Night Stalker - Hunt For A Serial Killer on Netflix...

[SteyrAUG]

Really enjoyed this one even though I usually detest this kind of programing.

What you will like:

Primary focus is on the investigators, victims and victim families.
Details of the investigation, lots of details you probably never knew before.
Almost no "hero worship" of the serial killer himself except for noting the "oddities" that came to hero worship him at his trial.

What you won't like:

The details, things like he also regularly abducted and sexually molested children ages 6-12 but they decided to not prosecute him for any of these crimes so as to spare the children from having to testify in court and relive the events.

The many opportunities where he could have been stopped but incompetence or worse, interdepartmental competition and the unwillingness to share key information prevented him from possibly being arrested days, weeks or in one incident months before he was actually captured.

Diane Feinstein, as mayor of SF releasing key "classified" details of the investigation at a press conference because a "night stalker" murder had happened in her city. Things that might have led to his capture following that murder caused him to change patterns and methods because he was made aware of them.

Media vultures who went out of their way to learn any confidential information so that they could have an exclusive. Almost as disturbing is one reporter from the time who is now a trans female but presented himself as a disturbing looking male for this documentary. I was like, there is something really wrong with this guy, so I looked up the name and sure enough, he trans gendered some time ago.

And the worst thing of all, Ramirez died of cancer after two decades on death row. California is of course one of the biggest jokes in the world when it comes to death row, they probably have some of the most violent criminals in the world who will all live long and healthy lives.

Summer of 1985 I was staying with my Grandparents in Iowa and we were getting extensive coverage of the Night Stalker killings, I cannot imagine the media saturation in CA at the time. I do remember it being reported that it was an especially warm summer and convincing people who didn't have AC to close their windows and lock their doors was especially challenging.

I can also remember the day long news event of his capture starting from when he was recognized on a city bus to getting his ass beat by locals in a neighborhood who were fed up with him terrorizing the city and their families. Too bad the locals weren't allowed to finish the job and one investigating officer did note that the only thing that would have bothered him was that he really wanted to interview the serial killer.

Anyway, if you have any interest in this subject or if you want a short series on the nature of real evil give this a look.

[Averageman]

Watched it last night, I agree.

[MikhailBarracuda91]

I'm going to check it out. Thanks

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[titsonritz]

Did they play his song?

[titsonritz]

California is of course one of the biggest jokes in the world when it comes to death row, they probably have some of the most violent criminals in the world who will all live long and healthy lives.

Ramon Salcido is a prime example. Throw his ass in a wood chipper, I say.

[Five_Point_Five_Six]

It was a really well put together documentary but I was a little disappointed that they skimmed over his childhood and didn't give the backstory at least 15 minutes across a 4 part mini-series. There were many things about his childhood that is believed to be part of what led him down the path he took, his Mom working around chemicals while pregnant, which is believed to have led to all his siblings having some sort of birth defect, multiple head traumas like a dresser falling on his head to getting knocked unconscious on a swing which caused him to have seizures, being shown photos by his cousin of Vietnamese women that he'd raped and dismembered, the same cousin later on shot his own wife in front of Richard.

I don't remember anything about the case prior to him being caught, but as a 5 year old at the time I have a vivid memory of him on the news, sitting in the cop car with his head bandaged after getting his ass beat by a whole Latino neighborhood until the cops arrived.

[SteyrAUG]

It was a really well put together documentary but I was a little disappointed that they skimmed over his childhood and didn't give the backstory at least 15 minutes across a 4 part mini-series. There were many things about his childhood that is believed to be part of what led him down the path he took, his Mom working around chemicals while pregnant, which is believed to have led to all his siblings having some sort of birth defect, multiple head traumas like a dresser falling on his head to getting knocked unconscious on a swing which caused him to have seizures, being shown photos by his cousin of Vietnamese women that he'd raped and dismembered, the same cousin later on shot his own wife in front of Richard.

I don't remember anything about the case prior to him being caught, but as a 5 year old at the time I have a vivid memory of him on the news, sitting in the cop car with his head bandaged after getting his ass beat by a whole Latino neighborhood until the cops arrived.

Yeah, I think he had a preference for asian victims (if available) because of his cousin "Mike"s experiences in VN. Sadly that POS was actually a green beret. But I think they intentionally didn't make the focus on Ramirez himself and didn't want to validate any of his actions by saying "his dad abused him, his cousin was f'ing insane and probably also a undocumented serial killer and Ramirez saw a lot of traumatic shit growing up."

One psychiatrist did characterize Ramirez as a "created sociopath" rather than a "born sociopath" and it seems he was a legit schizo which certainly didn't help anything. But I appreciate the fact that the focus was taken off Ramirez for the most part because other "sick f'ers" love to read about, watch shows about and study other "sick f'ers."

[Averageman]

I started to reply to this and then waited.
I cant imagine working those cases. That would have been enough for a career and I would still have nightmares.
I have no idea what chemicals his Mom was exposed to, but I was a career soldier with I would guess twenty military related concussions and that has yet to make me want to kill anyone.

I'm not sure what makes people go nuts, but people go nuts, just like dogs become rabid, the cure for a rabid dog is?

[SteyrAUG]

I started to reply to this and then waited.
I cant imagine working those cases. That would have been enough for a career and I would still have nightmares.
I have no idea what chemicals his Mom was exposed to, but I was a career soldier with I would guess twenty military related concussions and that has yet to make me want to kill anyone.

I'm not sure what makes people go nuts, but people go nuts, just like dogs become rabid, the cure for a rabid dog is?

Ramirez did start out with the deck stacked against him and his cousin and strong influence was probably a serial killer himself even if "sanctioned" to whatever extent.

But my sympathy for Ramirez ends with his first victim. It's like victims of rape or molestation who go on to become rapists and molesters themselves. I get the physiological break down in right and wrong when the abused transition to abusers but at the same time, if anyone should know why this is wrong...it should be you...the former victim. And I'm sympathetic to those victims too, until they create their own victim.

Also for every person who was raped and molested and went on to do terrible things to others, there are dozens who went through the same exact shit and never victimized anyone in any way because they understood it was wrong and the thought never even occurred to them.

[Screwball]

I actually liked it... saw browsing through FB news showed an article that people are complaining about it. “Makes me scared.” One even said it memorializes the s***bag... still trying to wonder if they watched that movie with Lou Diamond Phillips instead. I’m glad that those leaning the opposite way have that weak of a stomach.

I thought it was funny how L/E had no real tactics, and most agencies worked against one another (thought the detective from San Francisco was a jerk-off). The Feinstein part really got under my skin. Literally burn investigators like that, and you are still in a position to affect law in the state to this day?