00:00:03
[foreboding music]
00:00:06
NARRATOR: In America,
some of the world's
00:00:08
most depraved criminals
are locked behind bars.
00:00:12
One of these vile inmates is
serial killer Ramon Escobar.
00:00:17
[suspenseful music]
00:00:18
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ: He had
this look in his eyes,
00:00:20
it scared you.
00:00:23
NARRATOR: Escobar
violently murdered
00:00:25
two members of his family.
00:00:27
JAMES QUEALLY: Escobar
uses a police baton
00:00:29
and bashes his uncle over the
head repeatedly until he dies.
00:00:34
DR. LINA HAJI:
The way that he kills
00:00:35
his aunt is extremely
personal, looking into her eyes
00:00:39
as she's taking
her last breath.
00:00:42
NARRATOR: Escobar's lust for
killing moved on to the streets
00:00:45
when he murdered
complete strangers.
00:00:48
JAMES QUEALLY: Escobar come
up behind these three men
00:00:50
while they're sleeping.
00:00:51
He hits them over the head
with a baseball bat.
00:00:54
[ominous music]
00:00:55
CAPT. BILLY HAYES: This
is a violent predator
00:00:57
walking around, preying
on innocent people.
00:00:59
LEROY EL: He came
and attacked me.
00:01:01
You're not expecting the devil
to come around the corner.
00:01:06
JAMES QUEALLY: He's killed
seven people in less than
00:01:07
a month.
00:01:09
And he's injured or seriously
injured seven others.
00:01:12
NARRATOR: Even
behind bars, Escobar
00:01:14
continues to be a threat.
00:01:16
HECTOR BRAVO: He
strangled his cellmate
00:01:18
to death with his bare hands.
00:01:20
[tense music]
00:01:22
PAUL LOPEZ: Escobar, to me,
is someone who enjoys not
00:01:25
just killing but slaughtering.
00:01:27
That's who he is.
00:01:30
[foreboding music]
00:01:45
[audio logo]
00:01:48
[theme music]
00:01:57
HECTOR BRAVO: North Kern
State Prison in California
00:02:00
is what we call
a reception center.
00:02:02
So when inmates get into the
system, they will go there
00:02:05
and they will be
classified to which prison
00:02:07
they would
eventually end up at.
00:02:10
NARRATOR: The prison can
house up to 3,000 inmates.
00:02:14
- The inmates are either
coming from the streets
00:02:16
or county jail.
00:02:17
We have to go
through their police
00:02:19
report, their previous
criminal sentences.
00:02:21
We find out who they are.
00:02:23
[foreboding music]
00:02:25
NARRATOR: Quickly,
identifying the inmates
00:02:27
danger factor is vital.
00:02:29
[high-intensity music]
00:02:34
HECTOR BRAVO: They get
assigned a point level.
00:02:36
If they do have
an incel murder,
00:02:38
meaning that an inmate has
killed another within the cell.
00:02:41
A letter will be
affixed to their file,
00:02:43
showing that they cannot
have a cellmate because they
00:02:45
present a danger to them.
00:02:48
NARRATOR: In North
Kern, one inmate made
00:02:50
their threat level very clear.
00:02:53
A serial killer, Ramon Escobar.
00:02:56
[foreboding music]
00:03:02
JAMES QUEALLY:
This is a man who
00:03:04
was seemingly prone to violence
with little provocation.
00:03:07
If we're just talking
about danger and savagery,
00:03:09
uh, those two
words are probably
00:03:11
synonymous with Escobar.
00:03:12
[foreboding music]
00:03:16
LEROY EL: The prison
system is where you're
00:03:17
supposed to learn your lesson.
00:03:18
There is no rehabilitation
for a person like that.
00:03:21
There's just not.
00:03:22
There's no hope.
00:03:23
He is the embodiment
of the devil.
00:03:25
[foreboding music]
00:03:37
JAMES QUEALLY: My name
is James Queally,
00:03:39
I'm a Criminal Justice Reporter
for The Los Angeles Times
00:03:41
and I covered
the serial killings
00:03:42
involving Ramon Escobar.
00:03:43
[ambient music]
00:03:48
Ramon Escobar was born
in El Salvador in the 1970s.
00:03:50
He was born and grew up
during the brutal Civil War
00:03:54
between the government and left
wing guerrilla groups there.
00:03:56
This led to a lot
of violence in the streets.
00:03:59
[ambient music]
00:04:04
Escobar's mother was killed
during this conflict,
00:04:06
and I believe
in explosion, he was
00:04:10
one of many people fleeing from
that region in that time frame.
00:04:12
[ambient music]
00:04:19
PAUL LOPEZ: Escobar was
in his early teen years.
00:04:22
At that point, he
illegally migrated
00:04:24
into the United
States, Texas, where he
00:04:26
was taken in by his Aunt Dina.
00:04:29
[tense music]
00:04:32
DR. LINA HAJI: Escobar had
a tragic early upbringing
00:04:35
due to the war and due
to the loss of his mother.
00:04:38
It's an abrupt rupture
in the caretaking that he had.
00:04:42
That's got to be
extremely traumatizing,
00:04:46
and it's going to change the
trajectory of a child's life.
00:04:50
Luckily, he's taken
in by his aunt.
