‘Night Stalker’ Richard Ramirez died of lymphoma, coroner finds
California prison officials said Monday that the death this month of “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez was due to complications from lymphoma, a cancer often associated with hepatitis.
Ramirez, a serial killer convicted of murdering 13 people and brutally assaulting others, died June 7 at a community hospital near San Quentin Prison, where he had been on death row for nearly two decades. He was 53.
According to the California corrections department, the Marin County coroner concluded Monday that Ramirez had died from complications of B-cell lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Other “significant conditions” were listed as chronic substance abuse and chronic hepatitis C, a infection that targets the liver. The viral disease is spread through sexual contact, drug use and open wounds.
The Night Stalker killings gained notoriety in the summer of 1985 after a string of gruesome killings throughout Southern California. The assailant entered homes apparently at random and shot, strangled or stabbed sleeping residents and mutilated their bodies.
In some cases the attacker left behind a Satanist symbol — a pentagram spray-painted on a wall or drawn on a victim’s thigh. Family members said Ramirez believed until the end that he was Satan’s son.
ALSO:
‘Night Stalker’ Richard Ramirez dies
California prison crowding is growing again
California Legislature OKs budget; next move is Brown’s
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
