California Death Row Inmate Who Was Convicted Of Brutal 1983 Killing Dies In Prison

A California death row inmate died in prison on May 25. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the man spent over 40 years behind bars after being convicted of a brutal killing in 1983.

Richard Raymond Ramirez, 66, has died while in custody at the California Health Care Facility. Authorities have not revealed the cause of his death or whether he was suffering from any health condition.

Ramirez, who already had a criminal record at that time, was found guilty of killing and r-ping Kimberly Gonzalez in 1983 in Garden Grove, California. The victim was 22 at the time. According to court documents, Ramirez and Gonzalez became acquainted shortly before the murder.

The victim often visited her family members in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. Court documents state that on November 21, 1983, she was at a bar called Mr. Barry’s. Gonzalez was seen playing pool and speaking with other people at the bar.

Shortly after, Ramirez also arrived at the bar with his brother where she met them almost a week prior, according to the court documents. Witnesses claimed that they saw Gonzalez and Ramirez having conversations, dancing, and kissing.

Around 1 a.m. that night, the two left the bar through a back door. Ramirez reportedly had a long-necked bottle of Budweiser beer with him. In a shocking turn of events, Gonzalez’s body was found in a small walkway near the bar’s parking lot the next morning, around 6 a.m.

Court records show that there were 19 stab wounds on her arms, face, shoulder, and neck. Her pants were also pulled down to her ankles, indicating s--ual assault. Subsequent tests later confirmed that at the time of death, Gonzalez’s blood-alcohol content was at 0.17%.

According to court records, “a pathologist testified that a wound to the back of Gonzalez’s neck, which severed her spinal cord, was the probable cause of death.” Authorities quickly linked Ramirez to the r-pe and brutal murder of Gonzalez after a long-necked Budweiser bottle was found about 30 feet away from the victim’s body. The bottle had Ramirez’s fingerprints on it.

In July 1985, he was sentenced to death.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, he went on trial again in 2013. This time, he was found guilty of murder in the commission of r-pe and sodomy. He was also found guilty of an enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon.

In 2014, another jury recommended the death penalty for Ramirez.