00:04:53
[tense music]
00:04:56
PAUL LOPEZ: Ramon's
Aunt Dina treated him
00:04:58
as if he were her
own child, raising
00:05:01
him along her own children
as if they were siblings.
00:05:04
[somber music]
00:05:12
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: My name
is Oswaldo Salamanca,
00:05:14
I am the son of Dina Escobar.
00:05:17
[somber music]
00:05:23
And I don't like
to say it like this,
00:05:25
but cousins of Ramon Escobar.
00:05:28
[ominous music]
00:05:35
NARRATOR: Oswaldo's family had
also fled war torn El Salvador,
00:05:39
making Houston,
Texas their home.
00:05:42
[tense music]
00:05:44
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: My family
had to restart all over.
00:05:47
My mother-- I know she was
a very well-educated woman.
00:05:49
She was a registered
nurse in El Salvador.
00:05:51
[somber music]
00:05:56
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
She went to church.
00:05:58
She prayed for everybody.
00:05:59
My mother was one
of the greatest person that
00:06:01
ever walked this Earth to me.
00:06:03
A lot of people knew her.
00:06:04
My mom had not one
bad bone in her body.
00:06:08
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ:
My mother-in-law,
00:06:09
she was a ball of positivity,
that's all I could say.
00:06:12
You could be having
the worst day,
00:06:14
and she found some type or form
to bring that ray of sunshine
00:06:18
into your life.
00:06:20
She was just
a wonderful person.
00:06:21
[somber music]
00:06:26
NARRATOR: Oswaldo was
three years old when
00:06:28
his teenage cousin
Ramon came to live
00:06:30
with him and his siblings.
00:06:32
[ambient music]
00:06:35
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: I always
shared a room with him.
00:06:38
I was young, I remember
growing up side by side
00:06:40
with him like a brother.
00:06:42
My mom made sure that we always
treated him like a brother.
00:06:45
My mother loved him and she
loved him as her own son.
00:06:49
We're just happy, it
was your regular family.
00:06:52
[foreboding music]
00:07:00
NARRATOR: Though as he
became an older teenager,
00:07:03
Ramon started
acting up at home.
00:07:05
[tense music]
00:07:06
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
There were times where--
00:07:08
something would set him off.
00:07:09
He always was just a little
bit that much more aggressive.
00:07:13
PAUL LOPEZ: In 1988,
Ramon had his first run
00:07:15
in with the law when
he was about 17,
00:07:17
and as a result of that, he was
transported back to his country
00:07:20
in El Salvador.
00:07:21
[ominous music]
00:07:23
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: I don't
remember the case, I was young.
00:07:26
I know it will happened to be
like a domestic altercation
00:07:30
with an ex that he had.
00:07:31
So he got deported after that.
00:07:35
DR. LINA HAJI: It's
interesting because he
00:07:36
came from such
horrific circumstances
00:07:39
to much better circumstances
in the United States,
00:07:43
but yet it seems that
wasn't enough for him.
00:07:45
Was it that he was
already predisposed
00:07:49
as somebody who was going
to commit a life of crime,
00:07:53
go against authority,
no matter what
00:07:55
kind of nurturing
environment he had.
00:08:00
PAUL LOPEZ: After Escobar
returned a few years later
00:08:02
to the United States, he
was arrested again and
00:08:04
ultimately sentenced
to five years for burglary,
00:08:07
where he served some time
in the Texas Department
00:08:10
of Criminal Justice.
00:08:12
[foreboding music]
00:08:17
NARRATOR: After spending two
years in prison in Texas,
00:08:20
Escobar was deported again
back to El Salvador in 1997.
00:08:24
[tense music]
00:08:27
But he kept trying
to come back.
00:08:31
PAUL LOPEZ: Between
1997 and around 2011,
00:08:34
he was arrested and convicted
six different times
00:08:37
of burglary and illegal entry.
00:08:39
[foreboding music]
00:08:43
JAMES QUEALLY:
Escobar was deported
00:08:45
multiple times by immigrations
and customs enforcement.
00:08:48
Sometimes it was simply
for being an illegal alien.
00:08:50
Sometimes it was due
to arrests and convictions
00:08:52
on other crimes,
mostly in Texas.
00:08:54
[foreboding music]
00:08:57
NARRATOR: When he was forced
to live back in El Salvador,
00:09:00
the family did their best
to support him.
00:09:03
[ambient music]
00:09:08
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: My mom
always helping him,
00:09:09
and she was always
sending him money.
00:09:11
Even me, we would put money
on his books commissary
00:09:13
all the time because,
you know, we're family.
00:09:16
[tense music]
00:09:18
DR. LINA HAJI: This idea
being constantly reinforced
00:09:20
that you're not
wanted here in the US
00:09:24
could have been something
that Escobar internalized,
00:09:27
but he wasn't being accepted
by society because he was
00:09:29
engaging in criminal activity.
00:09:31
So you would think that
he would say to himself,
00:09:34
this is not working for me.
00:09:35
The more I engage
in criminal activity,
00:09:37
the more I get deported
back to a place
00:09:39
that I don't want to be.
00:09:40
Yet that didn't stop him.
