The grizzled detective and his rookie partner who somehow form a dynamic crime-fighting duo has become a Hollywood cliché. But sometimes it s true.
Gil Carrillo was the youngest cop in the LA murder department when he had a hunch that a set of seemingly random killings and abductions were all the work of one man.
His colleagues thought he was crazy, and it was only when he teamed up with Frank Salerno, a legendary detective who d already caught two serial killers, that they were able to finally collar Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker.
It was 1985 and there was a record-breaking heatwave, but everyone kept their windows and doors closed.
Here s How Dianne Feinstein Was Involved in the Night Stalker Case 12 Shares
Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer takes us back to the mid- 80s with the chilling case of the Night Stalker, aka Richard Ramirez. As the show retraces the infamous investigation, it features a politician whose name you may have heard of: Dianne Feinstein. The California senator has had her fair share of controversial moments lately, from her dismissive remarks toward youth environmentalists to her hug with Lindsey Graham at Amy Coney Barrett s confirmation hearing. So, how did Feinstein play a role in the Night Stalker case? Back then, she was the mayor of San Francisco. While the Night Stalker was known for terrorizing Los Angeles, one case linked him to San Francisco during the height of his murder spree. Episode three of the true-crime miniseries revisits one of Feinstein s biggest blunders: the time she released confidential investigation details in a press conference.
Photo: ‘Night Stalker’/Netflix
To start 2021 off, Netflix released a new limited series that focuses on Richard Ramirez aka the “Night Stalker”. Convicted serial killer, rapist, and kidnapper, Ramirez has had 14 victims connected to him and many more that have yet to be officially proven. During the 1980s, he terrorized the greater Los Angeles area as well as San Francisco and committed a series of murders, rapes, and robberies within a short amount of time. Netflix’s newest documentary symbolizes a big change from its usual format of true crime documentaries, instead of focusing on the serial killer, they focused on the detectives and the victims.
| UPDATED: 16:36, Wed, Jan 20, 2021
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Ramirez is the focus of the new docuseries Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, which remains the second most-streamed Netflixshow in the UK this week. The Texas-born murderer carried out a number of depraved attacks, which led to the deaths of at least 13 people. Ramirez received 19 death sentences for his horrific crimes and was on death row when he died from complications related to B-cell lymphoma nearly eight years ago.
Ed MorrisseyPosted at 8:01 pm on January 18, 2021
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No Angeleno who lived as an adult through the summer of 1985 could ever forget the Night Stalker even if some of the details may have grown fuzzy over time. As a native Angeleno myself, the terror and dread of those days came back all too accurately while watching Netflix’ new multi-part documentary
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. Richard Ramirez’ horrific crime spree extended from Mission Viejo to San Francisco, and only came to an end when the superb detective work of Gil Carrillo and Frank Salerno identified him and the residents of East Los Angeles chased him down and beat him into submission.