museum follow-up: richard ramirez section only

it was great! there was a cinema based area where they played interviews with different killersz. as shown in one of the photos, there was also an interview with someone who had written to rira at some point, i usually wonder what they were thinking about throughout letters - so that was really interesting to me! along with artificats, of course, and interactive spaces including fingerprints and mug-shot taking...

James Romero and his reward

Bill Carns and his girlfriend Inez Erickson (sometimes named as Carole Smith) survived a Night Stalker attack in Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. James Romero, a 13-year-old neighbour was rewarded a small motorbike and some money after spotting a man prowling around his house, before escaping in an orange Toyota station wagon. Eagle-eyed James memorised the licence plate and the police found the car, helping them catch Richard Ramirez. Or so the story goes.

As with everything the media has told you about the Night Stalker, the reality is a little different.

It is a nice end to a horrible story, a young lad giving police that missing puzzle piece in the manhunt, but James Romero actually lived 1.5 miles away from the Carns home. He was not a neighbour. Bill Carns lived on Chrisanta Drive and the Romero family lived on Via Zaragosa at the furthest point possible from the Carns house.

A child seeing the back of a man in a baseball cap, on his front lawn, in the dark, a mile from an attempted murder does not prove that man was the attacker.

James reported the prowler to the police (nothing to do with hearing about a local murder, but because someone was sneaking about on their property). He described the orange station wagon with a cargo rack and gave a partial licence plate of 782 I.

A composite of the car from the Herald Examiner

Later, in Los Angeles, 50 miles away from Mission Viejo, a 1976 orange Toyota station wagon was stolen from Bill Gregory in Chinatown. A man reported it to the police after seeing the news story about the car seen in Mission Viejo. This car was later found four miles away in a parking lot on South Alexandria Avenue in Koreatown (locked and neatly parked).

Its licence plate read 482 RTS.

The Netflix documentary shows us archive news footage, comparing the stolen car’s plate to the one given by James Romero.

Only 8 and 2 are matches. And even if it was the same vehicle, James did not see this car anywhere near Bill Carns’ house. Later news reports claimed the boy’s identification was much more accurate, and that he only missed the R and the S off.

You might also notice that the composite shows the 3-door variant of the car, whereas the LA car is a 5-door.

Break it all down and we end up with very little evidence at all.

A boy sees a prowler driving an orange car.

A man and a woman were attacked 1.5 miles away.

A car theft 50 miles away in LA.

Numberplates that do not match.

It is said that Richard’s latent – invisible to the naked eye – fingerprint was found on one of the mirrors, which is all a little bit too convenient – even more so when you learn about how unreliable fingerprint evidence is. The evidence listed above seems very circumstantial and unconnected, so of course, they had to connect it with an invisible fingerprint, just like they used the Avia shoe at the ‘Uncharged Incident’ when they were unable to use the child cases.

Because Carns’ girlfriend did not want to testify a second time (she had testified at the preliminary hearing and admitted she never saw the gunman’s face) and was seemingly unbothered about seeking justice for herself and her ex-partner). The Carns attack never went to trial so we will never know if the fingerprint evidence could be refuted. Although we do know that if Richard had been represented by Ray Clark or the Hernandez clowns, they definitely would have forgotten to bring their own expert…

Did Richard Ramirez really drive such a car?

If you read the testimony of Richard’s burglar associate Sandra Hotchkiss, (in the Petition) she claims that she and Richard were driving an orange Toyota station wagon that was involved in an accident, on an unspecified date in 1985. If the car James Romero saw was Richard’s car, why was it not dented? If the vehicle dumped in the car park was Richard’s, why was it not also dented?

Because it was not the same car.

Then there are the child molestations of which Richard was falsely accused. One boy, aged 9, said he had been kidnapped from Montebello in an orange station wagon, but that was not Richard unless Richard was 5’9”, medium build and blonde… look at him…

Therefore, that was also not the same car.

It was because of James Romero’s description that a hat was added to the composite sketch and detectives then tried to link it with the hat found at Okazaki (and by extension, Carrillo’s absurd serial killer theory) as if Richard was the only man in California to wear baseball caps.

Everything about Richard is oh-so-unique. The only man with an AC/DC hat, the rarest shoes in Southern California, the unique orange station wagon, the only man who used red primer bullets, the only satanist, the only person with bad teeth, and so on.

From the little evidence we have access to, nothing connects Richard to the attacks in Mission Viejo. It is all smoke and mirrors.

-VenningB-

An interview Richard gave in 1994 but was not released until 1996.

RICHARD RAMIREZ: Are you nervous? FHF: A bit, but hardly. I did an interview with Manson not too long ago. I get a little uptight when I do interviews. You know, wondering if the questions will come out right or will they get angry at anything I might ask? RR: Oh. Well, uh… go ahead and we’ll see what happens. I don’t mind any questions really.