00:09:42
So to me, that further
paints the picture
00:09:45
that he really had no
regard for authority,
00:09:48
no regard for the law.
00:09:50
NARRATOR: When Escobar
managed to get back to the US
00:09:53
illegally, he would stay with
Oswaldo and his Aunt Dina
00:09:56
while they started the appeal
process for him to remain.
00:09:59
[ambient music]
00:10:03
But his behavior didn't help.
00:10:07
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: He
was always into drinking.
00:10:09
Me and my mother, we were
always trying to keep
00:10:11
him away from the party life.
00:10:14
[tense music]
00:10:16
PAUL LOPEZ: Escobar he
was having an increasing
00:10:18
issue with his illicit drug
use and his alcoholic
00:10:21
beverage problem.
00:10:23
Drinking too much.
00:10:24
[tense music]
00:10:29
NARRATOR: After
another deportation,
00:10:30
Escobar illegally re-entered
the US again in 2016
00:10:35
and went straight to the board
of Immigration Appeals.
00:10:39
He said he was in fear for his
life back in El Salvador.
00:10:43
[tense music]
00:10:45
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
And this was when all
00:10:46
the gangs were still going on.
00:10:48
I remember one time that
he ended up in the hospital
00:10:52
because they almost
murdered him.
00:10:54
They hit him with machetes
on his head, on his hands.
00:10:57
If you were to see pictures of
him, he has scars everywhere.
00:11:00
They almost killed
him over there.
00:11:03
I saw something
different in his eyes.
00:11:05
[tense music]
00:11:09
You could tell that
there was something
00:11:10
different when he came back.
00:11:12
[tense music]
00:11:14
NARRATOR: A judge
granted a stay
00:11:15
on Escobar being deported
again, while his case
00:11:19
was being reviewed.
00:11:20
[ambient music]
00:11:22
In 2018, Escobar went to live
with his uncle Rogelio.
00:11:26
[ambient music]
00:11:31
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
My uncle, Rogelio Escobar,
00:11:33
opened his doors to everybody
in his family that needed it.
00:11:36
He was a great man.
00:11:37
[tense music]
00:11:40
NARRATOR: Despite
having a home,
00:11:42
Escobar found it
difficult to get work.
00:11:45
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
He struggled a lot
00:11:47
because every time
he was at a job,
00:11:48
he was always fighting with--
with the other employees,
00:11:51
he was very aggressive.
00:11:53
He didn't like nobody
telling him what to do.
00:11:55
[tense music]
00:11:58
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ: I met Ramon
not on very many occasions.
00:12:00
I met him maybe
three or four times.
00:12:02
Ramon wasn't somebody
you wanted to be around.
00:12:05
I guess that's the only
way I could put it.
00:12:08
The way of his
being, it scared you.
00:12:13
[tense music]
00:12:15
NARRATOR: Escobar's anger
turned towards his cousin.
00:12:20
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: He started
building a jealousy over me,
00:12:23
having things that he didn't.
00:12:24
He started asking
me to give him stuff
00:12:28
that he wouldn't work for.
00:12:29
Jealousy enraged him.
00:12:32
PAUL LOPEZ: Uncle Rogelio had
gotten involved and separated
00:12:35
both of them before
they could actually get
00:12:37
into a physical altercation.
00:12:40
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: He didn't
like that my mom and my uncle
00:12:42
stopped him from fighting.
00:12:45
DR. LINA HAJI: Escobar's family
was fed up with his behavior.
00:12:49
It's telling him
either you get better
00:12:51
or we cannot be in your life.
00:12:53
It wouldn't surprise me
if Escobar went ahead
00:12:55
and twisted that as being.
00:12:57
Well, it's your fault my life
turned out the way it is.
00:13:00
It's your fault that
you're rejecting me.
00:13:02
This is what we call
blame externalization.
00:13:05
Instead of taking
accountability for his actions,
00:13:08
he's now going to point
that outwards, as if it's
00:13:10
everybody else's fault.
00:13:12
JAMES QUEALLY: Escobar believed
his uncle had disrespected him
00:13:15
and made a plan to kill
his uncle as a result
00:13:18
of this perceived slight.
00:13:19
[ambient music]
00:13:23
NARRATOR: Months later,
47-year-old Escobar
00:13:25
put his plan into action.
00:13:27
[suspenseful music]
00:13:33
JAMES QUEALLY: Escobar
goes to his uncle's room,
00:13:36
asks him for a cigarette.
00:13:38
Rogelio presumably turns
around to find him a cigarette,
00:13:40
and while he is distracted.
00:13:42
[suspenseful music]
00:13:47
Escobar uses a police baton and
bashes his uncle over the head
00:13:52
repeatedly until he dies.
00:13:53
[somber music]
00:13:58
NARRATOR: Escobar then
stuffed his uncle's body
00:14:01
into a large cardboard box.
00:14:03
[somber music]
00:14:06
PAUL LOPEZ: He transported
it to a warehouse
00:14:09
in southwest Houston,
where he just essentially
00:14:15
discarded him in a dumpster.
00:14:17
[tense music]
00:14:22
NARRATOR: 48 hours later,
Rogelio's sister Dina
00:14:25
started to worry.
00:14:27
[tense music]
00:14:29
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: Your uncle
hasn't been home for two days.
