Serial killer Night Stalker dies

Serial killer Night Stalker dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Richard Ramirez, the notorious serial killer known as the Night Stalker, died early today in a hospital, a state official said.

Ramirez, 53, “passed away this morning,” San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Sam Robinson told The Associated Press. No other details were released.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Ramirez died of “natural causes.” He had been housed on death row for decades and was awaiting execution, even though it has been years since anyone has been put to death in California.

Ramirez had been taken from death row to Marin General Hospital.

Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders that terrorized Southern California in 1984 and 1985, and was sentenced to death.