US 'Night Stalker' killer dies

Richard Ramirez, the notorious serial killer known as the Night Stalker died of "natural causes." according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The 53-year-old had spent decades on death row after being sentenced for a string of serial killings that horrified the Los Angeles region.

After one of the longest trials in US history Ramirez was sentenced in 1989. However California subsequently suspended the death sentence amid court challenges over the state's method of putting inmates to death.

California corrections officials have confirmed that convicted serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the 'Night Stalker', has died in prison.

Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders that terrorized Southern California in 1984 and 1985, and sentenced was to death, although the cause of his death on Friday morning is not yet known.

Satanic symbols were left at murder scenes and some victims were forced to "swear to Satan" by Ramirez, who entered homes through unlocked windows and doors.

Ramirez was captured and beaten in 1985 by residents of an East Los Angeles neighbourhood during an attempted car-jacking.

Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the 'Night Stalker' has died, a California prison official has said.