Introduction This paper presents a case analysis of Richard Ramirez, the serial killer of the 1980s better known as “The Night Stalker”. Using the qualitative method and content analysis, the findings reveal that the law enforcement procedures were minimal because of the technology available during that time and the prosecution was sufficient because of the criminal justice system.
Literature Review For instance, Vetter (1990) studied the association of the intensity of the violence within the crime, with the reactions and assessment that humans provide for the motive of the crime. He states that, “ To many, a person who commits a series of heinous, apparently senseless, murders must be ‘out of his mind.’ The exact nature of the …show more content…

Geberth sees the victim as a person who cannot help what he/she does. She considers the offender “socially adept.” She then talks about the extensive time and preparations that many serial killers take in order to commit their crimes. Also, how the criminal tries and wants to always have the “upper hand” in the crime and the need for total control. Though psychological factors do play a key role as to why serial murder is still one of the number one mysteries today, it is not the only reason that should be looked at.
Methodology
The Case Analysis presented in this paper pertains to serial killers, and the social psychological processes inherent to the cognition and behavior of these individuals. A review of the literature on serial murder, homicide, and investigative techniques involving forensic psychology direct attention to the possibility that cognition and behavior relating to serial murder manifests within family environments where severe child sexual abuse is rampant. Due to the dangerous nature of individuals who commit acts of serial murder, and the difficulty in securing interviews from convicted murderers, the method of study, and subsequent analysis, manifests out of the research technique; Content Analysis! This is a qualitative method that allows for an analysis of the content of communication, which involves classifying contents is such a way as to bring out the basic structure (Holsti 1969). The term is usually applied to the analysis of