One of the most notorious killers to ever be put behind bars with the help fingerprint evidence was the Night Stalker also known as, Richard Ramírez. This serial killer terrorized California with his brutal, year-long killing spree in which he murdered 14 individuals. Thanks in part to modern forensic technology and the discovery of this psycho’s fingerprints, police were able to put a swift end to his butchery before he could kill even more innocent people. Born on February 28, 1960 in El Paso, Texas, Richard Ramírez was the youngest of seven children to his parents, Mercedes and Julian Ramírez. His father Julian was a former Mexican police officer who moved to America and worked as a laborer on the railroad. He was known for his short temper …show more content…
Thanks to thorough crime scene investigation and Ramírez’s lack of forethought to cover his hands when committing his crimes, police were able to know that they had a dangerous killer on their hands, one who they have been after for some time.
Richard Ramírez was a disorganized serial killer who killed out of lust and sexual desire primarily (Richard Ramirez Criminal…). As an added bonus he would steal the victim’s valuables as well in order to provide himself with some sort of income. All of his killings had one common aspect: the involvement of satanic rituals. In fact, Ramírez was known to be a devout Satanist and often drew a pentagram at his crime scenes (Richard Ramirez Bio).
The primary types of forensic evidence found at Ramírez’s crime scenes were fingerprints and bodily fluids. Unfortunately, DNA profiling for use in the criminal justice field was still very new in the mid-1980s (Waring) so bodily fluids found at the crime scenes were not as helpful as they would be today. However, Ramírez’s fingerprints proved to be very effective when presented to the jury as evidence and have largely been credited as key to his conviction