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Serial killer known as one of the US' most notorious murderers gave horrifying five-word explanation for killing 20 people
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Serial killer dubbed the 'Walk-In Killer' - one of America’s most infamous murderers - gave a chilling five-word reason for a spree of homicides which resulted in the cold-blooded killing of 20 people.
The notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez terrorized California throughout the mid-1980s, leaving communities gripped with fear.
His methods made him especially difficult for authorities to track.
He would break into seemingly random homes and brutally attack whoever happened to be inside, striking indiscriminately and without a clear pattern.
A reign of random terror across California
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Before his eventual capture, Ramirez killed as many as 20 people.
A former jailer later claimed that Ramirez boasted he could have claimed even more victims if he had chosen to, with the El Paso-born killer allegedly boasting about killing more than 20 victims.
Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Ellis testified that Ramirez spoke for roughly 30 minutes, calmly detailing the shootings, stabbings, and mutilations he carried out.
According to Ellis, Ramirez appeared to take pride in the violence, allegedly admitting he enjoyed watching his victims suffer.
He also described disturbing photographs he had taken and recounted gouging out a woman’s eyes after she refused to give him money.
Ramirez reportedly said he was only caught because he mistakenly left behind a fingerprint at one crime scene.
He is also said to have expressed regret that he had not killed the officers who discovered it.
The five chilling words
During this unsettling account, Ramirez allegedly summed up his motive in five stark words: “I love to kill people.”
He was also quoted as saying he enjoyed watching his victims die, describing in graphic, detail how he would shoot or stab them and observe their final moments by watching them squirm.
Although his lawyer later denied that he made those statements, a judge ruled the remarks admissible in court.
Ramirez was ultimately convicted of 13 murders along with numerous other violent crimes committed during his reign of terror across California, although he remains linked with several more.
He received convictions on 13 counts of murder, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries, and was sentenced to death.
Observers at his trial noted that he often appeared to smirk during proceedings, seemingly unfazed by the horrific testimony.
He was also reported to have said: “I love all that blood.”
While the prolific murderer and rapist would subsequently avoid facing the electric chair due to ongoing legal battles around his conviction, Ramirez died behind bars aged 53 after a battle with lymphoma.