00:14:31
We thought maybe--
maybe he's just
00:14:32
with somebody
in the neighborhood,
00:14:34
but she knew there
was something wrong.
00:14:36
[tense music]
00:14:39
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ:
At that moment in time.
00:14:41
Oswald was grandma and Oswald's
mother were living with us
00:14:44
in the apartment that we had.
00:14:46
Oswald was in the shower,
and she came and she told me,
00:14:48
she said, I have to go
look for my brother.
00:14:51
And I said, well, go
tell Oswaldo, bye.
00:14:54
And she said, no, no, no,
mija, I'll be right back.
00:14:57
And she left.
00:14:58
[tense music]
00:15:04
PAUL LOPEZ: Ramon's Aunt
Dina came to her brother
00:15:06
Rogelio's house
to search for him.
00:15:08
Now, when Aunt Dina showed
up, Ramon was there,
00:15:11
and he was closely watching
his Aunt Dina's search efforts.
00:15:14
[tense music]
00:15:19
Ramon took the opportunity to
enter her van and hide in it,
00:15:23
waiting for her to come out
to the van, and when she did,
00:15:26
he launched his attack on Dina.
00:15:29
[suspenseful music]
00:15:33
He strangled her from
behind, eventually
00:15:35
dragging her to the ground,
continuing to strangle her.
00:15:38
He also knelt on her chest,
using his entire body weight,
00:15:43
causing her
to suffocate to death.
00:15:46
[ominous music]
00:15:54
JAMES QUEALLY: Ramon Escobar
takes his aunt's body
00:15:56
and hides it in a dumpster.
00:15:58
He then takes the van
and burns it on a beach
00:16:01
near Galveston, Texas.
00:16:02
[somber music]
00:16:07
The way Ramon killed his aunt
and uncle is absolutely brutal.
00:16:09
These are the people that
have taken care of him
00:16:11
for most of his adult life.
00:16:15
DR. LINA HAJI: This is
where the evil in Escobar
00:16:18
really rears its ugly
head, because the way
00:16:21
that he kills his aunt
is extremely personal.
00:16:24
He is face to face with her.
00:16:26
He has his knees on her chest,
likely looking into her eyes
00:16:30
as she's taking
her last breath.
00:16:32
This is the woman that acted
as a second mother, that
00:16:35
nurtured him and loved him.
00:16:36
What that really
tells us is how
00:16:39
little respect
Escobar has for life,
00:16:43
even those closest to him.
00:16:45
[tense music]
00:16:52
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: My uncle is
missing, now my mom's missing,
00:16:55
and Ramon has something
to do with it.
00:16:57
[suspenseful music]
00:16:59
So me, my sister,
my brother got in a car,
00:17:02
went to my uncle's house.
00:17:04
Me and my brother knocked
his door down, grabbed him,
00:17:08
and pulled him outside while
my sister was calling the cops.
00:17:11
He was acting very suspicious.
00:17:14
And at that time,
me and my brother
00:17:15
were just so mad that
my mom wasn't around.
00:17:18
He could see the anger
in us and he never seen
00:17:20
something like that before.
00:17:24
Once the cops got there,
he knew not to say nothing.
00:17:27
That's when the cops seen all
the scratches on his neck.
00:17:30
And for that reason,
he ended up taking
00:17:33
him in for interrogation.
00:17:35
It was heartbreaking.
00:17:36
I knew some foul
play had happened.
00:17:39
[suspenseful music]
00:17:43
JAMES QUEALLY: Ramon
becomes a person of interest
00:17:45
to Texas Law Enforcement
as they open a missing
00:17:47
persons investigation.
00:17:49
But after they question
him and can't hold him
00:17:50
because there's no
evidence, he gets in his car
00:17:52
and he just starts
driving west.
00:17:54
Pretty much until he
hits the Pacific Ocean
00:17:56
and ends up in Santa
Monica, California.
00:17:58
[tense music]
00:18:03
NARRATOR: Back in Texas,
Dina's family's faint hope
00:18:06
she was still alive faded
when her burnt out van
00:18:09
was discovered on a beach
near Galveston.
00:18:12
[somber music]
00:18:15
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
We already knew it.
00:18:16
Once you find a van burnt
like that and he's gone,
00:18:20
I've never had a feeling as
horrible as that one that day.
00:18:25
My sisters, my brothers
hearts were broken that day.
00:18:28
[somber music]
00:18:37
[suspenseful music]
00:18:42
NARRATOR: While
Houston Police urgently
00:18:44
sought Escobar
for further questioning,
00:18:47
he was hiding out
in Santa Monica.
00:18:50
[suspenseful music]
00:18:53
HECTOR BRAVO: Santa Monica
is a beautiful place
00:18:55
located in Los Angeles County.
00:18:56
It's a Beach City,
you got a pier
00:18:59
with amusement parks,
sand, a lot of restaurants,
00:19:03
very tourist area.
00:19:05
[ambient music]
00:19:10
NARRATOR: But there's another
side of life to the city.
00:19:13
JAMES QUEALLY: Santa Monica
has an issue with homelessness.
00:19:15
Much like the rest
of southern California.
00:19:17
It's not as pronounced
as in Los Angeles proper.