FHF: Good. Let’s start with the ladies. Why are some so attracted to you? Bernadette Brazal, not bad - pretty cute. RR: I think the girls are attracted to me because they can relate to me. The girls are nice when you’re in my situation, but since I’m in here I spend more time writing to them about the relationship, rather than living it, but there are good friendships formed never-the-less. A couple of them are religious, they come into my life to try and help me.

FHF: Can you be saved? By God and the Jesus kid? RR: No, I’m pretty set in my ways. I doubt anything short of a miracle would change me. I do have an open mind, and I listen to them.

FHF: Were you brought up religiously? RR: Very. My mother and father used to take me to church in Mexico and Texas, were I used to live. The huge figures of saints and crucifixions. Religion played a big role in my life.

FHF: You think it captured your imagination? RR: More than that, I saw myself inside it. It became a part of everyday life. How I thought. How I felt. Later on, by my teenage years, it was all in conflict with me, and still is. You understand? Bad and good and everything I had learned about Satan and God.

FHF: Did you believe God was watching? RR: Yeah.

FHF: Most teenagers feel these delusions. RR: All the actions in my life, at that time, I looked at them and tried to fathom how God would judge them.

FHF: So how’d you make out? RR: Ugh, in my teens, it wasn’t going too good. When I got to about 17, that really caused some problems with me. I started resorting to a life my mother didn’t care for. At 17 she kicked me out, so it was a pretty hard life. I stole cars, I picked pockets. Stuff like that.

FHF: What happened at home that put you into that? RR: I went off to reform school. I came back, she kicked me out. I fended for myself by selling drugs and stuff. Then I moved to California.

FHF: Is that where you got hooked up into devil worship? RR: No, I started feeling like that before. I believe in Satan. I believe evil is a force that is beyond us, and that we just have to invite him in, and he will.

FHF: When did you actively start to bring the devil into your life, worship-wise? RR: It was about 1980, and I was hustling on the streets. I landed in jail for a month or two for petty theft. I met up with this guy who was a Satan worshiper. For those two months I was with him, then I get out of jail, but my mind didn’t. I remembered everything he said, which basically was, “Why worship the good guy, when the things you do aren’t so good?” Somehow it just made sense to me, to worship something that would protect you in what you were doing.

FHF: How did your worship take form? RR: It developed slowly. I started reading the books, and then I started meeting people who were into the same thing. Satanists need to have more faith than Christians, because Christ was seen and felt. Lucifer has never felt the need to be seen, but in everyone’s soul he can be felt. A lot of these little cults practice Satanism nowadays, but not in a violent form. They’re only looking for ways to play out wickedness.

FHF: Ever tried your hand at a Black Mass? RR: Only one, but kept my distance. I was not part of that group. It was at a cemetery and it was at night. I really couldn’t tell what we were doing. A friend and me were watching from a distance. I never trusted people anyway. Especially them.

FHF: Why? RR: They knew me and my lifestyle. They were the ones who made the connection and told the police for being a candidate for the Night Stalker crimes.

FHF: What are some of the things you are accused of? RR: I’ve been accused of almost every crime you can imagine.

FHF: At your trial, you went all L.A. on us. Dark shades, slick hair, attitude. Did you enjoy the attention? RR: Going to the trial was very tiring for me, but I did enjoy it better than sitting in a jail cell. That could be very monotonous. The glasses, believe it or not, were prescription lenses that were tinted. And I just don’t like my photograph being taken, more so now than then. Did I enjoy it? Hmm. No, not particularly. I would have rather been on the beach or something.

FHF: Your entire attitude during the trial was like, “Fuck the world!” RR: I was receiving so much negative publicity. I wasn’t going to give people the satisfaction of seeing me down. Besides, I didn’t feel down. Plus, the image I had projected was beyond me. The media had portrayed me as a cold-hearted, ruthless monster, but I’m really not that way. I’m very down to earth. So, at that time I let people think whatever they wanted to. You see or hear about the crimes and then imagine what kind of individual was behind them.

FHF: The judge said your crimes were committed with “cruelty, callousness and viciousness beyond any human understanding.” RR: It is in no way beyond understanding. Mankind has been like that through out history. In today’s society, people use those qualities - I call them qualities - for all things. It is for self-gratification. It is for sex. It is for excitment. This kind of fervor servers it’s own purpose. It doesn’t obey rules. It runs amok. You see it on the news everyday, but society cannot hang it’s moral and ethical values on me to survive. i do what I must in all ways, and I’m proud of it. The necessity to be myself passes all moral barriers.

