Is MaXXXine Based on a True Story? Everything About the Real Serial Killer Who Inspired A24’s Horror Film

You are from the West MaXXXine is the last film of the X trilogy, following that of 2022 X And pearlThe film picks up years after Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) survived the events of Xand she’s now an adult film star trying to make it in Hollywood.

Set in Los Angeles in 1985, the project also features a sinister subplot: As Maxine tries to build a reputation for herself, she attracts the attention of an elusive (and real) serial killer who stalked the streets of Los Angeles in the mid-’80s.

Originally known as the “Walk-In Killer” and the “Valley Intruder,” Richard Ramirez spread fear and terror throughout California for over a year, between April 1984 and August 1985. During that short period, he murdered at least 14 people and assaulted many more. He was later nicknamed the “Night Stalker” because he killed many of his victims by breaking into their homes through unlocked doors and windows in the middle of the night.

Although MaXXXine This is not a true story, Goth said. Total Movie Incorporating elements of the Ramirez case helped ground the film. “It’s a path that leads to reality,” the actress and producer said. “It’s not just a big-screen horror movie that’s just for entertainment value. It’s rooted in something.”

But who was the real Night Stalker, and what did he do? Here’s the true story of Richard Ramirez, the serial killer featured in MaXXXine.

Who was Richard Ramirez aka the Night Stalker?

Born in El Paso, Texas in 1960, Ramirez was reportedly always in trouble. He began stealing at a young age and dropped out of high school, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of 22, according to CBS News. After moving to the West Coast, Ramirez continued to burglarize homes and was arrested for stealing a car. This later came in handy, as Ramirez was fingerprinted during his first arrest.

In June 1984, when Ramirez was about 25 years old, he killed Jennie Vincow, 79. She was found stabbed multiple times and her throat slit. According to her son’s court testimony, reported by the Los Angeles TimesVincow’s front door was unlocked, a telltale sign that Ramirez was breaking into homes through unlocked doors or open windows.

Ramirez’s next murder would not occur until March 1985, but when he began preying on his victims again, it happened at an alarming rate. From March 17 to March 27, Ramirez attacked several people, killing three, according to United Press International. By August of that year, Ramirez was killing almost every week and attacking many more people.

What made Ramirez so elusive was the diversity of his victims, who had no relationship to the killer. He attacked and sexually assaulted adults, kidnapped and raped children, and often violently stole cars, sometimes killing the driver, according to CBS News.

When profiling a serial killer, it is rare for a single killer to attack and sexually assault both men and women, from children to the elderly. The Justice Department says serial killers typically choose their victims based on a particular characteristic, but the Night Stalker’s victims were completely random.

When Ramirez was finally tried and convicted, he was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault, 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and 14 counts of burglary. In 2009, his DNA was also linked to the 1984 murder of a 9-year-old girl, according to the Los Angeles Times.

What were the Night Stalker’s motivations?

The true motivations for Ramirez’s murders may never be known, but he claimed he committed them for Satan. He often drew pentagrams and, in some cases, forced his victims to swear to Satan rather than God. During his trial, he also uttered “Hail, Satan” in the courtroom.

A 1986 Los Angeles Times The article quotes one of Ramirez’s rape victims who testified against the killer. After killing her husband, Ramirez told the woman not to scream while he raped her.

“I said, ‘I swear to God I’m not going to scream.’ He said, ‘Don’t swear to God, swear to Satan,'” the victim told the court.

However, the Night Stalker was attacking at the height of the “Satanic Panic” in America, so it is possible that Ramirez was influenced by the mass hysteria surrounding him or simply exploited the cultural fear prevalent at the time.

How was Richard Ramirez caught?

As the summer of 1985 wore on, the city of Los Angeles grew increasingly frantic to catch the killer, and as Ramirez’s crimes mounted, so did the evidence against him.

He didn’t always kill his victims, sometimes just torturing or sexually assaulting them, which is why a growing number of witnesses have provided profiles of the Night Stalker to police. He also left footprints at many crime scenes, and when police found one of Ramirez’s stolen cars, they discovered a business card from a dentist he had visited a week earlier, according to CBS News.

In August 1985, he traveled to San Francisco, where he committed a double murder and drew a pentagram on a hotel bathroom mirror, according to SF Weekly. With local police now on the case, a new lead has emerged that is crucial to the investigation. A man from the San Francisco Bay Area claimed to know the Night Stalker and told police his real name: Richard Ramirez.

Soon after, Los Angeles police found another car stolen by Ramirez, which had a fingerprint on it. The name and fingerprint matched the police database from Ramirez’s previous arrest years earlier, and investigators knew who they were looking for.

“He left us enough clues that we could figure out who he was,” Detective Frank Salerno said in the Night Stalker episode. Murder Made Me Famous“We had to get him off the street.”

Ramirez’s photo was published in newspapers and broadcast throughout the city on local news. The El Paso Era It was reported that after Ramirez saw his photo had been posted, he ran into the Boyle Heights neighborhood in East Los Angeles and attempted to steal a car, but residents recognized him and formed a crowd around him until police arrived.

What happened to the Night Stalker?

In late 1989, Ramirez was tried for his crimes and, after a month of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of all 43 counts, according to The New York Times.

At his sentencing later in November, he was sentenced to death and Los Angeles Times He shared his reaction. “I am beyond good and evil. I will be avenged. Lucifer lives in all of us. That’s all,” he said.

On June 7, 2013, Ramirez died while awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison. He was 53 years old and the cause of death was a combination of lymphoma and hepatitis C.

Subsequently, one of Ramirez’s victims told the Los Angeles Times“Finally, justice has been served… I’m glad it’s over.”

What other movies have been made about the Night Stalker?

Ramirez’s story has been told many times in documentaries and dramatized stories. In 2021, Netflix released the docuseries Night Stalker: The Hunt for the Serial Killerwhich gives an in-depth look at the Night Stalker’s crimes and how investigators pieced together the evidence to identify him.

Five years earlier, Lou Diamond Phillips had played Ramirez in the TV movie The Night Stalkerwhich premiered on A&E. “It’s truly one of the most challenging, interesting and complex roles I’ve ever played,” Phillips said. Variety in 2015. “It’s perhaps the biggest transformation I’ve ever undertaken.”

The Night Stalker has also been featured in episodes of real-life crime series, such as Dark Spirits, Born to kill? And The World’s Most Wicked Killersamong other titles.