Who is Richard Ramirez's wife Doreen Lioy and where is she now?

EVIL California serial killer Richard Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders and 11 sexual assaults in 1989, and spent 24 years on death row.

However, during his incarceration at San Quentin State Prison, Ramirez found love beyond the iron bars and married besotted pen pal Doreen Lioy.

Who is Doreen Lioy?

Doreen Lioy was born in Burbank, California, and is a former magazine editor.

After Richard Ramirez's courtroom proceedings were televised, the twisted murderer started gathering fans and began communicating with them via letter.

However, he found his biggest fan in doting Lioy, who began writing to the serial killer on a daily basis.

They started communicating in 1985 and she wrote him 75 love letters during his incarceration.

The two started seeing each other regularly, with Lioy visiting around four times a week.

As the years passed, an unlikely romance blossomed between the pair, until Ramirez proposed to Lioy in 1988.

In 1996, the pair officially tied the knot at California's San Quentin State Prison.

The ceremony was attended by the demonic killer's brother, sister, niece and lawyers.

Lioy told KRON4 at the time: "I can't help the way the world looks at him. They don't know him the way I do."

Their marriage lasted seven years until Lioy eventually left Ramirez in 2009, after DNA confirmed he had raped and murdered nine-year-old Mei Leung in 1984.

Where is Doreen Lioy now?

The couple were married for 13 years.

Despite being aware of his heinous crimes when they got hitched in 1996, apparently Lioy was particularly disgusted when DNA evidence linked her husband to the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in San Francisco, in early 1984.

Media reports say that after learning of the victim's shocking death and the evidence in 2009, Lioy is believed to have cut ties with the murderer.

But, there were no reports of a divorce and a New York Times article on Ramirez's death indicated that he was still married to Lioy in 2013.

Scott Robinson, a spokesperson from San Quentin, told the Daily Beast that there had been a conversation with his next of kin, but the body would be cremated if no one claimed it.

Robinson also said that, “[Ramirez] wasn’t allowed to have personal visits all of 2010 and the last few years he has refused to visit with everyone.”

When Lioy's shocking relationship with the serial killer became public, her family disowned her because of the shame.

Her twin sister, Denise, told the San Francisco Examiner in 1996: "It's unfortunate for me that I've been linked with all of this.

"I was taken aback by the news.

"To be related by birth is fine... [but] I don't want to be a part of this. It's been a painful event for the family."

It's not clear what the murderer's ex-spouse is doing, as she has avoided publicity.

According to Bustle and other media outlets "no details about Lioy are available and her whereabouts are unknown" .

Who was Richard Ramirez and why was he called the Night Stalker?

Monster Richard Ramirez killed at least 14 people and raped and tortured dozens more before he was dramatically captured in 1985.

Ramirez was caught after cops released his photo and he was spotted on a bus.

Bystanders followed him to East Los Angeles where local residents held and beat him until police arrived.

The twisted serial murderer was dubbed Night Stalker for attacking Los Angeles residents as they slept, after gaining entry - usually through an open window - late at night.

The lanky, long-haired Ramirez left Satanic symbols at the murder scenes and gouged out the eyes of at least one victim.

In 1989, Ramirez was sentenced to death following his trial, but he died from chronic health problems in prison in 2013, at the age of 53.

His first murder victim was Mei Leung, a nine-year-old who he beat and raped before stabbing her to death.

He then hung her body from a pipe in April 1984.

Also in 1984, he took the life of 79-year-old Jennie Vincow in Los Angeles.

Investigators said he would target couples and develop a pattern by shooting the husband first before brutally attacking the wife.

Writer and director Tiller Russell told People: “Everybody kept their windows open and he was crawling in windows.

“So to this day in L.A., when you drive around, that's why there are bars on the windows.”

Russell directed a new Netflix docuseries about Ramirez and the murders.

Ramirez, was born in El Paso, Texas, and was raised by Mexican immigrants.

He came to Southern California as a drifter from El Paso.

Ramirez was heavily influenced by his older cousin Miguel who had fought in the Vietnam war and tortured and mutilated Vietnamese women.

At 13, Ramirez watched his cousin murder his wife.

He developed a penchant for Satanism after moving to California in the late 1970s.

Evil Ramirez was arrested several times for drug possession, burglary, and auto theft.

He was eventually found guilty of a total of 43 counts including attempted murder, rape, sodomy and burglary, said Los Angeles prosecutor Alan Yochelson, who assisted in the case against Ramirez.

Some 23 victims suffered in the crimes for which Ramirez was convicted, Yochelson added.

Ramirez's parting words to the jury after he was sentenced to death were: "Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland."

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What has Doreen Lioy said about Richard Ramirez?

Smitten Doreen Lioy always believed Richard Ramirez was innocent.

According to a CNN report in 1997, she had enthused: "He's kind, he's funny, he's charming… I think he's really a great person.

"He's my best friend; he's my buddy."

Read More on The US Sun

Although Lioy complained about her "lonely lifestyle" after her family disowned her, she would describe her situation as a "hometown girl makes bad" whenever anyone criticized her for marrying a serial killer.

She reportedly said: "Once I was married to Richard, I would have a new family; his family would become mine."

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