>> He's accused of being one of
California's most brutal
killers.
>> The so-called night stalker
who terrorized California.
>> The same man is suspected in
six to eight murders and 25 to
30 attacks.
>> In 1985, a series of murders
began to plague Los Angeles, and
the victims ranged in age from 9
to 83.
It was men, it was women, it was
children.
People of all races.
Socioeconomic backgrounds.
>> Night stalker, the hunt for a
serial killer, tells the story
of Richard Ramirez's murders
through the two sheriffs
detectives who hunted him down.
The director and executive
producer told us that catching
Ramirez seemed almost impossible
for one simple reason.
>> Never in criminal history
have someone whose range and
diversity of crimes and sort of
the patternless nature of them
has been a subject of an
investigation.
>> I looked at it playing the
game of clue.
Colonel mustard did it with a
gun in the kitchen.
>> Every TV network in the
country was reporting on the
serial killer.
KNBC in Los Angeles did nightly
stories on the murders and how
terrified the city's residents
were of the night stalker.
>> Barbara chase never thought
of using a gun until now.
>> I have grandchildren.
They come to stay.
Should I sit by and watch them
get killed?
>> The only time in my entire
life that I slept with a gun.
>> The entire city was living in
fear.
Hoping they wouldn't be the next
victim of the real-life boogie
man.
>> He had this horrible, big
grin, and he's missing all these
teeth.
He just stared at me like a
killer clown.
>> The docuseries also features
first-hand accounts from people
who survived the serial killer's
attack.
>> I woke up to a very loud
noise.
To which I responded, John?
And immediately, I knew it
wasn't John.
>> Eventually, Ramirez slipped
and left a single fingerprint in
a car he had stolen.
Soon, his mugshot was on TVs
everywhere, and on August 30th,
1985, he was finally captured by
the citizens he had preyed upon.
>> The very people who he was
terrorizing and terrifying were
the ones who grabbed him and
helped bring him to justice.
>> Neighbors in Boyle heights
said he was trying to steal a
car.
He attacked a woman there.
Her husband and others
recognized him, chased him down,
beat him and held him until
police arrived.
Then Ramirez said --
Richard Ramirez's murder spree
and arrest turned into a media
frenzy.
Tiller Russell told us why he
believes America was so
fascinated with the vicious
killer.
>> In the beginning of the
24-hour news cycle, so you had
this frantic coverage of the
story.
>> The individual we have in
custody is Richard Ramirez, the
night stalker.
>> Word spread fast, and around
the station, an enormous crowd
assembled.
Among the hundreds gathered
outside the police station,
there's an almost carnival like
atmosphere of celebration.
>> KNBC in Los Angeles provided
in depth coverage at the time.
>> When it came time to
transport Ramirez to county
jail, so many had jammed the
street, police could not get
through.
>> Clear the street.
Clear the street.
>> Ramirez appeared to love his
new celebrity status.
>> Going into jail, Ramirez
turned to a group of onlookers
and stuck out his tongue.
>> Pentagrams on walls.
>> It just keeps getting creep.
.
>> He shot her.
>> He once flashed a pentagram
on his hand, and in an earlier
court appearance, he shouted.
>> Listen to this chilling audio
recording from one of the night
stalker's survivors.
>> I said I won't scream, I
swear.
And he says --
>> It was a scary feeling to be
in the same room with him.
>> Believe it or not, fans of
the night stalker appeared at
his trial.
Colleen Nelson, the
granddaughter of one of
Ramirez's victims, tells this
chilling story about a young man
she witnessed.
>> I could see a tattoo of a
pentagram, and I realized I was
sitting next to somebody who
looked up to the person that
killed my grandmother.
>> On September 20th, 1989,
Ramirez was found guilty of all
43 night stalker crimes
including 13 murders, and was
sentenced to the gas chamber.
However, he ended up dying of
liver failure in 2013, and sadly
when he died, so did many of his
secrets.
>> Really kind of startling and
horrifying fact, mentioned by
his attorneys, mentioned by the
investigators who worked the
cases.
Who knows how many other victims
are out there?