Original subtitles

**

41, we have a code 39...

- DOWNTOWN L.A... - Corner lot at 401 West Main.

WHAT'S A CODE 39?

CODE 39, SOMEONE IS DEAD.

...A REPORTER ON ASSIGNMENT TO UNCOVER CRIME...

THE YOUNG WOMAN APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN STRANGLED AND BEATEN.

...WHEN A KILLER STRIKES.

THE CITY WAS ON EDGE.

I KEEP MY DOORS LOCKED AND MY GUNS LOADED.

AND THERE'S A SHOCKING CONNECTION...

THE KILLER WAS SEEN DISPOSING OF BLOODY CLOTHES.

...TO CALIFORNIA'S MOST NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLER...

HAIL SATAN.

...TO THE INFAMOUS CECIL HOTEL

...AND A JOURNALIST WHO BECAME PART OF THE STORY.

I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO STAY BACK.

ASSAULTS, RAPES, MURDER.

THERE'S BEEN MURDER AT CECIL.

**

**

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THE CECIL HOTEL IS HAUNTED

AND ACTUALLY CURSED.

I'VE VISITED THE HOTEL ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

I'VE FOLLOWED UP INVESTIGATIONS, AND WALKING INTO THAT HOTEL

WAS ALWAYS AN EERIE FEELING FOR ME.

LOOKING AT BROCHURES OR LOOKING AT

THE LOCATION OVER THE INTERNET,

THE CECIL HOTEL WOULD LOOK LIKE A NICE PLACE TO STAY,

BUT ULTIMATELY, UPON ANYONE'S ARRIVAL,

I THINK THEY WOULD QUICKLY SEE

THAT IT'S NOT WHAT WAS ADVERTISED.

**

JACK UNTERWEGER CHECKING IN.

YOU SURE YOU GOT THE RIGHT PLACE?

I HOPE SO. I CALLED LAST MONTH.

I RESERVED ROOM 1402.

HERE IT IS, JACK UNTERWEGER.

IT'S JUST WE DON'T GET TOO MANY SUIT-AND-TIE TYPES ANYMORE.

HOW MANY NIGHTS, MR. UNTERWEGER?

DON'T KNOW. CAN I PAY BY THE DAY?

SOME PEOPLE PAY BY THE HOUR.

ELEVATOR IS DOWN THE HALL ON YOUR LEFT.

TOP FLOOR, COME OUT OF THE ELEVATOR, TAKE A LEFT.

THANK YOU.

JACK UNTERWEGER WAS A JOURNALIST

AND A TALK SHOW HOST IN AUSTRIA,

AND HE WAS VERY WELL-KNOWN FOR WRITING ABOUT TRUE CRIME

AND SPECIFICALLY MURDER.

HE WAS ACTUALLY CELEBRATED FOR HIS WRITING ON THE SUBJECT.

I HAD FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE CECIL HOTEL,

BUT I WASN'T ABOUT TO CATCH UP ON SLEEP.

IT WAS MY FIRST TIME IN L.A.

IT WAS EVEN MY FIRST TIME IN THE U.S.

AND RIGHT OFF THE BAT

I COULD TELL I WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

BY THE 1990s, THE CECIL WAS THE PERFECT PLACE

FOR A CRIME WRITER INTERESTED IN SEEDY LOS ANGELES, TO STAY.

**

IT WAS WHERE DRUG DEALERS AND PIMPS

AND PROSTITUTES AND HOMELESS PEOPLE

KIND OF CONGREGATED AND WERE, IN A LOT OF WAYS,

KIND OF LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES

WITH THEIR OWN SET OF RULES AND LAWS.

I MEAN, IT WAS ALMOST A LAWLESS PLACE.

IN 1924 WHEN THE CECIL HOTEL WAS BUILT, I MEAN,

IT WAS PRIMARILY FOR TOURISTS

AND BUSINESS PEOPLE TO VISIT LOS ANGELES.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS A GLAMOROUS TIME.

BY 1991, THE CECIL WAS JUST

A SAD REFLECTION OF ITS FORMER SELF.

IT HAD BEEN THIS BEAUTIFUL ART-DECO HOTEL,

AND NOW IT WAS JUST SORT OF LIKE A DEAD FLOWER.

MOST PEOPLE ASSOCIATE L.A.

WITH HOLLYWOOD, MOVIES, STARS,

ALL THAT GLAMOUR,

BUT I WAS HERE TO FIND THE OTHER LOS ANGELES,

STREETS TEEMING WITH TROUBLE.

**

POLICE ARE HERE FOR YOU.

**

JACK ARRANGED WITH

THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

TO GO ON RIDE-ALONGS,

AND THE PRIMARY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT POLICE WERE TAKING HIM TO

WAS THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND THE CECIL HOTEL.

JACK, JIM LARRY, GOOD TO FINALLY MEET YOU.

- SAME HERE, JIM. - YOU READY?

I'VE BEEN READY FOR MONTHS.

UNTERWEGER CAME TO LOS ANGELES ON ASSIGNMENT

WITH SOME AUSTRIAN MAGAZINES TO WRITE ABOUT CRIME

AND SPECIFICALLY PROSTITUTION

IN THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA.

**

FOR JACK, IT WAS IMPORTANT AS A WRITER

TO GET INTRODUCED INTO THE CULTURE

AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES.

WHILE I CAME TO REPORT ON VICE,

IT WAS HOMICIDE THAT FIRST DREW ME TO CRIME IN L.A.