00:19:20
It is common to find people
sleeping on the beach
00:19:22
out there, specifically
under the Santa Monica Pier.
00:19:25
[tense music]
00:19:28
NARRATOR: Leroy was
one of those that
00:19:29
were unhoused at the time.
00:19:31
He was living in a camp on
the outskirts of Santa Monica.
00:19:34
[tense music]
00:19:39
LEROY EL: Living on the streets
is one of the most difficult
00:19:43
lifestyle situations to be in.
00:19:45
One of the main things is
being exposed to the elements.
00:19:48
You have to worry
about your safety.
00:19:51
Sleeping next to people who
are going to take your things
00:19:53
once you drift off to sleep.
00:19:55
Once nighttime hits, it gets
really, really dangerous.
00:19:57
Really sketchy, really sketchy.
00:20:00
[tense music]
00:20:04
NARRATOR: 11 days after
fleeing to California,
00:20:07
Escobar was
sleeping in his car.
00:20:11
He was homeless, but instead of
becoming part of the community,
00:20:16
he would prey on them.
00:20:18
[foreboding music]
00:20:30
PAUL LOPEZ: In the early
morning hours of September 8,
00:20:34
Escobar brutally
attacked a male subject
00:20:37
on a Santa Monica beach.
00:20:38
[suspenseful music]
00:20:48
JAMES QUEALLY: He attacked
a homeless man with a baseball
00:20:50
bat, robbed him.
00:20:55
PAUL LOPEZ: The subject
sustained severe head injuries
00:20:58
and was subsequently
transported
00:21:00
to a nearby hospital after
being discovered by police.
00:21:04
However, even though
the subject did survive and
00:21:08
eventually was released
from the hospital,
00:21:10
he had no recollection
of the attack whatsoever
00:21:14
and could provide no
suspect information at all.
00:21:17
[somber music]
00:21:24
NARRATOR: Just 48 hours
later, Escobar struck again.
00:21:28
[ominous music]
00:21:33
JAMES QUEALLY: The man
was a 51-year-old victim.
00:21:35
A man named Juan
Antonio Ramirez.
00:21:37
He is also living in Santa
Monica, also homeless,
00:21:40
also sleeping on the beach.
00:21:41
Sometime around
dawn, Escobar strikes
00:21:44
the men in and about the head.
00:21:46
Juan Ramirez was in a coma
for years after the attack,
00:21:48
but eventually succumbed to his
injuries in January of 2021.
00:21:51
[somber music]
00:21:55
Escobar, he was robbing people
to get money, to get food,
00:21:58
and the softest
targets he could pick
00:22:00
were sleeping homeless people.
00:22:02
[somber music]
00:22:04
NARRATOR: These attacks
did not make the news.
00:22:07
JAMES QUEALLY:
Unfortunately, violence
00:22:09
against the homeless community
in Southern California
00:22:10
is not an uncommon crime.
00:22:12
Sadly, if you ask around
here, a lot of the times,
00:22:14
if your average person, even
your average police officer,
00:22:17
hears about an attack
on a homeless person,
00:22:19
their first assumption is
that they got into a fight
00:22:20
with another homeless person.
00:22:22
Escobar, and the idea that
there was a pattern killer
00:22:24
doesn't come into focus
until a little bit later.
00:22:28
NARRATOR: Over
the next few days,
00:22:30
Escobar attacked two more
individuals who were homeless.
00:22:33
They were fortunate to survive.
00:22:35
[foreboding music]
00:22:39
He would then go on to commit
a crime so visible,
00:22:42
it would be
impossible to ignore.
00:22:45
JAMES QUEALLY: We're standing
in Downtown Los Angeles.
00:22:47
We're right over there
at the intersection
00:22:49
of Flower and Wilshire.
00:22:50
Ramon Escobar
attacked three men
00:22:52
while they were sleeping
outside, all of them
00:22:54
were homeless.
00:22:55
[ominous music]
00:23:01
Escobar, come up
behind these three men
00:23:02
while they're sleeping.
00:23:04
He hits them over the head and
shoulders with a baseball bat,
00:23:06
one at a time, and then rifles
through their possessions,
00:23:09
stealing money,
belongings, whatever
00:23:11
he could get from them.
00:23:12
Two of those men later
died from their injuries.
00:23:16
NARRATOR: The men
killed while they slept
00:23:18
were 59-year-old Kelvin
Williams and Branden Ridout,
00:23:23
who was 24.
00:23:24
[somber music]
00:23:27
DR. LINA HAJI: It's really
showing how predatory and
00:23:30
kind of a bully Escobar is.
00:23:32
Homeless people are not
great targets to rob.
00:23:35
They don't have
a lot of possessions.
00:23:36
They don't have a lot of money.
00:23:37
So why are you robbing
homeless people
00:23:39
is the very first question?
00:23:42
They're so vulnerable, a lot
of them are malnourished.
00:23:45
It would have been
so easy for Escobar
00:23:47
to maybe hit them, take
whatever small belongings they
00:23:50
have and move about his way.
00:23:52
That's not what he did.
00:23:54
So to me, that says that
Escobar's motivation
00:23:57
was actually not robbery.
