Quotes from Philip Carlo

When Cindy left Richard that day, she felt truly alive for the first time. As she flew back to Los Angeles, she thought about moving to San Francisco so she could be closer to Richard; for the first time she realized why she had left her husband and Portland, Oregon: she felt that being with Richard, as near to him as possible, "was my destiny.

In August of 1993, Frank Salerno, the famous bulldog of Sheriffs Homicide, retired from police work for good.

Richard decided to play a card he'd had up his sleeve all morning, and he raised his large hand high, his face filled with defiance and malicious intent. He showed the spectators the perfect pentagram he had inked on his palm. Under it was the number 666, the Book of Revelation's number of "the beast," i.e., Satan.

The Hernandezes asked to be allowed to read the charges before Richard entered a plea. The judge called for a short adjournment to give Daniel and Arturo the opportunity to go over the particulars of the complaint. As Richard was led back to the holding pen, he shouted, "Hail, Satan," again throwing the court into a tizzy. The Hernandezes said they hadn't heard it, but the court stenographer heard him clearly and she put it in the record—"Hail, Satan.

When recently asked if she believes Richard is innocent, Doreen said, "I've always fervently believed in his innocence! I can't even conceive of his being guilty of the terrible things they say he did. He received an unfair trial with very inadequate legal representation. Someday the truth will be known.

Julian was diagnosed with bone cancer in the spring of 1991. The cancer spread quickly and he died of it on August 16 of that year.

Robert still lives in Morenci, Arizona, working in its mines. He is divorced now and sees his two daughters on weekends. When he can, he drives to El Paso to see his mother and his siblings. He has stopped using drugs and avoids trouble at all costs.

Cousin Mike, the person most people believe put Richard on the path he traveled, died of a massive heart attack in April of 1995. He was overweight and still haunted by the ghosts of things he'd done in Vietnam, regularly using heroin. The Army gave Mike a hero's burial with a twenty-one-gun salute.

Gere Russell, out of San Diego, is Richard's appeals lawyer.

Serial killers very rarely, if ever, let people into their confidence. Murder is their secret and they guard it carefully. This is one of several reasons police agencies have difficulty apprehending serial murderers: they keep their mouths shut about who they really are, and after the truth does come out everyone is always shocked.

Perez had a girlfriend in Tijuana who needed a gun for protection, and he had asked Richard if he knew where he could get one. Richard sold him a .22 for fifty dollars on credit. Perez in turn gave the gun to his friend.

Thursday, June 27th of 1996, Richard Ramirez was moved out of the adjustment center to San Quentin's East block, "Death Row," where he would be allowed regular "contact visits" with his family and friends—the first since he'd been arrested.

Halpin moved back to the gun, intent on putting it in Richard's hands. The prosecutor had Perez tell the jury about his two trips down to Tijuana to get the .22 from his friend. Perez said he learned of Richard's arrest over the radio just as he and Sheriff's Homicide men were crossing the border into Mexico. He testified he got the gun, gave it to the homicide detectives, and returned to L.A. with them.

Richard had taken the Bimbo off his visiting list and had told Doreen that if he was moved to East block he would marry her. Since the first time she'd seen Richard on TV being taken away from the angry mob on Hubbard Street, she had wanted to marry him, to fight his battles, to be known as Mrs. Richard Ramirez.

Marriages on death row occur every four months, and Richard promised her he would tell the prison to put him down for it. The next time they'd be able to wed, he said, was October 3rd.

Coincidentally, most of his attacks had been in beige and yellow houses, and people began painting their homes different colors, hoping that would make him pass their place.

Unlike Jesus, Satan, he felt, would not scorn him, but

After Jessie's murder, Richard's life began to change radically. He had less and less interest in school and more and more interest in getting high, stealing, and getting high some more. He clashed with his father frequently, but there was nothing Julian could do to force his youngest back on the straight and narrow line he had walked up until Jessie's murder.

According to the California Penal Code, prisoners have the legal right to marry. The prison approved Richard's marriage, and his and Doreen's names were added to the list of ten inmates marrying that day, three from death row. It was quickly pointed out to a curious journalist by San Quentin's public relations department that prisoners on death row do not have the right to conjugal visits.

The sale of defensive items reached record heights; gun shop owners found people in line when they opened their stores; locksmiths were so busy putting in new locks and bars that they were working almost twenty-four hours a day; there was such a run on guard and attack dogs that animals from other states had to be brought in to fill the demand.

She drove to San Francisco for them and picked out two simple wedding bands, hers gold and Richard's platinum. When later asked why Richard told Doreen not to buy a gold ring for him, he said, "Because Satanists don't wear gold.

Agent Bill Hagmeyer and program coordinator Terri Green arrived with two crime analysts from VICAP (The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program) on August 6. Hagmeyer was one of the originators of the BSU and had personally interviewed two dozen serial murderers.

If all the fish in the sea kept their mouths shut, they'd never get caught" is an often repeated mantra in the world of organized crime.

Psychopaths have no ethics, no scruples, and no conscience. Something inside is gone. They just aren't capable of those emotions. That's why killing is so easy for a real psychopath. Society has a lot of problems understanding that.