IT HAD ONLY BEEN 6 YEARS SINCE A SERIAL KILLER

NAMED RICHARD RAMIREZ TERRORIZED THE CITY

AND MADE INTERNATIONAL NEWS.

6 TO 8 MURDERS AND 25 TO 30 ATTACKS.

YOU KNOW, BACK HOME, THE L.A.P.D. IS...

WELL, WE THINK OF THEM AS THE FINEST POLICE FORCE

IN THE WORLD.

SO DO WE.

THAT'S OFF THE RECORD.

JACK HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT CRIME PROBLEMS

AND THE ISSUES AND HOW THEY'RE TRYING TO DEAL WITH IT.

THIS JOB, PATROLLING THE STREETS OF L.A.,

WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART?

FIGHTING AGAINST THE TIDE, JACK. THAT'S THE HARDEST PART.

SOMEHOW, EVERYTHING GOT TURNED AROUND IN THIS CITY.

WE USED TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CRIME.

NOW ALL WE DO IS CLEAN UP, WAIT FOR THE NEXT CALL.

YOU TAKE PROSTITUTION.

WE STILL MAKE ARRESTS, BUT WE SET IT UP

SO THAT ALL OF THE HOOKERS HAVE BEEN CORRALLED

INTO A FEW PARTS OF THE CITY.

KEEP AN EYE ON THINGS THAT WAY. THAT'S SMART.

**

IN L.A., CRIME WAS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH IN 1991,

AND IF YOU WERE GOING TO COME HERE TO WRITE ABOUT IT,

THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE YEAR.

CRACK COCAINE HAD INFILTRATED MOST OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS.

CRIME, MURDER WAS ON THE RISE,

AND ON MAIN STREET, WHERE THE CECIL HOTEL IS LOCATED,

THERE WAS LOTS OF STREETWALKERS, LOTS OF ACTIVITY.

HERE'S A LITTLE COLOR FOR YOUR STORY, JACK.

HEY, YOU KNOW THE DRILL, JANELLE.

WHAT AM I GOING TO FIND IN HERE, JANELLE?

- I DON'T KNOW. NOTHING. - YOU DON'T KNOW OR NOTHING?

**

HOW MANY TIMES YOU BEEN ARRESTED, JANELLE?

I DON'T KNOW. 10?

WELL, IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT AT 10, TALK TO MY FRIEND HERE.

HE'S WRITING A STORY ON CRIME IN OUR FAIR CITY.

I DON'T HAVE TO USE YOUR REAL NAME.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOU, YOUR LIFE ON THE STREETS,

WHAT YOU DO TO MAKE IT DAY TO DAY.

I STAND HERE.

YOU STAND HERE?

IT WAS THE SAME STORY

I HEARD TIME AND TIME AGAIN BACK HOME.

THEY CAME FROM BROKEN HOMES AND ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS

AND BELIEVED THEY WERE FINDING SALVATION IN THE STREETS.

BUT ON THESE STREETS NEAR THE CECIL,

THEY WERE TRULY RISKING IT ALL.

I'D LIKE TO PAY YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

- JACK, TIME TO GO. - RIGHT. OKAY.

WELL, THANK YOU, JANELLE, AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU.

LUCK'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

**

JACK ASKED THE POLICE, YOU KNOW, "TAKE ME TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS

"WHERE YOU HAVE THE MOST CRIME, WHERE THEY HAD A LOT OF DRUGS,

A LOT OF PROSTITUTION, A LOT OF KILLING,"

AND THAT'S PRIMARILY THE NEIGHBORHOOD

AROUND THE CECIL HOTEL.

**

DETECTIVE, I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN

FOR LETTING ME RIDE ALONG WITH YOU.

WE CAN DO THIS AGAIN IF YOU WANT.

GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU GET ENOUGH MATERIAL.

THANKS. I'LL TAKE ALL I CAN GET.

**

MY EDITORS THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY TO STAY AT THE CECIL.

THEY TRIED TO PUT ME UP IN A NICER PLACE,

BUT I PREFERRED TO BE IN THE EYE OF THE STORM.

**

- I WANT MY MONEY! - PLEASE COME ON!

IT WAS THE DARK SIDE OF L.A...

NO MOVIE STARS, NO GLAMOUR.

I WANT MY MONEY!

JUST THE CECIL HOTEL.

I WANT MY MONEY! WHERE'S MY MONEY?

WHERE'S MY MONEY?!

**

JACK CONTINUED TO GO ON RIDE-ALONGS

WITH THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT,

AND IT REALLY DREW HIM INTO THE HEART OF THESE SUBJECTS

THAT HE WAS WRITING ABOUT.

ALL THE WHILE, IN THE BACK OF MY MIND,

I WAS HOPING TO PICK UP A STORY

ABOUT A KILLER LIKE RICHARD RAMIREZ.

**

I KNOW IT'S ODD TO SAY, BUT NOT ONLY AM I READY.

I'M DYING TO GET BACK OUT THERE.

FOR JACK, COMING FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY,

TO ARRIVE HERE AND TO SECURE RIDE-ALONGS,

I MEAN, THIS HAD TO BE THE ULTIMATE FOR HIM.

I WAS GOING OVER MY NOTES FROM YESTERDAY,

AND THERE'S ONE THING I DON'T QUITE GET.

SURE.

THESE PROSTITUTES, WHEN YOU ARREST THEM, WHO...

WE HAVE A CODE 39, CORNER LOT AT 401 WEST MAIN.

CENTRAL 11414 IS LOCAL AND EN ROUTE.

WHAT'S A CODE 39?

CODE 39, SOMEONE IS DEAD.