00:23:59
Escobar went after them
because he enjoyed killing,
00:24:04
and he knew that he could very
easily kill homeless people
00:24:07
because he had
very easily killed
00:24:09
his own family members,
which just tells
00:24:11
me he's evil to his core.
00:24:14
[tense music]
00:24:20
JAMES QUEALLY:
This was the crime
00:24:22
that finally put him on the
radar of local law enforcement,
00:24:24
and made pretty
clear to the public
00:24:25
that we had a serial killer
on the loose targeting
00:24:27
homeless men in Los Angeles.
00:24:29
[tense music]
00:24:32
NARRATOR: An investigation
was launched,
00:24:34
releasing CCTV
of Escobar captured
00:24:37
just after his latest attacks.
00:24:39
The LAPD hoped
to pinpoint the killer.
00:24:43
[suspenseful music]
00:24:46
CAPT. BILLY HAYES: Today,
we're requesting the public's
00:24:48
assistance in identifying
an individual
00:24:50
responsible for three
brutal attacks
00:24:53
yesterday morning
in central area.
00:24:56
The most distinctive thing
about this individual
00:24:58
is that he has bowed legs.
00:25:02
This is a violent predator
that's walking around preying
00:25:04
on innocent people.
00:25:06
We want to get them
as quickly as possible.
00:25:08
[tense music]
00:25:12
JAMES QUEALLY: There is this
boogeyman, the specter, just
00:25:14
like lurking in the night.
00:25:15
You could go to bed
and never wake up again
00:25:17
if this guy chose to rob you.
00:25:19
[tense music]
00:25:21
NARRATOR: Escobar's
potential victims
00:25:23
were the hardest to warn.
00:25:24
[tense music]
00:25:27
LEROY EL: We had no idea
that he was on the loose,
00:25:29
or that we had to be
worried about something
00:25:31
like that at all.
00:25:32
We don't have the news.
00:25:34
We don't have television to see
what's going on in society
00:25:37
or it happened yesterday
or the day before.
00:25:40
[suspenseful music]
00:25:45
NARRATOR: The publicity didn't
deter serial killer Escobar.
00:25:50
Just three days after
the murders downtown,
00:25:53
he strikes again.
00:25:55
- Escobar attacks two
more homeless people.
00:25:59
- Leaving them
severely injured.
00:26:02
NARRATOR: And again--
00:26:04
- He goes back to a familiar
hunting ground.
00:26:06
He goes back to the beach
at Santa Monica.
00:26:07
[ambient music]
00:26:12
NARRATOR: 39-year-old,
Stephen Cruze Jr.,
00:26:15
a father of two was sleeping
under the Santa Monica Pier.
00:26:19
[foreboding music]
00:26:26
PAUL LOPEZ: He
had many jobs, but
00:26:28
one of which he was
commonly engaged in
00:26:31
was working on a charter
fishing boat
00:26:33
that he would sometimes
sleep under the pier
00:26:36
to avoid having to drive
back to the San Gabriel area.
00:26:40
[tense music]
00:26:44
JAMES QUEALLY: Escobar
looking to rob.
00:26:46
He attacks Cruze with the bat.
00:26:50
Seriously injures
and kills Mr. Cruze.
00:26:54
This is a man with children.
00:26:55
This is a man with
a job who apparently
00:26:57
was just in the wrong place
at the absolute wrong time.
00:27:01
[somber music]
00:27:06
NARRATOR: Committing crimes
at random across LA County,
00:27:09
it was proving impossible
for police to track
00:27:12
the serial killer down.
00:27:15
When he struck again,
Leroy was his next victim.
00:27:20
[suspenseful music]
00:27:23
LEROY EL: He walked up
and it was still daytime
00:27:25
and he shook my hand.
00:27:26
He had a strong grip.
00:27:29
When I first seen him, I
had no idea of the beast
00:27:32
that was inside of him at all.
00:27:34
He just looked like
a normal homeless guy.
00:27:38
And he's kind of muscular, you
know, and I'm a little guy.
00:27:41
I wasn't going to get too close
to him, you know what I mean?
00:27:44
[foreboding music]
00:27:46
NARRATOR: As night fell,
Escobar approached Leroy again.
00:27:52
LEROY EL: And he wants to lay
right next to where I was at.
00:27:55
And I told him, no, you can't.
00:27:56
We don't-- we don't
know who you are.
00:27:58
We don't trust you.
00:27:59
The people that were in the
camp that I was at, none of us
00:28:03
knew him.
00:28:04
I told him to go at the end
of where we were at
00:28:07
and set himself up down there.
00:28:10
He looked at where
I was pointing to
00:28:11
and he understood it.
00:28:13
And he, [nods] and he
just walked away.
00:28:16
But that, [nods] yeah.
00:28:19
That's what I seen,
like OK, he-- he gets it
00:28:21
but he's not happy about that.
00:28:24
[ominous music]
00:28:27
NARRATOR: Later
that night, Escobar
00:28:29
came to Leroy asking him if he
knew where he could get drugs.
00:28:33
LEROY EL: I told
him, I know how
00:28:34
I can hook you up with that.
00:28:36
So just hold on.
00:28:37
Let me put on some shoes.
00:28:38
And I went inside of my tent
to put those shoes on.
00:28:42
NARRATOR: While
Leroy crouched down,
00:28:45
Escobar suddenly attacked.
