Richard Ramirez: 9 True Crime Podcasts to Listen to After Watching ‘Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer’
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is a true crime docuseries about the serial killer Richard Ramirez. The murderer terrorized Los Angeles in the mid-1980s with a series of seemingly random attacks. If you’ve binged the Netflix series and are eager to learn more about the Ramirez murders, there are several true crime podcasts with episodes about the “Night Stalker.”
Richard Ramirez was a ‘real-life boogieman’
Ramirez may not be as notorious a serial killer as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer, but he’s definitely one of the most unsettling. Often referred to as the “real-life boogieman,” Ramirez was one of the most vicious serial killers in the United States. A devout Satanist, Ramirez didn’t have a particular type of victim. He killed regardless of age, sex, or ethnicity. Part of what made Ramirez so terrifying was that authorities didn’t know who or where he would strike next.
As a child, Ramirez’s father was abusive. Both of his parents worked, which left Ramirez home alone and unsupervised most of the time. He suffered two traumatic head injuries when he was young, which later led to epilepsy. Experts believe these head traumas are the cause of Ramirez’s violent thoughts and behavior. As a teen, Ramirez began stalking people in his community, watching them through windows until they fell asleep, then sneaking in to steal valuables. That evolved into Ramirez raping and later killing his victims.
How many victims did the ‘Night Stalker’ kill?
Ramirez was charged with the murder of 13 people in September 1989. He was also charged with 30 additional felonies. Courts found 12 of the “Night Stalker’s” 13 murders were first-degree. Tsai-Lian Yu’s murder was deemed second-degree murder. Ramirez killed most of his victims in the one year between 1984 and 1985. It’s unclear how many people Ramirez may have terrorized, raped, or murdered outside of that period.
How did Richard Ramirez die?
Ultimately, cancer killed the “Night Stalker.” Ramirez died in the hospital on June 7, 2013. He was 53-years-old. He died from complications of B-cell lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Several other conditions are outlined on Ramirez’s autopsy, including chronic substance abuse and hepatitis C.
True crime investigative podcasts about the ‘Night Stalker’
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer didn’t cover all there is to know about Ramirez. The docuseries left out details from Ramirez’s childhood and family life. There’s also a lot of information about Ramirez’s life after his arrest, which involved getting married to Doreen Lioy while he was imprisoned. If you want to learn more about Ramirez, his victims, or the “Night Stalker” case in general, this list of true crime podcasts can help.
- Lights Out Podcast — “Richard Ramirez: The Night Stalker”
- Terror Talk – Horror and True Crime Psychology — “Therapists discuss Night Stalker & The Ripper” and “True Crime Psychology – Richard Ramirez – The Night Stalker“
- Hollywood Crime Scene — “Richard Ramirez – Part 1“
- Morbid — “Richard ‘Stanky Chops’ Ramirez AKA ‘The Nightstalker‘”
- True Crime All the Time — “Richard Ramirez ‘The Night Stalker‘”
- True Crime Guys — “Richard Ramirez ‘The Night Stalker’ Part 1“
- Based on a True Crime — “Richard Ramirez & Nightstalker“
- True Crime Never Sleeps — “Richard Ramirez: The Night Stalker“
- Not Another True Crime Podcast — “The Night Stalker“
