Richard Ramirez Booking photo - P 2013
AP ImagesDeath row inmate Richard Ramirez, given the nickname “Night Stalker” during a brutal mid-1980s serial killing spree, died on Friday at Marin General Hospital, the Associated Press reported.
Ramirez, 53, was convicted of 13 murders and earned his name for terrorizing the Southland with a series of sexual assaults and other crimes.
During a court appearance in 1985, he yelled “Hail Satan!” as he was led out of the courtroom after pleading not guilty to crimes, the Los Angeles Times recalled at the time. Ramirez drew Satanic imagery in the homes of his victims, the newspaper reported from court records.
Ramirez’s killing spree has been depicted in multiple Hollywood adaptations.
A 1989 TV movie, titled Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker, focused on the authorities pursuing the killer. Danny Trejo (Machete) co-produced a 2002 horror film, Nightstalker, that followed Ramirez’s exploits.
And in 2011, James Franco was rumored to be making his directorial debut with his own take on the story. (His debut ended up being an adaptation of William Faulkner‘s novel As I Lay Dying, which premiered at Cannes this May.)
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