elliottttt
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I’ve only really just gotten into true crime over the past 6 months, and I have this podcast I watch which covers many killers and I watched Ramirez’s a few weeks ago.
I remember when the Netflix documentary came out a few years ago but it didn’t hold my attention so I never really remembered him.
Anyway, I watched the podcast on him and I was horrified. Not just because of his actions, but just the spontaneity of them. There was no pattern, no rhyme or reason — it was just murder and suffering. To me, he was just evil with a bad childhood. Case closed right? Well not exactly.
I went on Twitter and his loyal fans (another issue in and of itself) and was utterly shocked at how much information they had which is never discussed.
We all know he was abused, but I didn’t realise how bad it was. People familiar with the case will know about Cousin Mike who has been blamed for Ramirez’s spiral but it was so much more than that.
First we start with the fact that his mother was heavily pregnant and working with toxic fumes. Then we see Ramirez suffer numerous head traumas which result in him developing epilepsy. Couple this with the recurring abuse he suffered at the hands of his father (beatings, being tied to posts in the cemetery at night, choosing to sleep in said cemetery just to get away from the abuse etc) and potential sexual abuse from a male teacher (who also abused two of his brothers) and potentially other women. The last part is debated as I got that information from Ramirez’s letters where he states his first sexual experience was between 9-12 and at the hands of a girl/woman aged between 14-24 or a sex worker. I believe there is an element of truth here but cannot be sure as Ramirez is not exactly a reliable narrator.
It then carries on. The infamous cousin Mike shows him images of mutilated corpses and brags about the rape and dismemberment he participated in to a very young and impressionable Ramirez. Later, he witnesses his cousin shooting his wife in the end all whilst being under the age of 16.
It carries on even further. Ramirez is reported to have started marijuana from the age of 10 when he then escalated to LSD at around 12-14. He drops out of school in the 9th grade and more or less dedicates his time solely to smoking weed which would leave him in a trance like state most of the time.
Remember how I said about the seizures? Well there’s some evidence that he may have also experienced dissociative seizures where many of his family and friends saw him in a trance like state which was hard to get him out of. After witnessing Mike’s murder of his wife, and having to see his friend impaled next to him during a car accident where the boy sadly died, Ramirez reportedly suffered from night terrors where he would wake up screaming and family members clearly saw how both incidents effected him.
The conduct of the other men in his life definitely need discussing. He was the youngest of 5, and his brothers would occasionally pick on him (as would some other boys in the neighbourhood) but it was what his brothers were also doing which is important. One taught him how to break into cars, another was known for setting cats (yes cats) on fire, and another suffered severe leg problems which upset Richard greatly. His brother in law would also take him on peeping Tom visits too.
Now this is all information (albeit the underage sexual relationships with women) from sworn declarations for one of his many appeals, so it’s not just hearsay.
When I read all of this, I empathised for the little boy, but not the monster he chose to become.
Things grew even more complicated when I read statements from jurors who even doubt whether he was entirely guilty or a sole perpetrator. They largely blamed the incompetency of the defence lawyers, not hard evidence from the prosecution which left me dumbfounded.
Things got even more confusing when I read the psychiatric reports. At least two I read stated that Ramirez was not competent for trial since he was not rooted in reality at all and had displayed symptoms of severe mental illness since he was 16 which was only exacerbated by the drugs.
This is the reason why I’m so distressed about this case because there was so much left out. None of this changes the abhorrent things he did but it has definitely made me question what is evil? Was this a man who was evil or a man who was ill and needed help?
I don’t wish to entertain any conspiracy theories as the victims and their families have found peace and that’s all that matters, but Ramirez as a person has perplexed me more than any other case I have watched/read about.
Side note: Even if he was not a murderer, we know for a fact that he was involved with the rape, torture and murder of a 9 year old girl, and had a “consensual” sexual relationship with a 13 year old girl when he was 17, so he was scum no matter how you slice it.
Edit: So I did some more research and it turns out the DNA evidence in 2009 wasn’t as cut and dry as it was made out. The police never revealed what it was (I thought it was semen) but many are saying it was a handkerchief with mixed DNA and a possible false positive for the second suspect so I don’t know. Anyway, his “relationship” with the 13 year old is enough for me to say he’s a creep.
