Gary Ramirez is a 75 year old man from Makawao, Maui, Hawaii. Police have accused Ramirez of the cold case murder of teenager Karen Stitt, who was killed in Palo Alto, California in 1982.
Gary Ramirez Allegations
Ramirez Accused Of Murdering Karen Stitt. “Gary Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of murder and other crimes on August 2 at his home in Makawao on the island of Maui. Karen Stitt, 15, was last seen by her teenage boyfriend walking at night toward a Sunnyvale bus stop. Intending to take the bus back to Palo Alto and her father’s house, the teenager was instead abducted along the roadway, according to the DA’s office. Stitt was found the next morning about 100 yards from the bus stop, thrown over a four-foot wall, naked and bound with her own clothing. She had been stabbed more than 60 times. Clues were limited at the time of the murder, according to the DA’s office. A machinist working late that night noticed an unusual white truck parked near where Stitt’s body was found, but there were no significant leads for decades — until early 2019, the DA said.” [SF Chronicle]
DA: Ramirez To Be Charged With Murder, Kidnapping. “Despite an extensive investigation, there were no significant leads for decades until the arrest last Tuesday, August 2, of Gary Ramirez at his home in Makawao on the island of Maui. The next court date in the extradition proceedings is August 10, 2022. Once Ramirez is extradited, he will be arraigned on on murder, kidnapping, and rape charges. If convicted, the former Fresno man faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. “Behind every old murder file in every major police department, there is a person, heartbreak, and a mystery,” DA Jeff Rosen said. “The mystery of Karen Stitt’s death has been solved thanks to advances in forensic science and a detective that would never, ever give up.”” [Santa Clara DA]
DA: Ramirez Identified With Blood, Bodily Fluid. “Beginning in early 2019, Sunnyvale DPS Detective Matt Hutchison used a tip to determine that Karen Stitt’s killer was likely one of four brothers from Fresno. In late April 2022, Gary Ramirez was identified as the likely source of blood and bodily fluid left at the Karen Stitt crime scene. The Santa Clara County DA’s Crime Lab confirmed that identification last week. The operation to arrest Ramirez took months of planning and was a coordinated effort involving Santa Clara County, Maui and federal law enforcement authorities. It was funded largely by a grant awarded to the DA’s Office in 2021 by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute cold cases.” [Santa Clara DA]
DA: Ramirez Went To High School In Fresno, CA. “Ramirez grew up and attended high school in Fresno. He served in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1970s. After leaving the military, Ramirez frequented or resided in the Bay Area Peninsula, San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado, and Hawaii. ” [Santa Clara DA]
Karen Stitt Murder Details
Stitt Body Found Stabbed 59 Times. “Around 10:45 the next morning, a truck driver discovered what he thought was a female’s nude body lying in the bushes at the base of a cinderblock retaining wall along the driveway of the Woolworth Garden Center, where he was making a delivery, Hutchison said. Stitt’s wrists were bound behind her back with her shirt, her jacket was tied around her left ankle, and a blood stain was found on top of the cinderblock wall just above her body. A medical examiner found that she had been stabbed 59 times in her neck, chest, abdomen and back, Hutchison said. Her cause of death was found to be “stab wounds to the chest and neck.”” [LA Times]
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.
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