The Night Stalker: Forensic Evidence

Student Illustrator: Joseph Silver

Student Author: Parinaz Negahban

Richard Ramirez left thirteen dead and paralyzed in the city of Los Angeles between the years 1984 to 1985. In August 1985, the law enforcement and the media’s pressure caused Ramirez to leave Los Angeles and continue his killings in San Francisco, where his abandoned car was spotted and brushed down for DNA evidence. After being caught by the police, Ramirez was sentenced to death at the end of his trial in 1989. Eventually, he passed away of cancer in 2013. The paper argues that it is much simpler to prevent repetitive crimes from happening with the advancement of technology in the past three decades. Alongside witness testimony that was once the major evidential source in courts, now, DNA analysis advancement and the broadening of governmental and scientific databases play a major role in placing the known criminals in prison. No matter how hard a criminal attempts to cover up his wrongful and devilish acts, there will always be some type of evidence linking him to the scene and someone smarter to catch him.

This is part of the Annual Poster Session, a collaboration between the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Department and the Media Arts and Technologies Department, featuring work by social science and illustration students.