The following program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some audiences.
Viewer discretion is advised.
In Bram Stoker's Gothic horror novel Dracula, the titular count is a vampire obsessed with
drinking the blood of his victims. But even Dracula's thirst for blood pales in comparison
to that of real life serial killer, cannibal and necrophiliac Richard Chase who in the
late 70s committed some of the most shocking murders in American history.
But what exactly led Richard Chase to murder six people and what was it about his crimes
that earned him the nickname, The Vampire of Sacramento?
In 1975, a frail, disheveled man is admitted to a California hospital and diagnosed with
blood poisoning. The man is 25 year old Richard Chase and as the hospital staff begin to investigate
the cause of his illness, they discover that Chase has been injecting himself with rabbit's
blood.
He's suffering from severe delusions and hypochondria and believes that his blood is turning to
dust. He rationalizes that the only way to save himself is to reinvigorate his body with
the blood of other animals. He also believes that his heart is shrinking, his stomach is
backwards and that there are bones growing out of the back of his head.
They also discover that sometimes he even places the blood in a blender along with other
organs from small animals he's killed, and drinks the concoction like a smoothie.
After leaving the hospital he's placed in a mental institution but promptly escapes.
Eventually he's captured and placed in an institution for the criminally insane.
While in the asylum, doctor's learn about Chase's belief that he is being targeted by
a secret Nazi crime syndicate, who are trying to poison him.
One day Chase captures two birds through the bars of his window, slices their throats open
and drinks their blood. He earns the nickname Dracula from the staff.
He is diagnosed with schizophrenia, given medication and released to the care of his
mother in 1976. Against doctor's orders, she weans him off the medication.
It's uncertain why she does this, especially considering that Chase's bizarre behavior
is nothing new. Even as a young child, he had a habit of torturing small animals and
starting fires, two traits that are common among children who grew up to be serial killers.
Chase becomes lost in his delusions again. He continues to kill animals, including neighborhood
pets, in order to drink their blood. His organ smoothies become his only food source, and
his weight plummets to 145 lbs.
Two other bizarre incidents follow, one involving a dead cat that Chase eats in front of his
mother and another where police find him drenched in cow's blood.
Amazingly, no charges are brought against Chase for any of these incidents.
But the real horror doesn't start until December 29th, 1977.
Ambrose Griffin, a 51-year old father of two, is helping his wife bring groceries into the
house when Chase pulls up in his car and fires two shots with a .22 caliber handgun. One
of the shots hits Griffin in the chest and he dies shortly after.
Thirteen days later, Chase breaks into the home of Teresa Wallin, who is three months
pregnant. He shoots her three times, twice in the head, and then takes her corpse into
her bedroom where he rapes her dead body, splits her open and removes some of her organs.
He uses a bucket to collect her blood and takes it into the bathtub to bathe in it.
He then slices off one of her nipples and drinks her blood. Finally, he stuffs her mouth
with dog feces before leaving.
On January 23, only two days after killing Wallin, he buys two puppies from a neighbor,
kills them, drinks their blood, and then leaves them on the neighbor's front lawn.
By this point, Chase is completely lost in his delusions. He now believes that the Nazi
syndicate that has been trailing him has access to UFOs. He believes that his only hope for
staying alive is to drink more human blood.
Four days after killing the puppies, Chase enters the home of 38 year old Evelyn Miroth.
Miroth is in the bathtub while a neighbor named Dan Meredith looks after her son 6 year
old son Jason and 22 month old nephew David.
Dan hears a noise in the hallway and goes to investigate. He is shot in the head point
blank by Chase and dies immediately.
Chase then shoots both of the children and heads into the bathroom, where he finds Mrs.
Miroth. He shoots her in the head, and much like he did with Wallin, he drags her corpse
into the bedroom where he rapes her post mortem. When he's finished, he stabs her multiple
times and once again drains her blood into a bucket. He drinks it, then heads back out
to retrieve David's corpse.
He splits David's skull open and eats the brains.
Chase is suddenly spooked by a knock on the door and flees with David's body. The person
knocking is a six year old girl who was looking for Jason. The killer leaves behind heaps
of evidence, including a bloody hand print.
Chase drives away in Dan Meredith's car and when he gets home, he eats some of David's
organs in a smoothie and drinks his blood. He places the corpse in a box and dumps it
outside of a church.
Police question people around town and are intrigued by the story of a woman named Nancy
Holden, who had gone to high school with Chase and had recently had a strange encounter with
him outside of a shopping center near the Wallin home. He insisted that she give him
a ride but she refused as she was frightened by his appearance and behavior.
She was shown a police sketch of a disheveled man wearing an orange parka, and said that
Chase was wearing the same clothes when he approached her.
They also obtained gun registration records that showed that Chase owned a .22 caliber
semiautomatic handgun, the same weapon that had been used in the murders.
Chase is arrested and police search his home. The entire place smells of rotted flesh and
it seems as though everything is stained in blood. They find body parts in his fridge,
as well as the putrid blender he used to grind organs.
They find a Calendar with the word “Today” written on the dates of the Wallin and Miroth
murders. There are 42 other future dates on the calendar that are also marked with the
word “Today”.
In 1979, the trial begins. Chase is charged with six counts of murder. The prosecution
pushes for the death penalty while the defense tries to convince the jury to find him guilty
of second degree murder, which would result in a life sentence.
When asked how he chose his victims, he stated that he only entered a home if the door was
unlocked. He felt that an unlocked door was an invitation for him to enter, while a locked
door indicated that he was not welcome. Interestingly, it is a part of vampire lore that a vampire
cannot enter someone's private home unless they are invited by the owner of the house.
On May 8th, the jury finds him guilty of six counts of first degree murder and he is sentenced
to die in the gas chamber.
On December 26th, 1980, Chase is found dead in his cell. He committed suicide by overdosing
on prison-administered antidepressants.
Now, I'd like to know what you think. Is there any way to stop people like Richard Chase
from becoming serial killers? Do you think that an intervention at a young age would
have helped? Let me know what you think in the comments and as always...
If you liked this video, please subscribe to Crypticc for more.