**

**

I CAME TO LOS ANGELES TO WRITE ABOUT THE CITY'S CRIME

AND DISCOVERED THERE WAS NO SHORTAGE.

**

DELIVERY GUY FOUND HER THIS MORNING.

JACK, I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO STAY BACK.

IT WAS ONLY MY SECOND TIME RIDING ALONG WITH THE L.A.P.D.,

BUT I WAS ALREADY LAYING EYES ON A GENUINE AMERICAN HOMICIDE.

LIGATURE MARKS HERE AND HERE.

**

- WHO'S COMING? - THE CORONER IS ON HIS WAY.

OKAY. HANG TIGHT TILL THEY GET HERE.

THEN START KNOCKING ON DOORS.

THERE'S ANOTHER DETECTIVE COMING ALONG WITH A CORONER'S UNIT,

SO WE SHOULD GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET THEM DO THEIR WORK.

RIGHT, RIGHT, OF COURSE.

LET'S GO.

JUNE 19th, 1991.

THE BODY OF SHANNON EXLEY

WAS DISCOVERED IN A VACANT LOT IN EAST LOS ANGELES.

SHANNON'S MURDER WAS PARTICULARLY BRUTAL

AND HORRIFIC.

SHE'S BEEN STRANGLED WITH HER OWN BRA,

AND THERE'S A CERTAIN KIND OF KNOT

THAT'S BEEN USED TO MAKE A LIGATURE.

THE NIGHT BEFORE SHANNON WAS DISCOVERED,

SHE HAD ACTUALLY TALKED TO HER FATHER,

AND SHE TOLD HER FATHER THAT SHE WANTED TO GET HER LIFE STRAIGHT.

SHE WANTED TO GET OFF THE STREETS.

SHE WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM THE DRUGS, THE PROSTITUTION.

HER DAD WAS COMPLETELY SUPPORTIVE,

ONLY TO FIND OUT THE NEXT DAY THAT SHE WAS DISCOVERED DEAD.

AFTER EACH RIDE-ALONG, I'D RETURN TO THE CECIL,

WHICH, LIKE THE REST OF DOWNTOWN L.A.,

APPARENTLY HAD ITS FAIR SHARE OF DEATH.

I WANTED THE HOTEL TO BE A CHARACTER IN MY STORY,

SO I TALKED TO EVERYONE I COULD ABOUT THIS PLACE.

THERE WAS A GUY NAMED BILLY FLYNN, FOR INSTANCE.

HE HAD BEEN AT THE CECIL FOR YEARS,

ONE OF ABOUT 100 LONG-TERM RESIDENTS

THAT LIVED HERE FULL-TIME.

IT WAS SO CHEAP YOU COULD DO THAT.

FLYNN KNEW AS MUCH AS ANYONE ABOUT THE HOTEL

AND ITS BIZARRE HISTORY.

HE LIKED TO TALK.

- CAN I HELP YOU? - YOU BILLY FLYNN?

I'M JACK UNTERWEGER. I'M A WRITER.

I WAS HOPING YOU'D HAVE A DRINK WITH ME.

**

**

DO YOU BELIEVE IN A PLACE BEING CURSED, JACK?

I SUPPOSE SO.

I DON'T SUPPOSE SO. I KNOW SO.

THIS PLACE, THE CECIL, THIS PLACE IS CURSED.

WE TALKED FOR HOURS.

FLYNN TOLD ME ONE REAL-LIFE HORROR STORY AFTER ANOTHER

ABOUT THE CECIL.

THERE'S BEEN BEATINGS, ROBBERIES,

ASSAULTS, RAPES, MURDER.

THERE'S BEEN MURDER AT THE CECIL,

PERMANENT RESIDENT JUST LIKE ME.

WHAT WAS HER NAME?

GOLDIE OSGOOD, PIGEON LADY.

THEY CALLED HER THE PIGEON LADY BECAUSE SHE USED TO GO

ACROSS THE STREET, FEED PIGEONS ALL DAY.

TURNS OUT COPS FIND HER RIGHT DOWN THE HALL,

RAPED, BEATEN,

STABBED TO DEATH.

PIGEON LADY IS AN INTERESTING STORY, AND IT WAS BRUTAL.

SHE WAS FOUND STRANGLED TO DEATH IN HER ROOM AT THE CECIL HOTEL,

AND IT WAS ONE OF THOSE CRIME SCENES

THAT EVEN HARDENED INVESTIGATORS SORT OF TEARED UP OVER.

AND IT REALLY STRUCK 'EM HARD BECAUSE THIS WAS A WOMAN

THAT WAS WELL-KNOWN IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD FOR BEING

JUST A KINDHEARTED LADY THAT LOVED THE BIRDS.

NEVER CAUGHT THE GUY THAT DID IT.

AND WHEN WAS THAT?

THAT WAS 1982.

WHEN DID YOU MOVE IN HERE?

1982.

**

I LEFT FLYNN'S ROOM

WONDERING WHETHER THE CECIL ATTRACTED

DANGEROUS, ADDICTED, OR INSANE TYPES OF PEOPLE,

OR IF THE HOTEL SOMEHOW PUSHED GUESTS OVER THE EDGE,

OR MAYBE IT WAS JUST CURSED.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

LOOK AT YOU. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

I'M A WRITER. I'M WORKING.

THAT'S NOT WHY YOU'RE HERE.

I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE, AND THAT AIN'T IT.

GIVE ME 20 BUCKS.

**

I'LL BE SEEING YOU AROUND, JACK.

**

FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS,

I RODE AROUND L.A. WITH THE POLICE,

AND THEY SHOWED ME ALL OF IT --

THE DRUG DEALERS, THE PIMPS, THE PROSTITUTES.

