Doreen Lioy, a California native who worked as a magazine editor before marrying American serial murderer Richard Ramirez, was born in the United States. Due to her status as Richard Ramirez’s ex-wife, she became well-known. The media labeled Richard Ramirez as the “Valley Intruder” and “Night Stalker,” while Lioy was made the “Night Stalker’s” spouse. Also, throughout the years, Doreen Lioy and Richard Ramirez’s peculiar connection garnered a lot of media attention.
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Who is Doreen Lioy?
Lioy was a free-lance teen magazine editor from Burbank, California when she started dating Ramirez. She started writing Ramirez hundreds of letters in 1985, soon after he was detained and imprisoned while awaiting trial, claims the San Francisco Chronicle(opens in new tab). Lioy was initially moved by the “vulnerability” she observed in Ramirez in TV reports of his crimes; after their relationship had developed, she reportedly visited him at San Quentin four times a week. This is according to an account(opens in new tab) from a Los Angeles Times reporter who observed one of Lioy’s visits to Ramirez in jail.
Her twin sister admitted to the San Francisco Examiner in 1996 that Lioy’s family had all but abandoned her after her connection with the convicted murderer and rapist become serious “Being connected to all of this is awful for me. I was shocked by the information. It’s acceptable to be linked via birth. I’m not interested in taking part in this. For the family, it has been a traumatic experience.”
What has Lioy said about being married to a serial killer?
In her 1996 interview with the Examiner, Lioy—then known as Doreen Ramirez—said she loved Ramirez “more than anything in the world.” Over their subsequent years as husband and wife, Lioy continued to frankly profess her love for the notorious Night Stalker. She said of him to CNN in 1997, “He’s nice, he’s humorous, he’s lovely. “I truly believe he is a wonderful person. He’s my buddy and my best pal.”
Lioy’s response to how she managed to fall in love with a murderer was uncomplicated: a firm conviction in his innocence. She told CNN, “I simply absolutely trust in him.
Lioy seemed content with having replaced that dream with a new one: “being with Richard,” even though she acknowledged that being married to a person on death row was a “lonely lifestyle” that prevented her from realizing her dream of starting a family of her own (since death row inmates aren’t allowed conjugal visits).
Where is Doreen Lioy now?
Despite her seeming unwavering devotion to Ramirez, Lioy’s love is said to have waned after their marriage lasted for roughly 13 years. Even before his 1985 rampage as the Night Stalker began, Genetic evidence in 2009 connected Ramirez to the rape and death of a 9-year-old child in San Francisco; Lioy is thought to have broken relations with Ramirez as soon as she learned of that atrocity.
After those rumors surfaced, Lioy remained silent about her relationship with Ramirez, but an article from the Daily Beast (opens in new tab) written after Ramirez’s 2013 death that revealed no one had come forward to claim his body several weeks after his passing seemed to confirm their alleged breakup. However, a San Quentin representative mentioned that Ramirez had not been permitted any personal visits in 2010 and had become hostile to guests in his later years, suggesting that he and Lioy had already broken up by that point.
After the rumored end of her relationship with Ramirez a decade ago, Lioy has been able to effectively avoid the spotlight; the most recent time she is mentioned is in her father’s obituary dated 2019(opens in new tab), where she is identified as Doreen Ramirez. Other than that, it is unknown where she is at this time. She also remained silent following Ramirez’s 2013 demise, which was linked to difficulties from B-cell lymphoma among other long-term health problems.
Doreen Lioy, ex-wife of the Night Stalker
Ramirez was found guilty of severe offenses such as attempted murder, sexual assault, and murder. After his trial, he received a death sentence for the mid-1980s murders of 13 persons. He used to scare residents of California by picking out helpless victims as they slept.
Several people in America used to write letters to Richard Ramirez when he was on trial. Doreen Lioy was one of them; she continued to send love letters to her prospective spouse for over 11 years. Lioy spent his incarceration writing 75 letters to Ramirez. Once they began communicating in 1985, Lioy used to see Ramirez often in prison. Later, in 1988, Ramirez asked Lioy to marry him. San Quentin State Prison in California served as the venue for their 1996 nuptials.
She was ecstatic that she got to marry the man she liked, but the news of her wedding caused shockwaves across America.
Despite the circumstantial evidence, Lioy remained steadfast in her conviction that Ramirez is innocent. I can’t change the way the world sees him, she used to remark. They are not as familiar with him as I am.
Doreen Lioy – Education and Career
Doreen Lioy was born in Burbank, California, in the year 1955. About her early years and upbringing, hardly much is known in the public domain. Lioy was successful in her pursuit of a profession in journalism because she was a strong student.
In the late 1970s, she began working as an editor for the American magazine Tiger Beat. She used to meet and mentor aspiring celebs. John Stamos, an American actor, and producer, attributes her assistance to his rise to fame. Lioy was “a lonely woman,” in Stamos’s memory.
An unusual relationship between Doreen Lioy and Ramirez
Richard Ramirez, who was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, had a miserable childhood. His mother and he used to experience physical violence from his drunken father. He suffered many head traumas as a child. His older cousin Miguel, a Vietnam soldier, affected the name Richie that his family gave him. He used to listen to Miguel’s terrible tales of war atrocities committed during the Vietnam War when he was a serial murderer and rapist in that country.