I remember when the Netflix documentary came out a few years ago but it didn’t hold my attention so I never really remembered him.
Anyway, I watched the podcast on him and I was horrified. Not just because of his actions, but just the spontaneity of them. There was no pattern, no rhyme or reason — it was just murder and suffering. To me, he was just evil with a bad childhood. Case closed right? Well not exactly.
I went on Twitter and his loyal fans (another issue in and of itself) and was utterly shocked at how much information they had which is never discussed.
We all know he was abused, but I didn’t realise how bad it was. People familiar with the case will know about Cousin Mike who has been blamed for Ramirez’s spiral but it was so much more than that.
First we start with the fact that his mother was heavily pregnant and working with toxic fumes. Then we see Ramirez suffer numerous head traumas which result in him developing epilepsy. Couple this with the recurring abuse he suffered at the hands of his father (beatings, being tied to posts in the cemetery at night, choosing to sleep in said cemetery just to get away from the abuse etc) and potential sexual abuse from a male teacher (who also abused two of his brothers) and potentially other women. The last part is debated as I got that information from Ramirez’s letters where he states his first sexual experience was between 9-12 and at the hands of a girl/woman aged between 14-24 or a sex worker. I believe there is an element of truth here but cannot be sure as Ramirez is not exactly a reliable narrator.
It then carries on. The infamous cousin Mike shows him images of mutilated corpses and brags about the rape and dismemberment he participated in to a very young and impressionable Ramirez. Later, he witnesses his cousin shooting his wife in the end all whilst being under the age of 16.
It carries on even further. Ramirez is reported to have started marijuana from the age of 10 when he then escalated to LSD at around 12-14. He drops out of school in the 9th grade and more or less dedicates his time solely to smoking weed which would leave him in a trance like state most of the time.
Remember how I said about the seizures? Well there’s some evidence that he may have also experienced dissociative seizures where many of his family and friends saw him in a trance like state which was hard to get him out of. After witnessing Mike’s murder of his wife, and having to see his friend impaled next to him during a car accident where the boy sadly died, Ramirez reportedly suffered from night terrors where he would wake up screaming and family members clearly saw how both incidents effected him.
The conduct of the other men in his life definitely need discussing. He was the youngest of 5, and his brothers would occasionally pick on him (as would some other boys in the neighbourhood) but it was what his brothers were also doing which is important. One taught him how to break into cars, another was known for setting cats (yes cats) on fire, and another suffered severe leg problems which upset Richard greatly. His brother in law would also take him on peeping Tom visits too.
Now this is all information (albeit the underage sexual relationships with women) from sworn declarations for one of his many appeals, so it’s not just hearsay.
When I read all of this, I empathised for the little boy, but not the monster he chose to become.
Things grew even more complicated when I read statements from jurors who even doubt whether he was entirely guilty or a sole perpetrator. They largely blamed the incompetency of the defence lawyers, not hard evidence from the prosecution which left me dumbfounded.
Things got even more confusing when I read the psychiatric reports. At least two I read stated that Ramirez was not competent for trial since he was not rooted in reality at all and had displayed symptoms of severe mental illness since he was 16 which was only exacerbated by the drugs.
This is the reason why I’m so distressed about this case because there was so much left out. None of this changes the abhorrent things he did but it has definitely made me question what is evil? Was this a man who was evil or a man who was ill and needed help?
I don’t wish to entertain any conspiracy theories as the victims and their families have found peace and that’s all that matters, but Ramirez as a person has perplexed me more than any other case I have watched/read about.
Side note: Even if he was not a murderer, we know for a fact that he was involved with the rape, torture and murder of a 9 year old girl, and had a “consensual” sexual relationship with a 13 year old girl when he was 17, so he was scum no matter how you slice it.
Edit: So I did some more research and it turns out the DNA evidence in 2009 wasn’t as cut and dry as it was made out. The police never revealed what it was (I thought it was semen) but many are saying it was a handkerchief with mixed DNA and a possible false positive for the second suspect so I don’t know. Anyway, his “relationship” with the 13 year old is enough for me to say he’s a creep.