I HAD NO IDEA HOW BAD THINGS WERE ABOUT TO GET,

BUT AS A JOURNALIST, SOMETIMES BAD NEWS IS GOOD NEWS,

MORE MATERIAL TO INCLUDE IN MY STORY.

RETURNING FROM A 13-MONTH LAYOFF

AFTER SHOULDER SURGERY,

HERSHISER GAVE UP FOUR RUNS AND SIX HITS

AS THE DODGERS LOST TO THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 9-4.

IN OTHER NEWS, THE L.A.P.D. REPORTS

THAT A HOMELESS MAN FORAGING FOR FIREWOOD IN BOYLE HEIGHTS

DISCOVERED THE BODY OF A WOMAN

WHO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN BRUTALLY MURDERED.

THIS IS THE SECOND FEMALE VICTIM

TO BE FOUND IN BOYLE HEIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK.

THE YOUNG WOMAN APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN STRANGLED AND BEATEN.

IRENE RODRIGUEZ WAS THE SECOND VICTIM.

SHE WAS ALSO FROM THAT 7th AVENUE AREA

WHERE SHANNON HAD BEEN WORKING.

AND LIKE SHANNON, SHE WAS A HEROIN ADDICT

AND, AGAIN, WAS PROSTITUTING TO SUPPORT THE HABIT.

SHE WAS STRANGLED WITH HER OWN BRA.

SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AND BEATEN

BEFORE AND AFTER SHE DIED,

JUST LIKE THE OTHER GIRL, SHANNON EXLEY.

SEE THOSE LIGATURE MARKS? THIS IS WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

LOOK AT THIS.

LOOK AT THE KNOTS.

VERY DETAILED, PRECISE.

NOW LOOK AT THIS ONE.

WE FOUND THIS ON SHANNON.

SAME KNOTS.

BOTH VICTIMS STRANGLED WITH A BRA.

BOTH BRAS HAD THESE KNOTS.

SAME VIOLENT SEXUAL ASSAULT.

IRENE HAD ARRIVED IN LOS ANGELES IN APRIL OF THAT YEAR.

SHE HAD LEFT TEXAS,

WHERE SHE WAS LIVING WITH HER COMMON-LAW HUSBAND.

THEY HAD FOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER.

SHE WASN'T AROUND A LOT BECAUSE HER LIFESTYLE,

BUT THE FACT THAT SHE'D BEEN MURDERED

AND TAKEN FROM THEM SO BRUTALLY

WAS JUST AN ABSOLUTELY TRAGIC SITUATION FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY.

I CAME TO THE CECIL TO WRITE ABOUT CRIME.

NOW IT WAS LOOKING AS IF

A SERIAL KILLER LIKE RICHARD RAMIREZ

MIGHT BE ON THE LOOSE AGAIN.

THEY'RE ASKING ANYONE WITH INFORMATION TO CALL.

I HAD A STORY.

POLICE ARE REFRAINING FROM IDENTIFYING THE VICTIM

UNTIL HER NEXT OF KIN ARE NOTIFIED.

TWO VICTIMS.

THEIR MANNER OF DEATH WAS SIMILAR IN NATURE.

WE DEFINITELY HAD A SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE.

THE SAME DETECTIVE UNIT THAT HANDLED

IRENE AND SHANNON'S MURDER WERE THE SAME DETECTIVES

ASSIGNED TO INVESTIGATE RICHARD RAMIREZ,

AND HERE WE ARE YEARS LATER WITH TWO FEMALE VICTIMS BEING KILLED.

YOU KNOW, IS THERE GONNA BE A THIRD?

IS THERE GONNA BE A FOURTH?

IS THE CITY GONNA UNRAVEL AND BE IN THIS STATE OF PANIC

AS WE WERE DURING RAMIREZ?

BUT RICHARD RAMIREZ HAS THE BEST ALIBI THERE IS.

HE'S BEEN BEHIND BARS AND ON DEATH ROW FOR ABOUT 6 YEARS.

AND IF THIS IS THE WORK OF A RAMIREZ COPYCAT,

THEN I NEED TO KNOW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT RAMIREZ.

I FOUND A RESEARCH LIBRARY NEAR THE CECIL

AND BEGAN LOOKING DEEPER INTO RAMIREZ.

I WAS ABLE TO FIND THOUSANDS OF RECORDS ON HIM.

I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT BACK IN THE '80s,

HE, TOO, STAYED AT THE CECIL.

FOR HIM, THERE WAS NO BETTER PLACE TO CONDUCT BUSINESS.

AND THE CECIL HOUSED THE MOST DANGEROUS KILLER

IN L.A.'s HISTORY.

**

**

I WAS ON ASSIGNMENT,

WRITING ABOUT CRIME IN LOS ANGELES,

AND IT SEEMED LIKE I CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE

AT THE RIGHT TIME.

IT WAS EERILY REMINISCENT OF A MURDER SPREE THAT

MADE FAMOUS A SERIAL KILLER NAMED RICHARD RAMIREZ.

BUT NOW, THE MORE I LOOKED INTO HIS STORY,

THE MORE FASCINATED I BECAME BY THE MADNESS HE EMBODIED.

HIS REIGN OF TERROR BEGAN ON MARCH 17th, 1985.

IT WAS JUST ANOTHER NIGHT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO DO.

- ALL RIGHT. - ALL RIGHT?

- GOOD NIGHT. - GOOD NIGHT.

I GOT THIS.

- THANK YOU, PETEY. - ALL RIGHT.

HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. DRIVE SAFE.

**

MARIA HERNANDEZ LIVED IN AN APARTMENT

IN ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA.

IT'S ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.

**

**

MARIA HAD JUST DRIVEN HOME.

SHE HAD BEEN OUT FOR THE EVENING.

IT WAS 10:40 AT NIGHT, ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

**

**

PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T --

NO, PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

PLEASE, PLEASE!

MARIA'S ROOMMATE, DAYLE OKAZAKI, WAS INSIDE OF THE HOME.

SHE HAD DUCKED WHEN SHE HEARD THE GUNSHOT

AND ACTUALLY SAW RAMIREZ COME INTO THE HOUSE.

**

**

DAYLE OKAZAKI HAD DIED FROM A SINGLE GUNSHOT WOUND

TO THE FOREHEAD,

AND HER ROOMMATE, MARIA HERNANDEZ,

HAD SUSTAINED A GUNSHOT WOUND TO HER RIGHT HAND.

BUT THE SUSPECT WAS GONE PRIOR TO ARRIVAL

OF ANY OF THE DEPUTIES RESPONDING.

HE HAD LONG BLACK HAIR.

NO!

AND HIS EYES WERE BLACK, TOO.

NO, PLEASE!

JUST DEAD EYES.

HIS SKIN AND HIS...HIS FACE.

HIS HANDS...

SHE DESCRIBED THIS MAN

AS A GUY WITH BAD TEETH, BAD BREATH.

SHE FELT A DARKNESS AROUND HIM,

A DARK PRESENCE.

I READ THAT

MARIA HERNANDEZ AND DAYLE OKAZAKI

WERE ONLY THE START OF THE KILLER'S RAMPAGE.

EVEN ON THAT SAME NIGHT, THERE WAS ANOTHER VICTIM.

THE KILLER LEFT DAYLE AND MARIA'S HOME

AND DROVE AROUND FOR AWHILE,

AND HE ENDED UP IN A NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY

CALLED MONTEREY PARK.

AND HE ENCOUNTERED A WOMAN

JUST PULLING UP IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE.

HER NAME WAS TSAI-LIAN YU.

HE WAITED UNTIL SHE GOT OUT OF HER CAR,

AND THEN HE SHOT HER.

KILLED HER RIGHT THERE.

MORE KILLINGS FOLLOWED.

SOME OF THEM HE WOULD SHOOT.

SOME OF THEM HE WOULD STAB.

SOME HE WOULD BEAT TO DEATH.

SOMETIMES, HE WOULD RAPE.

SOMETIMES, HE WOULD ROB.

I WAS ACTUALLY WORKING SOUTH LOS ANGELES

AS A DETECTIVE, AND THE CITY WAS ON EDGE.

I MEAN, WE HAD A SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE WITH NO HARD LEADS.

COPS STILL HAD NO IDEA THE KILLER WAS RAMIREZ,

BUT THE MEDIA GAVE HIM A NAME --

THE NIGHT STALKER.

THE SUSPECT VARIES THE TIME, PLACE,

AND TYPE OF ATTACK,

BUT HE ALWAYS ENTERS THROUGH AN OPEN DOOR OR WINDOW.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICIALS

HAVE AUTHORIZED A $10,000 REWARD.

HE MOVED AROUND L.A.,

STRIKING IN ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF NEIGHBORHOODS.

IT WAS ALL SO RANDOM.

THE ONLY CONSTANT WAS THAT HE'D STAYED AT THE CECIL.

**

**

THERE WERE REPORTS AT THIS TIME

THAT THE KILLER WAS SEEN LATE AT NIGHT

DISPOSING OF BLOODY CLOTHES AND EVIDENCE

IN THE DUMPSTER BEHIND THE CECIL.

**

SOME PEOPLE CLAIMED THAT THE KILLER WOULD BE

JUST WALKING BACK INTO THE CECIL

AND DOWN THE HALL JUST IN HIS UNDERWEAR,

PRESUMABLY 'CAUSE HE HAD JUST MAYBE KILLED SOMEBODY

AND DISPOSED OF THE CLOTHES.

THE THING THAT YOU'VE GOT TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE CECIL

IN THE '80s IS NOBODY PROBABLY CARED.

IT WAS A TYPICAL TUESDAY.

6 TO 8 MURDERS AND 25 TO 30 ATTACKS.

I'VE BEEN VERY APPREHENSIVE.

I KEEP MY DOORS LOCKED AND MY GUNS LOADED.

NOBODY KNOWS WHERE THIS INDIVIDUAL MAY STRIKE NEXT.

215926 AAC.

THE BODY COUNT ROSE WITH THE MERCURY

IN THE SUMMER OF 1985.

THE KILLER'S MURDERS BECAME DARKER,

INFLUENCED BY HIS EVER-APPARENT BELIEF IN SATANISM.

HE WAS MUTILATING HIS VICTIMS AND DRAWING SATANIC SYMBOLS

ON THE WALLS OF THEIR HOMES,

AND SOMETIMES ON THE VICTIMS THEMSELVES.

THE NIGHT STALKER WORSHIPPED THE DEVIL AND HE WORSHIPED EVIL,

AND IN SOME CASES WHERE HE ENCOUNTERED VICTIMS,

HE WOULD ASK THEM TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO SATAN.

THERE WAS ONE VICTIM.

HE TOLD HER, "DON'T LOOK AT ME. DON'T CALL THE COPS."

SHE SAID, "DON'T WORRY. I WON'T. I SWEAR TO GOD."

HE TOLD HER, "DON'T SWEAR TO GOD. SWEAR TO SATAN."