00:28:47
[suspenseful music]
00:28:48
LEROY EL: All I feel
is like a ton of bricks
00:28:52
fell on the back of my head,
just out of nowhere.
00:28:54
I did not even know
he was attacked.
00:28:56
I didn't know what that was.
00:28:59
So I'm trying to come
up out of the tent.
00:29:01
And when I came out of the
tent, he went for a head blow,
00:29:04
and that's when I got
struck in my head.
00:29:06
The next blow, I
caught him like, here.
00:29:09
[ominous music]
00:29:10
I have a little
martial arts training,
00:29:12
so I tried to hip
toss him, not knowing
00:29:14
that he had already shattered
this-- this elbow here.
00:29:17
So when I turned and did
that, I ended up falling.
00:29:21
So that's when he was able to
just keep pounding on my back.
00:29:24
[tense music]
00:29:26
The right side of my body, just
from the top to the bottom.
00:29:29
[tense music]
00:29:32
He would not stop beating on me
until I had just laid still
00:29:35
and let him finish, until
he thought I was dead,
00:29:38
and walked away.
00:29:39
And then I'm just sitting
there bleeding, and
00:29:42
I'm just in my head thinking
like, oh my God, I'm on my way
00:29:44
to heaven.
00:29:45
[tense music]
00:29:51
NARRATOR: Barely conscious.
00:29:52
Leroy managed to alert
help from a passerby.
00:29:57
LEROY EL: Told them
to call the police
00:29:58
for me, and at that point,
that's when I faded out.
00:30:03
I drifted off
into another world.
00:30:05
[tense music]
00:30:11
Till I woke up in the hospital
like, OK, I'm still here.
00:30:15
NARRATOR: Escobar's
savage assault
00:30:17
on Leroy with a bolt cutter
left him with multiple broken
00:30:21
bones and lacerations.
00:30:23
He also had to undergo
an emergency
00:30:25
craniotomy to remove
part of his skull.
00:30:29
LEROY EL: He had hit
me so hard in my head
00:30:30
that it made some
of my skull fractures.
00:30:33
Threatened to poke my brain.
00:30:35
I look like I had just
come through through hell.
00:30:41
NARRATOR: A police detective
visited Leroy at the hospital
00:30:44
and showed him the CCTV footage
from the press conference.
00:30:48
LEROY EL: He pulled his
cell phone up and said,
00:30:50
I just want to is this
the man that attacked you.
00:30:52
And when I looked at it
and I could see his shape,
00:30:56
I knew that that was the man.
00:30:57
And I said, yeah, that's him.
00:30:59
I did not know that he had
just come from murdering
00:31:02
someone in Santa Monica.
00:31:03
I couldn't believe it.
00:31:04
I couldn't believe
that I had came
00:31:06
face to face with the devil.
00:31:09
[sigh] Pure evil.
00:31:11
[tense music]
00:31:19
NARRATOR: The identity
of this devil
00:31:21
was still unknown to the police
and he continued to kill.
00:31:26
[tense music]
00:31:30
PAUL LOPEZ:
On September 24, Escobar
00:31:33
returned to the Santa
Monica area,
00:31:35
where he brutally attacked
Jorge Martinez on the beach.
00:31:40
[eerie ocean waves]
00:31:45
JAMES QUEALLY: Martinez,
unfortunately, also eventually
00:31:47
succumbed to his injuries
following the severe damage
00:31:50
inflicted by Escobar.
00:31:51
[ominous music]
00:31:53
NARRATOR: With all
the signs pointing
00:31:55
to another attack from
the killer they were hunting.
00:31:58
Police scoured
the streets nearby.
00:32:01
JAMES QUEALLY:
And they go looking
00:32:02
in the immediate vicinity,
and not far from there,
00:32:04
they find Escobar walking
funny, walking bow legged,
00:32:07
as was depicted
on the CCTV footage
00:32:09
of the Downtown La attacks,
and they arrest him.
00:32:12
And they find the pair
of bolt cutters on his person.
00:32:14
[suspenseful music]
00:32:16
NARRATOR: Police
had finally caught
00:32:17
the man terrorizing La County.
00:32:21
PAUL LOPEZ: Additionally,
they located
00:32:22
Escobar's black Honda
CRV parked nearby
00:32:27
where they located
the murder weapon,
00:32:30
the baseball bat that was used
to brutally kill his victims.
00:32:37
NARRATOR: Following
Escobar's arrest,
00:32:39
police held a press
conference confirming
00:32:41
they'd caught the man who had
been menacing the two cities.
00:32:45
[suspenseful music]
00:32:49
- Based
on the collaborative work
00:32:51
by the Santa Monica
Police department and
00:32:53
the Los Angeles
Police Department.
00:32:55
We were able to capture
this suspect.
00:32:57
[tense music]
00:33:03
The people that live, work,
and visit Santa Monica and
00:33:07
Los Angeles are safer
today because this suspect
00:33:10
is in custody.
00:33:11
[ambient music]
00:33:16
LEROY EL: The next thing you
know they had caught him.
00:33:19
He's a coward
because you have to wait
00:33:22
till these people go to sleep
before you do anything.
00:33:26
Like he had me
face to face twice.