Richard Ramirez, who was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, had a miserable childhood. His mother and he used to experience physical violence from his drunken father. He suffered many head traumas as a child. His older cousin Miguel, a Vietnam soldier, affected the name Richie that his family gave him. He used to listen to Miguel’s terrible tales of war atrocities committed during the Vietnam War when he was a serial murderer and rapist in that country.
Richard saw his cousin Miguel kill his wife after an altercation, and Miguel committed the crime himself. After this happened, Richard’s life was drastically different. He developed a drug addiction and developed a spiritual attraction. He began off doing minor offenses like drug possession and burglary, but after moving to California, he became involved in more heinous crimes including rape and murder.
Ramirez savagely murdered 14 individuals across California in a year while also engaging in a large number of rapes, assaults, and burglaries. He drew the Satanic pentagram emblem on the victim’s body parts as part of his crime, which had a satanic undertone. At the scene of every murder, he used to leave an inverted pentagram sign. He used to attack every resident, regardless of gender or age. No one felt safe as the news of the murder spread like wildfire throughout the city. Because of this serial killing, revolver sales unexpectedly increased.
Ramirez was returning from Arizona in 1985 when a group of Hispanic women spotted him and yelled for rescue. A few incensed locals thrashed him until the police arrived and took him into custody.
Mind-Boggling Facts About Richard Ramirez
From 1984 and 1989, American serial murderers, rapists, child molesters, and burglars Richard Ramirez terrorized the country. He was born in Texas, USA, on February 29, 1960.
He had an extremely unpleasant upbringing when his father used to beat his mother. His older cousin Miguel Ramirez, who went by the moniker “Richie,” served as the inspiration.
Ramirez used to listen to Miguel’s horrific criminal stories from the Vietnam War because Miguel was a veteran of that conflict. Miguel himself was a serial murderer who harassed Vietnamese women sexually.
He was the one who saw terrible criminal tendencies emerge in Ramirez. Ramirez saw Miguel shoot his wife one day after a verbal altercation. Miguel was a brutal spouse.
After this encounter, Ramirez, then 22 years old, relocated from Texas to California, and this marked the beginning of his spree. He practiced occultism and believed in Satan.
To fund his addiction, he began consuming cocaine and robbing people. This weak guy murdered 14 innocent individuals in a matter of one year. He made his debut in Los Angeles before moving on to San Francisco. He terrorized the entire country in a short period. His first murder occurred in 1984 and was not discovered until 2009.
He would assassinate someone while they were asleep, then slice off their head. This was one of his terrible methods of murder.
He killed individuals with a variety of weapons, including firearms, machetes, tire irons, and claw hammers. He was so ruthless that we can’t comprehend how he could have killed someone by stomping on them and shocking another with an electric cable.
Additionally, he consistently left a symbol of Satan at the scene of the crime. The inverted pentagram emblem was visible on several deceased corpses. He forced the victim of his attack to swear on Satan, according to a survivor. His dread began to spread like wildfire, and the selling of firearms accelerated.
Doreen Lioy’s wedding with Richard Ramirez
Doreen Lioy recognized she was drawn to the man after his detention. She refused to accept the reality that he had been convicted of terrible crimes including cutting off the victim’s head and repeatedly stabbing the victim after they had died. When Lioy shouted “Hail Satan” during his first court appearance, he did not even care that he was a practicing Satanist.
Not just Doreen Lioy used to adore him and express her affection in letters. She was adamant about how she felt about him. Lioy wrote him 75 letters of love over the course of 11 years. She used to laud him in interviews as well as protect him in the eyes of the general public. “I believe he’s a very fantastic person. He’s nice, humorous, and charming. He’s my buddy and my best friend, Doreen stated in an interview with CNN.
Ramirez was awarded the death penalty on November 7, 1989, after the jury found him guilty. When he was at San Quentin State Prison, Lioy was the most frequent visitor.
Reporter for the Los Angeles Times Christopher Goffard saw Lioy on the jail grounds who appeared attracted to Ramirez’s frailty. Goffard claimed that Lioy used to see Ramirez around four times each week, and she was always the first person in line. She once remarked that others would perceive her as insane, ignorant, or dishonest. I’m not any of those things, either. Simply said, I have entire faith in him. We all know how things ended, but in my opinion, there was far more evidence to convict O.J. Simpson.
Even though Lioy received harsh criticism from the public, she remained adamant about marrying Ramirez. She finally received approval from the jail staff to get married on October 3, 1996. She gave herself a gold band and Richard Ramirez a platinum one as wedding day gifts to make it special.
Wondering where is Doreen Lioy Today?
They did not spend much time together, and before Ramirez’s passing, they did not see one other for a few years. Uncertainty exists over the cause of their split, nevertheless. According to rumors, Lioy struggled to accept Ramirez’s 1984 murder of a 9-year-old child. In 2009, Doreen and her husband divorced. Ramirez passed away in 2013 as a result of complications from the blood disease B-cell lymphoma. Although Doreen Lioy appears to avoid the spotlight these days, it is unknown where she currently resides.