Product Description

Twenty years after Richard Ramirez left thirteen dead and paralyzed the city of Los Angeles, his name is still synonymous with fear, torture, and sadistic murder. Philip Carlo's classic "The Night Stalker", based upon three years of meticulous research and extensive interviews with Ramirez, revealed the killer and his horrifying crimes to be even more chilling than anyone could have imagined. From watching his cousin commit murder at age eleven to his nineteen death sentences to the juror who fell in love with him, the story of Ramirez is a bizarre and spellbinding descent into the very heart of human evil. Incredibly, after "The Night Stalker" was first published, thousands of women from all over the world began to contact Carlo, begging to be put in touch with the killer. Carlo began to interview them and, in this compelling tenth-anniversary edition, presents their disturbing stories and the dark sexual desires that would drive them towards a brutal murderer. And in an exclusive death row interview, the killer himself gives his thoughts on the "Ramirez Groupies" - and what he thinks they really want.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34267 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780786018109
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Research is the strong suit of this book about darkly handsome Richard Ramirez, who terrorized Los Angeles for 14 months in 1984-85 with his penchant for breaking into homes dressed all in black, where he fiercely assaulted, sodomized, robbed, and (in 13 cases) murdered his victims. Carlo spent more than 100 hours interviewing Ramirez on death row, more than a month in El Paso, Texas, talking to Ramirez's family and friends, and another month hanging out with the two detectives who solved the case. He made visits to all 19 crime scenes in the middle of the night. His narrative maintains a steady focus on Ramirez, drawing no conclusions about his Satanism or his mental pathology and simply letting his appalling deeds and words speak for themselves. The trial and post-trial sections are long but interesting, covering Ramirez's rage attacks and his many "groupies" (one of them a juror!), especially Doreen Lloyd, whom he married in September 1996. (This reviewer found Philip Carlo's book much better than Clifford L. Linedecker's Night Stalker.)

From Publishers Weekly
Richard Ramirez, a Mexican American from El Paso, committed perhaps 14 murders in the Los Angeles area during 1984 and 1985 and wounded several people. While robbery was one of his motives, his main objective, according to Carlo (Stolen Flowers), was to achieve power over the women in the houses he entered, to rape, torture and humiliate them. He saw himself as committing his crimes in the service of Satan and expressed contempt for conventional morality. Stubborn and with a vicious temper, he insisted on being represented by two young lawyers who had never been involved in a capital case. Found guilty in 1989, Ramirez was given 19 death sentences plus six years for each of 33 other charges. Carlo speculates on the psyche of this chilling killer and introduces an intriguing supporting cast, from the prosecutor, who saw the case as good versus evil, to the alternate juror who "fell in love with" the defendant. An exceptionally well-told true-crime tale. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Every decade someone makes headlines for the infamous crime he committed in California. In the 1980s, it was the Night Stalker, who terrorized Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1984 to 1985. This is the story of Richard Ramirez's random killings and his belief in Satan. Carlo, who is an expert on Satanic cults and child sexual abuse, interviewed Ramirez while researching this book. In the first three sections, he discusses Ramirez's life, crimes, and capture. The last part, which takes up half of the book, describes the long-drawn-out trial. Because Ramirez's crimes were grisly and sadistic, this book is certainly not for the squeamish. Ramirez is currently on death row at San Quentin and despite his hideous crimes still draws women, from avowed Satanists and a legion of crime groupies to a juror who fell in love with the killer she had helped convict. Despite the author's overemphasis on the trial, this book will provide true crime readers a chilling inside perspective of a serial killer.?Michael Sawyer, Clinton P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Compelling true-crime drama.
A friend of mine was recently at the book store and decided to pick up a few "real crime" books. One was on Ted Bundy, another on Charles Manson, and a third that happened to be a book on Richard Ramirez. He decided to read the Ted Bundy piece first, and offered "The Night Stalker..." to me.

I never knew much about the crimes, other than my vague memories of laying awake at night as a child in my grandmother's Orange County home and praying the Night Stalker wouldn't choose my house to come to on any given night, and as such I decided to give the book a read through. From the first page I wasn't met with an ounce of disappointment.

The compelling descriptions on the psyche of Richard Ramirez, as well as the in-depth descriptions of the murder scenes and the acts themselves seemed highly detailed and a quick read. In fact, I'm half asleep at my desk right now due to my inability to put the book down last night.

Philip Carlo has written a compelling and interesting book on a subject that was all too close to me for my own comfort. I can only imagine the thoughts that went through his mind while going to the crime scenes and being face to face with the man deemed responsible for those atrocities. He has managed to capture it all within the pages of this book.

If you're into this genre, it hasn't been done better. A must buy!

"I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good & evil" R. R.
With the exception of the Night Stalker himself, Philip Carlo is the foremost expert on Richard Ramirez and the Night Stalker case. Every television documentary I have seen on Ramirez's murderous rampage in southern California in 1985 includes interviews with Carlo and information coming directly from this book. Carlo provides one of the most thorough true crime works I have read. He has accumulated information from hundreds of interviews with the key people in Ramirez's life and the Night Stalker case, including hours with the Night Stalker, himself. Every thing is covered here: the gory details of the numerous rapes and murders, the exciting capture of Ramirez by an angry mob, the long and often infuriating trial, and Ramirez's Death Row wedding with an entertainment magazine editor. What I found to be the most interesting part of the book was the section on the Ramirez family, particularly young Richard's relationship with his cousin Mike.

Mike was a decorated Green Beret who returned to the U.S. a mental and emotional volcano. He taught young Richard guerrilla combat techniques which ironically came in handy when Richard set out for a "career" in burglary that later escalated to much worse crimes. Mike also showed Richard photographs of Vietnamese women sexually tortured and killed. A crime Richard witnessed Mike committing while a visitor in his cousin's home was a turning point in Ramirez's life.

The bizarre groupies who attended Ramirez's sometimes farcical trial is very eye-opening. I was shocked at the lengths to which some of these women went to visit Ramirez even after he was convicted for some of the most heinous crimes imaginable. That one of these groupies was a juror is even more remarkable (even Madonna wanted to meet him). This book is the best source on one of the most infamous serial killer cases of the century and, by true crime standards, well written. An index would have been a welcomed addition, but the book is divided in the following "books": "The Hunted and the Hunters," "Richie," "Capture," "The Trial," and "Epilogue."

Thorough and Complete
Phillip Carlo did lots of research and was very patient in producing this thorough and complete book examining the Night Stalker. Modus Operandi, descriptions of the LA area, and the fear caused by this sick person were detailed. The honestly gruesome details of what Ramirez did to his victims were covered. If there is evil on this Earth Ramirez fits the bill. This is a very good book.