Richard Ramirez

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High Profile Criminals: Project Childhood and background (family life, friends) Richard Ramirez was born to Julian and Mercedes Ramirez on February 29, 1960 in EL Paso Texas. His mother Mercedes was a devoted catholic and once she crossed the border from Mexico into America, began to work in a boot factory, while his father a former police officer became a labourer for the Santa-Fe railroad. Ramirez was the youngest of five children. When Richard was young, he was ironically described as an angel - innocent and pure. His mother described him as being a happy and normal child who loved to laugh and giggle. At the age of two and five, Richard had sustained two serious head injuries which lead him to suffer from epileptic seizures that altered his life. Due to the seizures, he was not permitted to participate in the same activities as his classmates. He still was able to get good grades in school and his friends adored him. His friends remembered him as a friendly, charming and good child. There were many forces that shaped his life, such as his father. His father was prone to anger fits and would often take it out on his children. In order to avoid his father, Richard would often stay close to his mother. He would attend church with her and seemed to be religious. When Richard was eight or nine years old, it was said that he was sexually abused by a teacher that would come to the Ramirezs’ home to help his brother, whom suffered from a birth defect. A majority of Richard’s childhood was troublesome. His older cousin Mike, who fought in the Vietnam War and suffered from PTST, was a negative influence. When Richard was eleven years old, Mike helped to destroy any innocence he had remaining. He would tell Richard gruesome stories about the torture and mutilation he had inflicted on several Vietnamese women, corroborating these stories with horrific and vivid pictures.

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