Imagine living in Los Angeles and being afraid every night that an unknown man might break in and tear your family apart. There were many prolific serial killers in the seventies and eighties that scared many people. At the time only one man was terrorizing the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In the span of a year, from June 28, 1984 to August 24, 1985, Richard Ramirez killed sixteen people as far as seventy-six miles south of Los Angeles. He was known as the "Night Stalker". Richard Ramirez was born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas; His father's name was Julian. His father Julian was a railroad worker and former policeman in Juarez, Mexico (Richard Ramirez). His mother's name is Mercedes, she worked in a boot factory while she was pregnant with Richard. In the boot factory they used chemicals that we now know cause problems during pregnancy. He was mixing the chemicals benzene, xylene and toluene (Prolific Killers). When he was 2 years old he received 30 stitches after a dresser fell on him. Then again when he was 5 he was knocked unconscious from a swing. From these two incidents Ramirez developed epilepsy suffering grand mal seizures (Prolific Killers). These are the types of seizures you imagine when you hear the word seizures. They have violent muscle spasms and loss of consciousness. When he was a child, his cousin Mike returned from Vietnam. His cousin Mike was a Special Forces Green Beret. When Richard and Mike started dating, Mike showed him what he did in Vietnam. Mike bragged about all the men and women he had killed, and showed Richard the photos to prove it (prolific Killers). He had photos of decapitated women's heads. He also showed Richard photos of h...... middle of paper ......, June 17, 2013. Web. November 13, 2013. "Richard Ramirez." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, November 13, 2013. Web. November 13, 2013. "Ramirez and Satan: Perfect Together? By Katherine Ramsland, PhD." Richard Ramirez, the Night Hunter - Ramirez and Satan: perfect together? - Crime Library on truTV.com. Np, nd Web. November 13, 2013. Stengel, Richard . "Chase of the serial killer." TIME.com. Np, nd Web. November 26, 2013."www.prolifickillers.com."wwwprolifickillerscom. Np, nd Web. November 13. 2013. .