 1989 of 13 murders and later tied to several more. He was a self-proclaimed follower of Satan
• His trial was a horror show in which jurors heard about one victim's eyes being gouged out and another's head being nearly severed
• He earned the nickname Night Stalker
  

By Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 14:53 EDT, 7 June 2013 | Updated: 09:14 EDT, 8 June 2013

Richard Ramirez, the demonic serial killer who left satanic signs at murder scenes and mutilated victims' bodies during a reign of terror in the 1980s, died early Friday in a hospital, a prison official said.

Ramirez, 53, had been taken from San Quentin's death row to a hospital where authorities said he died of liver failure.

He had been housed on death row for decades and was awaiting execution, even though it has been years since anyone has been put to death in California. He was convicted in 1989 of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries, which terrorized Southern California in 1984 and 1985. His charges included rape, sodomy and oral copulation.

Richard Ramirez, center, with attorneys, Randall Martin, right and Daro Inouye, left in a San Francisco courtroom Oct. 5, 1990. Ramirez died on Friday. He was convicted of 13 killings

Richard Ramirez, center, known as the Night Stalker, is pictured at his murder trial in 1985

At his first court appearance, Ramirez raised a hand with a pentagram drawn on it and yelled, 'Hail, Satan.'

His marathon trial, which ended in 1989, was a horror show in which jurors heard about one victim's eyes being gouged out and another's head being nearly severed. Courtroom observers wept when survivors of some of the attacks testified.

Satanic symbols were left at murder scenes and some victims were forced to 'swear to Satan' by the killer, who entered homes through unlocked windows and doors.

Ramirez was finally run down and beaten in 1985 by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood while attempting a carjacking. They recognized him because his picture had appeared that day in the news media.

Ramirez (pictured left, 2007, and right, in 1984) was convicted of 13 murders that terrorized Southern California in the 1980s, and was sentenced to death

Unapologetic: Ramirez responds to reporters in 1989 after hearing the verdict in his trial

The trial of Ramirez took a year, but the entire case which was bogged down in pretrial motions and appeals lasted four years, one of the longest criminal cases in U.S. history.

Because of the notoriety of the case, more than 1600 prospective jurors were called.

After his conviction, Ramirez flashed a two-fingered 'devil sign' to photographers and muttered a single word: 'Evil.'

On his way to a jail bus, he sneered in reaction to the verdict, muttering: 'Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland.'

The wife of Ramirez, Doreen Lioy, center, walks with her head bowed as she is escorted by guards after her prison wedding on Oct. 3, 1996

A wedding photograph is displayed to the media of the "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez and his new bride Doreen Lioy, outside the gates of San Quentin Prison

The black-clad killer, unrepentant to the end, made his comment in an underground garage after a jury recommended the death penalty for his gruesome crimes.

Inexplicably, Ramirez, a native of El Paso, Texas, had a following of young women admirers who came to the courtroom regularly and sent him love notes.

Ramirez beat to death Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61, of Monterey Park on July 7, 1985

Some visited him in prison, and in 1996 Ramirez was married to 41-year-old freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy in a visiting room at San Quentin prison.

Relatives called Lioy a recluse who lived in a fantasy world.

In 2006, the California Supreme Court upheld Ramirez's convictions and death sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court refused in 2007 to review the convictions and sentence.

Two years later, San Francisco police said DNA linked Ramirez to the April 10, 1984, killing of 9-year-old Mei Leung.

She was killed in the basement of a residential hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood where she lived with her family.

Ramirez had been staying at nearby hotels.

Ramirez previously was tied to killings in Northern California. He was charged in the shooting deaths of Peter Pan, 66, and his wife, Barbara, in 1985 just before his arrest in Los Angeles, but he was never tried in that case.

Left: Ramirez shot and killed Dayle Okazaki, 34, in March of 1985. Right: Mei Leung, 9, was found dead in the basement of a hotel basement where Ramirez was living. His DNA was matched to the crime scene in 2009

A COMPLETE TIMELINE OF THE NIGHT STALKER'S GRUESOME MURDERS

April 10, 1984: Mei Leung, 9, was found dead in the basement of a hotel basement where Ramirez was living. His DNA was matched to the crime scene in 2009.

June 28, 1984: Jennie Vincow, 79, was found dead in her apartment. She had been stabbed repeatedly and her throat was slashed so severely she was almost decapitated. Ramirez sexually assaulted her after the killing.

Ramirez shot Vincent Zazzara, 64, and his wife Maxine, 44. Mrs Zazzara's body was mutilated

Mar. 17, 1985: On March 17, 1985, Ramírez attacked 20-year old María Hernández outside her home. He shot her before entering her house. Inside was Dayle Okazaki, age 34, whom Ramírez shot and killed. Hernández survived. Less than an hour later, Ramirez struck again in Monterey Park, attacking 30-year-old Tsai 'Veronica' Lian Yu. He pulled her out of her car onto the road and shot her several times, before fleeing. A police officer found her still breathing, but she later died at the hospital.

Mar. 27, 1985: Ramirez shot Vincent Zazzara, 64, and his wife Maxine, 44. Mrs Zazzara's body was mutilated with several stab wounds. She had a carving of the letter 'T' over her left breast and her eyes were gouged out. The mutilations were post-mortem, according to an autopsy.

May 14, 1985: Ramirez broke into the home of William and Lillie Doi. He shot William in the head and ferociously beat Lillie, but she survived.

May 29 June 1, 1985: Mabel Bell, 84, and her invalid sister, Florence Lang, 81, are beaten with a hammer in their Monrovia home. Bell was killed.

Elyas Abowath, 35, was shot to death in his Diamond Bar home and wife was beaten

May 30, 1985: Carol Kyle, 41, of Burbank, was raped and sodomized by Ramirez.

July 2, 1985: Ramirez kills Mary Louise Cannon, 75, of Arcadia, by beating her and slashing her throat.

July 5, 1985: Whitney Bennett, 16, survived after being beaten with a tire iron by Ramirez.

July 7, 1985: Ramirez beats to death Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61, of Monterey Park.

July 20, 1985: Ramirez shot and killed Glendale couple, Maxson Kneiding, 68, and his wife Lela, 66, in their home.

Later that day, he shot and killed Chainarong Khovananth, 32, of Sun Valley, then sodomized his wife and son.

Aug. 6, 1985: Ramirez shot both Christopher Petersen, 38, and his wife, Virginia, 27, in the head. Miraculously, they both survived.

Aug. 8, 1985: Elyas Abowath, 35, is shot to death in his Diamond Bar home. His wife is beaten.

Aug. 25, 1985: Ramirez broke into the Mission Viejo apartment of Bill Carns, 29, and his fiancée, Inez Erickson, 29. Ramirez shot Carns in the head and raped Erickson. Both victims survived.