**

IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG

FOR PANIC TO TEAR ACROSS LOS ANGELES.

THE LATEST VICTIM, A 35-YEAR-OLD MAN,

SHOT IN THE HEAD LAST THURSDAY.

I'M AFRAID FOR EVERYBODY -- ELDERLY, YOUNG, EVERYBODY.

DETECTIVES WERE BAFFLED BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ANY RHYME OR REASON

TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

EVERYBODY WAS SCARED FOR THEIR LIVES.

YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHEN HE WOULD APPEAR.

HE STRUCK ALL OVER LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

HE ALSO DIDN'T HAVE A PARTICULAR KIND OF PERSON HE LIKED TO KILL.

THE NIGHT STALKER KILLED INDISCRIMINATELY

AND HE KILLED EVERYBODY.

IT WAS THIS UNPREDICTABILITY THAT ADDED

AN EXTRA LAYER OF JUST ABSOLUTE TERROR AND FEAR

IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

THE NIGHT STALKER BECAME WORLD-FAMOUS,

AND THAT'S WHAT HE SEEMED TO CRAVE MOST -- FAME.

NO ONE KNEW HE WAS LIVING RIGHT UNDER THEIR NOSE,

RIGHT THERE AT 640 MAIN STREET AT THE CECIL HOTEL.

BUT THIS REIGN OF TERROR COULDN'T LAST FOREVER.

IT NEVER DOES.

**

**

A KILLER WAS ON THE LOOSE,

AND MY STORY ABOUT LOS ANGELES CRIME

WAS TAKING A NEW TACK.

IT WAS JUST LIKE THE MID-'80s,

WHEN THE NEWS ARCHIVES DESCRIBED

A CITY SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL.

WHILE RICHARD RAMIREZ WAS LIVING AT THE CECIL HOTEL,

HE WAS RIDING HIGH ON A WAVE OF TERROR ACROSS L.A.

WITH EACH ATTACK, HIS EGO GREW, WITH GOOD REASON.

MY WORK IN SERIAL KILLERS IS THAT

THEY THINK THEY'RE BETTER THAN EVERYBODY.

THEY'RE SMARTER THAN EVERYBODY,

AND THEY PROVE IT WHEN THEY DO THESE MURDERS

AND GET AWAY WITH IT.

AND THE MORE THEY DO AND THE MORE THEY GET AWAY,

THE MORE THAT FUELS THE NARCISSISM,

THE MORE THEY WANT TO SEE THAT IN THE NEWSPAPER

AND THE MORE THEY WANT TO SEE IT ON TELEVISION

BECAUSE IT JUST PROVES TO THEM

THEIR SUPERIORITY TO EVERYBODY ELSE.

BUT ON AUGUST 25, 1985, EVERYTHING CHANGED.

A SUSPECT ATTACKED A COUPLE LIVING TOGETHER

IN MISSION VIEJO,

AND HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THE FEMALE AND SHOT THE MALE,

LEAVING HIM FOR DEAD.

FORTUNATELY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, THERE WAS A YOUNG MAN

WHO SAW THE SUSPECT DRIVING BY IN A CAR.

HE NOTIFIED AUTHORITIES,

AND THAT CAR WAS A REPORTED STOLEN VEHICLE,

AND IT WAS FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF THE SKID ROW AREA,

CLOSE TO THE CECIL HOTEL.

AND THEY WERE ULTIMATELY ABLE TO FIND A FINGERPRINT

INSIDE THE CAR.

IT WAS A PARTIAL THUMB PRINT ON THE REARVIEW MIRROR.

GOTCHA.

THEY RUN IT THROUGH A DATABASE,

AND WHEN THEY DO,

THEY FIND THE ONE GUY THAT THEY BELIEVE IS RESPONSIBLE

FOR 13 MURDERS AND 30 ASSAULTS.

HE WAS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS RICHARD RAMIREZ.

RICHARD RAMIREZ WAS A YOUNG HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT.

HE WAS A DRIFTER.

THERE WAS NO VIOLENCE IN HIS PAST.

HE WAS A THIEF, LITTLE STREET HOOD,

A TWO-BIT CRIMINAL.

WE'VE GOT A BOOKING PHOTO OF HIM,

AND IT MATCHED WHAT THE SURVIVING VICTIMS HAD SEEN.

POLICE WERE THEN SURE OF IT.

RICHARD RAMIREZ WAS THE NIGHT STALKER,

THE MOST WANTED MAN IN AMERICA.

**

THEY PUT OUT HIS MUG SHOT.

THEY GAVE IT TO ALL THE LOCAL MEDIA --

TV STATIONS, NEWSPAPERS, EVERYTHING.

AND ON A SATURDAY MORNING,

RICHARD RAMIREZ'S PICTURE WAS PLASTERED

ON THE FRONT PAGE OF EVERY NEWSPAPER IN L.A.

ALL OF THE PATROL UNITS, ALL OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS

AND SURROUNDING AGENCIES WERE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR RAMIREZ.

**

HEY, THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE GUY!

- HEY. - HEY.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, MAN?

THIS YOU RIGHT HERE?

A MOB OF LOCALS

ACTUALLY CHASED RAMIREZ DOWN

AND BEAT HIM VERY BADLY

AND HELD HIM UNTIL THE COPS CAME AND ARRESTED HIM.

THE PUBLIC, WHO WAS TERRORIZED BY RAMIREZ,

WERE THE ONES WHO WERE ABLE TO TAKE HIM DOWN,

WHICH IS, IN SOME WAY, KIND OF SWEET POETIC JUSTICE.

