On August 31, 1985, Richard Ramirez, the notorious “Night Stalker,” is captured and nearly killed by a mob in East Los Angeles, California, after being recognized from a photograph shown both on television and in newspapers. Recently identified as the serial killer, Ramirez was saved from the enraged mob by police officers. During the summer of 1985, the city of Los Angeles was panic-stricken by a killer who crept into his victims’ homes at night. The Night Stalker, as the press dubbed the murderer, would first turned his attention on the men in the house, usually shooting them with a .22 caliber handgun before raping, stabbing, and mutilating his female victims. By August, the Night Stalker has murdered at least a dozen people, and law enforcement officials were desperate to stop him. One witness, who managed to note the license plate of the car in which Ramirez fled, led police to a single, partial fingerprint left in the vehicle. Apparently, the task force looking for the Night Stalker had already received information that someone named Ramirez was involved, so only criminal records for men with that name were checked against the fingerprint. When Ramirez was identified as the chief suspect, authorities debated whether to release his name and picture to the public, fearing that it might give him the chance to escape. Nonetheless, they decided to take the risk, and Ramirez, who was actually traveling back to Los Angeles at the time, arrived to find his face and name on the front of every newspaper. Ramirez turned his trial into a circus by drawing pentagrams on his palms and making devil’s horns with his fingers. When he was convicted, he shouted at the jury, “You make me sick. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within all of us.” After the judge imposed a death sentence, Ramirez said, “Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland.” Ramirez died in prison on June 7, 2013.

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for CrimeMagazine.com where he pens the daily column “On this date in crime history.” He is also the author of numerous books that include Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California 1849-1949.