Doreen Lioy: Life With Richard Ramirez and the Night Stalker Case

Doreen Lioy is a former magazine editor who is popular for being married to a criminal. In 1996, Lioy became the lawful wife of Richard Ramirez. He is also known as the Night Stalker. The couple married nearly 10 years after his criminal acts placed him behind bars. In 1988, Doreen began writing letters to Ramirez while he was on death row in prison. It was then that they first met.

You might have watched the Netflix documentary Night Stalker related to Richard Ramirez’s Night Stalker case. This series demonstrated his passionate interest in Satan, his numerous victories, and the women who wrote him love letters. It also shows how she interacted with him while imprisoned during his trial.

The case itself shocked the audience. However, the engagement with Doreen Lioy is another part of this story that amazed them. This combination composes a story of strange, almost intrusive love, lots of spotlight, and even one beyond the horror. This blog will discuss all the details about Doreen Lioy and her life with Richard Ramirez. Let’s also discuss the Night Stalker case.

Who is Doreen Lioy?

Doreen Lioy was born in 1955 in Burbank, California. Little information about her early years is available, but it is safe to assume they were less chaotic than her future husband’s. She was also reported to be an ambitious young woman who established herself in journalism.

She styled a variety of While Tigervarious in the late 1970s and early 1980s. John Stamos is quoted as styling various new celebrities for covers. So, marrying a serial killer must have sounded quite insane to Lioy.

Why is Richard Ramirez Known as Night Stalker?

Richard Ramirez was a ruthless murderer. He tortured and raped dozens of people before getting captured in 1985 after killing more than 14 people. The police released Ramirez’s photo while they were searching for the murderer, and they soon located him on a bus after following the photo.

Around the East Los Angeles area, the locals caught Ramirez and beat him up before the police arrived at the scene. The masked Ramirez was referred to as the “Night Stalker” after the houses he broke into in Los Angeles and the night he was there because he broke through the windows of random homes relatively late at night.

Nine-year-old Mei Leung was brutally stabbed to death by Ramirez after he beat and raped her. It makes her a murder victim. A couple of months later, he had hung her body from a pipe in April 1984. Later, Ramirez was sentenced to death.

Richard Ramirez and Doreen Lioy’s Relationship

Doreen Lioy was a Catholic who married Ramirez at the age of 41 and remained a virgin her whole life. Although she had always been aware that others might misunderstand her relationship with Ramirez, she was never bothered by it. She believed in taking chances, and this was no exception. 

In a 1997 interview with CNN, she stated, “I am saying mainstream.” In some cases, I like to live dangerously.” It might be unusual for her to expect her closest friends to say anything about this.

In the CNN interview, Ramirez disapproved, saying, “Her family disowned her. However, I still married her.” He and I both find this inconceivable. But on our wedding day, she would say, “Nobody knows him like I do. Thus, I cannot blame him for anything.” She spoke on-air with KRON 4. She kept boasting about her husband: “He is friendly, hilarious, sweet. I mean, he is a good person. He is my best friend; he is my buddy.

How the Couple Met?

According to sources, Doreen Lioy sent approximately 75 letters to Ramirez while imprisoned. Ramirez was first sent to the Los Angeles County Jail and later transferred to San Quentin State Prison. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lioy shared that her love for him started before he was arrested. Lioy also mentions how she developed feelings for him well before the date she cited. The date she mentions as August 30, 1985, is associated with her friend’s arrest. She recalls being in a nightmare and on the verge of crying the day her friend was arrested.

“Their mugshot was displayed on a large screen in a Dallas plaza. When I saw him, he had this look that resonated with me. I wasn’t familiar with him. But his eyes expressed some helplessness.” Nicoleta expressed how she felt the first time she saw Lioy. Lioy believes this was the beginning of the crumbling of her life. The couple’s relationship grew, and they were officially engaged in 1988.

Lioy and Ramirez’s Wedding Day

Lioy and Ramirez married in San Quentin State Prison on October 3, 1996. Doreen Lioy said, according to her interview a day before the wedding, ”I can’t help the way the world looks at him. They don’t know him the way I do.”

The New York Times reported that Ramirez refused to wear a gold wedding band. He used platinum instead because a Satanist would not wear gold. According to the source, Ramirez’s brother, sister, and niece were to attend as witnesses. However, no family members of Lioy participated in the wedding.

They were married on a chilly Sunday. The two lovingly displayed a picture together. Lioy wore a white gown, and Ramirez wore a white shirt and black trousers on their wedding day. The image was taken outside before a wall painted with mountains and trees. Ramirez turned 36 the day Doreen Lioy married him. In the photo, Ramirez gives his bride a passionate shoulder hug with one arm.

“I’m really happy about it,” Lioy said in her statement to reporters following the wedding. “I am ecstatic, incredibly proud, and a little relieved that most of the day is over. Perhaps I can take a break and try to enjoy the remainder of the day with Richard's family and think back on the day.”

Doreen Lioy Distanced Herself from Richard Ramirez

Lioy initially believed her husband was innocent. However, multiple sources in The Night Stalker Tapes said that she became more unsure of her faith in Ramirez when new evidence came to light in 2009. Doreen Lioy and Ramirez split after DNA evidence linked Ramirez to the rape and murder of 9-year-old San Francisco girl Mei Leung.

Ramirez’s niece said that her uncle and Lioy were divorcing at the time of his passing, and his ashes had been sent to her. Liviakis said she hadn’t seen Lioy until a chance encounter years later. The former newsman said he saw Doreen Lioy working at a party supply store and did not want to be recognized.

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How Did Richard Ramirez Die?

On June 7, 2013, Ramirez passed away in Marin General Hospital, California. Prison records suggest that he died owing to B-cell lymphoma complications. Additionally, his medical reports suggest potential chronic substance abuse problems and a chronic Hepatitis C viral infection.

During that time, Ramirez remained on death row in the San Quentin prison. However, he was never executed owing to having been set under California’s prohibition on capital punishment.

Prison spokesman Samuel Robinson said his body was left unclaimed. Following its cremation, it was further evidence that Doreen Lioy was no longer listed as Rome’s family member.