IT WAS OVER --

THE TERROR, THE HORROR.

LOS ANGELES COULD SLEEP WITH BOTH EYES CLOSED AGAIN...

AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

MR. RAMIREZ, A.K.A. "THE NIGHT STALKER,"

WAS CONVICTED OF 13 COUNTS OF MURDERS,

SEVERAL OTHER COUNTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.

HE WAS ULTIMATELY SENTENCED TO DEATH IN NOVEMBER OF 1989.

RICHARD'S DEMEANOR IN COURT WAS SHOCKING.

IN ONE INSTANCE, HE LAUGHED

WHEN THE PROSECUTOR WOULD NAME OF THE VICTIMS

AND THE CRIMES HE WAS ACCUSED OF COMMITTING.

HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT HIS VICTIMS.

HE WAS CALLOUS. HE WAS COLD.

AND HE BELIEVED THAT HE WAS DOING SATAN'S WORK.

RAMIREZ BECAME SOMETHING OF A CELEBRITY.

HE HAD BOOKS AND MOVIES WRITTEN ABOUT HIM.

EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ON DEATH ROW,

WOMEN WANTED TO BE WITH HIM.

HE EVEN GOT MARRIED WHILE HE WAS IN PRISON.

**

THIS, AGAIN, IS ABOUT MANIPULATING THE PUBLIC,

MANIPULATING THE FEAR, HAVING THE CONTROL TO TERRORIZE PEOPLE

AND REVELING IN THE INFAMY OF IT ALL.

THE DEATH SENTENCE

THAT WAS IMPOSED UPON RICHARD RAMIREZ

WAS NEVER CARRIED OUT BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

PRIOR TO EXECUTION, HE DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES.

**

RICHARD RAMIREZ'S CONNECTION TO THE CECIL

ADDED AN EXTRA LAYER OF JUST ABSOLUTE TERROR AND FEAR

TO ITS NOTORIOUS REPUTATION

AS KIND OF THIS MURDER HUB OF LOS ANGELES.

SO DID RICHARD RAMIREZ, EVEN IN DEATH,

HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE MURDERS NEAR THE CECIL?

YES. YES, HE DID.

I HAVE NO DOUBT IN MY MIND AT ALL

THAT JACK UNTERWEGER STAYED AT THE CECIL HOTEL

BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT RICHARD RAMIREZ

HAD LIVED THERE BEFORE HIM,

AND HE JUST WANTED TO FEEL THAT SAME ENERGY.

I CAME TO THE CECIL TO COPY RICHARD RAMIREZ.

I STAYED IN HIS ROOM.

I ROAMED HIS STREETS.

I WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE HIM.

I WANTED TO BE FAMOUS LIKE HIM.

I WANTED TO BE POWERFUL LIKE HIM.

I WANTED TO BE FEARED LIKE HIM...

...BECAUSE JUST LIKE THE NIGHT STALKER,

I HAD COME TO LOS ANGELES

TO KILL.

**

**

I'D COME TO LOS ANGELES UNDER THE GUISE

OF WRITING ABOUT CRIME.

- READY? - I'VE BEEN READY FOR MONTHS.

BUT I FOOLED THE L.A.P.D. INTO HELPING ME MAKE CRIME.

JACK, I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO STAY BACK.

THE COPS SHOWED ME MY PREY...

I DON'T HAVE TO USE YOUR REAL NAME.

...WHILE I STAYED AT THE CECIL HOTEL IN ROOM 1402,

RICHARD RAMIREZ'S ROOM.

I BECAME THE CITY'S NEXT BIG SERIAL KILLER.

**

HEY THERE.

WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

DOES CANDY WORK FOR YOU?

IT WAS ALMOST TOO EASY.

WAVE A $10 BILL AT THEM, AND THEY WOULD DO ANYTHING.

- YOU FROM AROUND HERE? - NO.

YOU STAYING IN THE AREA?

I AM. THE CECIL.

- I KNOW THAT PLACE. - YEAH, IT'S OVER THERE.

LOOKING FOR SOME FUN?

YEAH.

WANNA GET OUT OF HERE?

- YEAH. - ALL RIGHT.

**

JACK UNTERWEGER'S THIRD VICTIM WAS PEGGY BOOTH.

**

SHE WAS MURDERED IN A SIMILAR MANNER.

HEY.

**

SHE WAS BEATEN AND STRANGLED, AND THEN HER BRA WAS USED

IN A STRIKINGLY SIMILAR MANNER

AS SHANNON EXLEY'S BRA HAD BEEN USED AS A WEAPON.

THEY HAD BEEN CUT AND THEN TIED BACK TOGETHER

AND PULLED TIGHTLY AROUND THE NECK

AND TIED IN KIND OF AN UNUSUALLY INTRICATE KNOT.

PEGGY WAS ONLY 26 YEARS OLD.

I MEAN, SHE HAD HER WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HER,

AND THIS IS NOT AN IMMEDIATE DEATH.

I MEAN, THIS TAKES MINUTES TO OCCUR,

AND TO, YOU KNOW, BE ALIVE AND THE FIGHTING OFF YOUR ASSAILANT

AND WHAT A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE.

**

AFTER THREE MURDERS, IT WAS TIME

TO CHECK OUT AT THE CECIL AND LEAVE LOS ANGELES.

**

WHEN UNTERWEGER CHECKED OUT OF THE HOTEL CECIL

ON JULY 2, 1991, HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED

EVERYTHING HE HAD SET OUT TO DO,

AND HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT.

BUT IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME.

