'Night Stalker' named as suspect in girl's 1984 slaying [Updated]
Richard Ramirez, the Southern California serial killer known as the "Night Stalker," was identified by San Francisco police today as a suspect in the 1984 slaying of a 9-year-old girl.
Ramirez, who is on death row for a series of murders more than two decades ago, submitted a DNA sample to detectives Wednesday at San Quentin State Prison, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
Police said he also is under investigation in connection with several other slayings in San Francisco during that time.
Cold-case detectives have reopened the unsolved slaying of Mei Leung, who was sexually assaulted and killed in the basement of a residential hotel in the Tenderloin district. Earlier that day, Mei and her 8-year-old brother were seen home from a friend's house.
Ramirez was known to live in the general area at that time, but police did not say what evidence in the case pointed them to him.
[Updated at 5:48 p.m.: It was a San Francisco police officer, Holly Pera, who helped reopen the unsolved slaying of Mei. Pera was a young officer when Mei was killed and kept an interest in the case, she said at a news conference this afternoon.
She and her partner examined DNA evidence from the crime scene taken when Mei was killed. The sample was run through the Combined DNA Index System, which include DNA samples from criminals. The detectives said they got a hit on Ramirez and took another DNA sample from him to confirm the match.]
-- Ruben Vives
Photo: Richard Ramirez, in court in 1985, displays a pentagram on his palm.
Credit: Los Angeles Times
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Why hasn't this guy's DNA been taken in the last 20 years? It looks pretty incompetent to me.
Posted by: Jack Tipton | October 23, 2009 at 08:01 AM
wow this guy is seriously sick.
i lived in a the neighborhood of the last house that he ever went in and murdered someone before he was caught. I thank god everyday that he didnt choose my home.
scums like this dont deserve to be alive and should rot in hell forever
Posted by: Shelly | October 23, 2009 at 08:40 AM
I cannot believe this monster is still alive! And to think that our (California Law for Death Penalty) systems wants to keep him alive is beyond my comprehension. Let's give the monster the Chair, Syringe, or how about the good old fashioned 'methods'? Just pick one and proceed, and please hurry!
Posted by: WORRIED MOM | October 25, 2009 at 07:59 PM
Even if he is guilty, what difference does it make? He's already waiting to get executed.
Posted by: JL | November 16, 2009 at 01:53 PM
let's see how big his body count gets i'm sure he dousn't even remember by now
whats it up now?
STALK THE NIGHTS
Posted by: blasphamy | November 26, 2009 at 03:29 AM
rich ram
Posted by: ky | December 09, 2009 at 05:02 PM