FHF: Have you been reading a lot? RR: Yes, I read. A book I suggest to everybody is called, “Mysterious Stranger” by Mark Twain. It’s about Satan and his visit here. A good book. I read suspense and horror, somethings that intrigue me. I have always been fascinated by death.

FHF: Is death sexual? RR: Sexual? It can be. Next to self-preservation, the sex drive is the most important and powerful behavior in mankind.

FHF: When did you first start to think about death? RR: When I was 11, I had an episode in my life. I saw my cousin shoot his wife. It wasn’t traumatic… but the shock value. I went back into the apartment to collect some things with my dad, because my cousin was in jail. The bed was all bloody. It was there where she had landed after the bullet. She got a .38 to the face. At the same time it was very… uh. The stillness of the room, the eeriness, you know. We had to open the windows to ventilate the room and it was something. It was… (long pause) …it was death! I had known the woman. I had known her very well. I went into the living room and saw her purse. I looked through her purse, saw her ID cards and her things. It was a strange feeling. That was the first time I ever ran across death. Ever since, I was intrigued.

FHF: What is blood to you? RR: Blood is the substance that allows any living thing to exist, but blood is blood. I have heard of people drinking each other’s blood. They cut each other, and they drink it and it’s supposed to be a euphoric feeling. But, you know, blood has no special interest for me. Blood is blood.

FHF: Do you believe that when you kill someone, you can obtain that person’s power? RR: That dates back to the Incas and Mayans, they believed in that. It is a possibility, but to me personally? I’ve had no experience with it.

FHF: Let me read to you a statement you made at your trial, “I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil. Legions of the night, nightbeed… repeat not the errors of the night prowler, and show no mercy. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells in us all. That’s it.” What were the night prowler’s errors? RR: I was under a lot of stress then. What I recall and if my memory serves me correct, I just meant not to believe in the system. Don’t, for a minute, think you’ll get a fair shake when under these circumstances.

FHF: Yeah, but were there errors? RR: I was not aware of my actions. Everyone must find out who they are and be aware of their actions before they wind up in a vicious predicament.

FHF: Who are the “legions of the night”? RR: People like yourself. People who thrive on the night. People who have true moral sense. You know who I’m talking about and talking to. They are the ones who feel they are not the majority. They have different feelings and attitudes about life. The rest are a bulk of cattle. Everyone plays a role and no one says what’s truly on their mind.

FHF: When you were sentenced to the gas chamber, you said, “Big deal. Death always comes with the territory.” What territory? RR: I lived a dangerous life. Stealing cars, I could have been shot. Robbing people, I could have been killed. Nothing in existence holds any terror for me. When I was sentenced to death, it didn’t hold anything for me.

FHF: What about now? RR: Even less.

FHF: Does the Night Stalker deserve the gas chamber? RR: It’s all a bloodlust. When the state comes to execute a man, they laugh. So do I.

FHF: Do you still feel beyond good and evil? RR: Everybody has got good and evil in them. I’d like to be 100% evil, but I can’t. I’m too easy-going sometimes. Then again, while anger and hate are two things some people can cope with, I cannot. My anger and hate grow to a level that I cannot live comfortably with it. it causes me headaches and stuff. When I get angry, it’s an extreme form. It is the extreme. There is no in between. But there is with good and evil, and I am there.

FHF: What’s your favorite magazine? RR: I don’t know. I like a lot of ‘em. I especially like Hustler, but not for the reason most think. It’s hard to get a copy in here, but I like it for the parody section. life’s a joke, and I enjoy when they make fun of something that everyone takes so fucking seriously. Freddie Mercury said, “In the end, we all die, and nothing really matters.” Now I’m sure you’re going to disagree with me because you’ll get a bunch of these letters telling you that you are evil.

FHF: Trust me, I get tons already. with some of the articles I put in this rag, people send me tons. RR: Seriously? What do you write about?

FHF: A sort of social Darwinist philosophy, but much more violent - killing off the weak, and shit like that. RR: (Starts to laugh) Well alright! Cool. Listen, people are intrigued by that. I’m telling you. They’ll say, “No.” to you, but feel “Yes,” in their hearts. They think it’s wrong because they feel everyone wants them to say it is. You’ll send me some, right?

FHF: I’ll try. When I send them to prisoners, they send them back saying this material will not be allowed in incarceration facilities. So, tell me, how will you be avenged? RR: I’m one angry motherfucker. I just hope all those who are deserving will get what’s coming to them. I’ll just leave it at that.

FHF: My philosophy is that most people get what ‘s coming to them. People really get what they deserve. Are you confident that people will get what’s coming to them? RR: Pieces of shit are killed everyday, aren’t they?

FHF: Any last words for the kids out there? RR: Keep the evil thought.