LATER, THE AUTHORITIES FOUND THAT

HE HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF A 1974 MURDER

AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON,

BUT THEN HE BECAME THIS AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

AND PLAYWRIGHT IN PRISON.

HE WAS RELEASED AFTER 15 YEARS,

AND HE WAS OUT LESS THAN ABOUT 4 MONTHS

BEFORE HE DID HIS FIRST MURDER.

THE OBVIOUS TRAGEDY OF THIS IS

HE DID MANIPULATE THE L.A.P.D.

TO FAMILIARIZE HIMSELF WITH THE PROSTITUTION SCENE IN L.A.

I MEAN, COULD I HAVE SOMEONE LIKE THAT IN MY CAR,

NOT KNOWING?

I MEAN, HERE WAS A KILLER SITTING WITH THE COPS,

AND HE MAY BE PREYING AND LOOKING FOR HIS NEXT VICTIMS.

WHAT A HORRIBLE FEELING.

IN A WAY, THERE'S SOME BRILLIANCE TO THIS.

IF YOU'RE A SERIAL KILLER AND YOU'RE GOING TO COME INTO L.A.

AND KILL SOME PROSTITUTES,

YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP A VERY LOW PROFILE.

JACK, WHAT DOES HE DO?

HE GOES TO THE L.A.P.D. AND GETS A RIDE-ALONG.

YOU KNOW, WHO WOULD SUSPECT HIM?

**

I WAS ALREADY LONG GONE

WHEN THE L.A.P.D. FIGURED OUT WHAT I'D DONE.

I WAS HOME IN VIENNA, BUT I WASN'T HOME FREE.

AUTHORITIES WERE ON MY TRAIL AFTER REALIZING

I HAD KILLED MANY OTHERS IN EUROPE

BEFORE MY L.A. TRIP.

AT THE HEIGHT OF JACK'S FAME,

THERE WAS A SERIES OF PROSTITUTE MURDERS

THAT TOOK PLACE IN AUSTRIA

AND A COUPLE OF OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES CLOSE BY.

THESE ARE WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN BRUTALLY BEATEN,

WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN STRANGLED WITH THEIR OWN BRAS.

THEY KNEW THEY WERE LINKED TO ONE GUY.

HE WAS CALLED THE VIENNA WOODS KILLER,

AND IT WAS ONLY AFTER A POTENTIAL VICTIM GOT AWAY

AND MADE IT TO A POLICE STATION

THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO HELP DETECTIVES FIGURE OUT

WHO THE VIENNA WOODS KILLER REALLY WAS,

AND IT WAS JACK UNTERWEGER.

JACK UNTERWEGER WAS ULTIMATELY CHARGED WITH 11 MURDERS,

THREE OF WHICH OCCURRED IN LOS ANGELES

WHILE HE WAS STAYING AT THE CECIL HOTEL

WHILE HE RODE WITH POLICE OFFICERS

FROM LOS ANGELES.

JACK'S REAL REASON FOR COMING TO LOS ANGELES

WAS HE WAS FASCINATED WITH RICHARD RAMIREZ.

HE WANTED TO LIVE RAMIREZ'S LIFE IN HIS OWN WAY.

HE WANTED TO BE IN THE CECIL HOTEL.

HE WANTED TO COMMIT MURDER IN LOS ANGELES.

HE WANTED TO BE A PART OF THE ROGUES' GALLERY

OF LOS ANGELES CRIMINALS,

AND HE SAW THE PINNACLE OF THAT BEING RICHARD RAMIREZ

AND HIS LIFE IN THE CECIL HOTEL.

**

I THINK THAT, IN HIS OWN WAY,

JACK WAS PAYING A HOMAGE TO THE NIGHT STALKER,

TO RICHARD RAMIREZ,

BUT I THINK HE JUST LIKED THE IDEA.

I MEAN, THERE AREN'T THAT MANY SERIAL KILLERS AT WORK.

HOW OFTEN ARE YOU GOING TO BUMP INTO ONE OF YOUR OWN KIND,

EVEN IF IT'S A FEW YEARS AFTER THE FACT?

I THINK HE WANTED TO FEED ON THAT ENERGY.

FOR MOST PLACES, THE FACT THAT TWO SERIAL KILLERS

HAD LIVED THERE WOULD BE KIND OF THE REASON

A PLACE IS SO DARK AND HAUNTED,

BUT THIS WAS JUST KIND OF PAR FOR THE COURSE AT THE CECIL.

THE CECIL HAD HAD HORRIBLE THINGS TAKING PLACE AT IT

ALMOST FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

SEEMS LIKE KILLERS AND PREDATORS LOVE THE CECIL HOTEL.

IT SEEMS TO BE A NATURAL HABITAT.

I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE PEOPLE AT THE CECIL OR THE PLACE,

BUT IT'S REALLY CHILLING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.

**

IN THE END, I WAS TRIED AND CONVICTED

OF 9 OUT OF THE 11 MURDERS I'D BEEN CHARGED WITH.

I WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON.

**

BUT I WOULD GET THE LAST WORD.

I WOULD DEFY THEM ALL --

THE JUDGE, THE LAWYERS, THE POLICE.

I WOULD NEVER SPEND A SINGLE NIGHT IN PRISON.

WITHIN ABOUT 6 HOURS OF THE VERDICT COMING IN,

JACK HAD HUNG HIMSELF IN HIS CELL.

HE DID THE SAME KNOT THERE THAT HE DID WITH THE OTHER VICTIMS,

AND SOME PEOPLE COMMENTED THAT THAT WAS PROBABLY

JACK'S BEST MURDER OF ALL.

**