Quotes from Philip Carlo

There's a will, there's a way my friend.

He who hesitates is lost, my friend.

Stupid is as stupid does.

That night she again slept in the back of her brother's car, hidden under her raincoat, afraid of the rats, of the police, and of men who got their kicks from hurting women. Ruth knew it was a cruel world filled with people who were capable of terrible things.

It's an easy thing to steal, any jerk could do it, but to steal and not get caught, ever, that's something else. That's something you have to train for. And to learn it properly takes years," Richard later said.

Richard would now often stay out in the desert after it had gotten dark. Mike had taught him how to read the stars, and he never got lost.

Other than the epilepsy, Richard had few problems during his first years of school. He liked to make people laugh, and that caused him to be disciplined sometimes, but he was a good student who paid attention in class and tried to do well, work hard, and get along with others. He did not, like Ruben and Robert, fight with the other children.

In San Francisco, the Stalker knew, it would be easier to get in and out of people's homes; they would not be so cautious and vigilant about security as everyone in L.A. had become. The thought of stopping never entered his mind. There were only two ways he would stop: he'd either die or be incarcerated.

On the day of sentencing, the defense announced they would not be putting any witnesses on the stand on the defendant's behalf, calling it "a tactical decision." Richard would not be taking the stand, either.

On the day of sentencing, the defense announced they would not be putting any witnesses on the stand on the defendant's behalf, calling it "a tactical decision." Richard would not be taking the stand, either. Tynan asked Richard if he was waiving his right to put on a defense and to speak on his behalf. Ramirez said yes.

Jury selection finally began on July 21, 1988, from a pool of 1600 citizens. The Hernandezes were looking for Hispanics and certain minorities; they felt that with a jury of all whites and Asians, Richard wouldn't have a chance. They believed Hispanics and blacks would have a more open mind.

As they entered, Richard glowered at them. Cynthia Haden couldn't look him in the eyes. She felt guilty about having convicted him. She thought the Hernandezes were so woefully inadequate that Richard hadn't gotten a fair shake. "He was sold down the river," she would later say, and would make correcting that "injustice" her life's work.

Joseph had graduated from high school, but did not want to go to school anymore. He had met Sofia, and he wanted to work and save so he could settle down with her. He, like his brothers, had had enough of living under Julian's tyrannical rule. Joseph lived with Robert until Robert secured a job in Morinze, Arizona, a four-hour drive from El Paso. Joseph then began living with Sofia, his childhood sweetheart.

The following day, Melvin Belli told Ruth he couldn't, in any capacity, work on the case, citing money and time as the main obstacles. "If," he told the L.A. Daily News, "I were to represent him, I'd want a thorough, thorough mental examination of him before I would consider going into the case; that would cost lots of money, and the family just can't afford it." Richard was not surprised by Belli's position.

Oxnard attorney Joseph Gallegos had heard that Ramirez was looking for new counsel. Gallegos had recently represented on murder charges a Mexican gang member who had been convicted and sentenced to twenty-seven years.

Richard had a plan to make some quick money: he could buy pot in El Paso for next to nothing and sell it in Los Angeles for considerably more. Without telling anyone, Richard left El Paso for good on a dirty, battered Greyhound bus. He'd just turned eighteen. Richard listened to heavy metal music over earphones and slept when possible.