Richard Ramirez, infamous as the 'Night Stalker', terrorised California in the mid-1980s with a string of brutal home invasions. His method of operation made him elusive, breaking into random houses and attacking occupants. He was responsible for up to 20 deaths before capture.
Former Sheriff's Deputy Jim Ellis testified that Ramirez bragged about potentially doubling his victim count. Ellis recounted a half-hour monologue where Ramirez calmly described shootings, stabbings, and mutilations, expressing pleasure in watching his victims die. Ramirez allegedly said, 'I love to kill people.'
Ramirez also claimed his capture was due to leaving a fingerprint at a crime scene and regretted not killing the police who found it. He reportedly enjoyed observing his victims' struggles, took photographs, and confessed to gouging out a woman's eyes when she refused money.
The judge deemed the statement admissible despite Ramirez denying through his lawyer that he made such remarks. He was convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries, receiving a death sentence. Throughout trial, he appeared to smirk continuously.