00:33:28
You shook my hand,
but you waited till I
00:33:31
went inside of the tent.
00:33:33
The people that he targeted
was these homeless people
00:33:36
who have nothing.
00:33:37
They can't even fight.
00:33:38
Taking them from
their families,
00:33:40
taking them out of existence.
00:33:42
That's-- that's just
nothing but a coward.
00:33:44
Nothing but a coward.
00:33:47
NARRATOR: The news reached
Oswaldo's family in Texas.
00:33:52
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
We were in disbelief.
00:33:54
We just couldn't believe
that all this was going on.
00:33:56
I never believed that
somebody in our family
00:33:59
would end up becoming something
like that, because we were all
00:34:04
raised a lot better than that.
00:34:06
[somber music]
00:34:10
NARRATOR: Soon after his
arrest in California.
00:34:12
Houston Police questioned
Escobar about the disappearance
00:34:15
of his aunt and uncle.
00:34:17
[somber music]
00:34:19
He eventually confessed
to their murders
00:34:22
and disposing of their bodies
at a landfill site.
00:34:27
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
The people that raised them,
00:34:29
the people that give
them their hand,
00:34:30
they give everything
off their back.
00:34:33
And you turn around and
brutally murder these people.
00:34:36
It's horrible.
00:34:37
It was horrible
for the whole family.
00:34:39
We're just all not the same
anymore without her.
00:34:42
[somber music]
00:34:44
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ: In my heart,
there is no repaying something
00:34:47
like that that he did.
00:34:48
Taking somebody so innocent,
you know, in the form
00:34:50
that he did it just--
00:34:52
there's no justice to that.
00:34:54
[somber music]
00:34:56
JAMES QUEALLY:
Escobar ultimately
00:34:58
pleaded guilty
to all five murders
00:34:59
he was accused
of in Los Angeles and
00:35:01
the murders of his aunt
and uncle in Texas,
00:35:04
as well as multiple counts of
attempted murder and robbery.
00:35:08
The only condition he made
in exchange for his plea
00:35:11
was that he would not
face the death penalty.
00:35:13
As a result, he was
sentenced to life in prison
00:35:15
without possibility of parole.
00:35:16
[somber music]
00:35:22
DR. LINA HAJI: I'm not
surprised Escobar made a deal
00:35:24
to avoid the death penalty.
00:35:25
Escobar strikes me
as a very cowardly person,
00:35:29
as somebody who's not willing
to take accountability
00:35:31
for their actions,
for the fact that he
00:35:33
took the lives
of so many people
00:35:36
and he's looking
out for himself.
00:35:38
He doesn't want to die.
00:35:39
It's all about him.
00:35:41
[somber music]
00:35:44
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: The judge
asked him if he was
00:35:46
guilty of murdering my mother.
00:35:48
He laughed and said,
very guilty.
00:35:51
The whole time he
was just giving
00:35:53
me this stare like
wishing it was
00:35:56
me and not him in that chair.
00:35:59
[somber music]
00:36:08
[foreboding music]
00:36:13
NARRATOR: After
conviction, Escobar
00:36:15
was transferred
from County Jail
00:36:17
to North Kern State Prison,
where he would be temporarily
00:36:21
housed until it was
decided what penitentiary
00:36:24
he would be sent to.
00:36:26
[theme music]
00:36:29
HECTOR BRAVO:
From my experience
00:36:30
working in the California
Department of Corrections,
00:36:33
I have had the experience
of working around
00:36:35
serial killers in prison.
00:36:37
Usually those individuals,
when they're around authority,
00:36:40
they're very quiet
and very respectful.
00:36:43
They almost seem to act
against victims that are prey.
00:36:46
[foreboding music]
00:36:53
NARRATOR: Escobar's
cellmate was
00:36:54
53-year-old Juan Villanueva.
00:36:58
He arrived at North
Kern State Prison
00:37:00
after being sentenced to life
for aggravated sexual assault
00:37:04
of a child under the age of 14.
00:37:07
[tense music]
00:37:09
JAMES QUEALLY: Juan
Villanueva finds
00:37:11
himself with
the unfortunate role
00:37:13
of Ramon Escobar's cellmate.
00:37:16
NARRATOR: It didn't
take long for Escobar
00:37:18
to develop a strong
dislike for Villanueva.
00:37:21
[suspenseful music]
00:37:30
HECTOR BRAVO: On the morning
of February 24,
00:37:31
at approximately 8:49
AM, inmate Villanueva,
00:37:35
who was the cellmate
of Escobar,
00:37:37
missed one of his medical
appointments to have
00:37:39
his blood pressure taken.
00:37:40
[suspenseful music]
00:37:46
The correctional
officer in the unit
00:37:48
did a security
and welfare check.
00:37:50
[suspenseful music]
00:37:54
The correctional
officer noticed
00:37:55
Villanueva's lifeless
body unresponsive.
00:37:58
[ominous music]
00:38:01
He then summoned a code
one medical emergency
00:38:04
where the response came.
00:38:05
They tried life saving
measures on Villanueva,
00:38:08
and then they
ultimately transferred
00:38:09
him to an outside
hospital, where
00:38:10
he was pronounced deceased.
00:38:11
[foreboding music]
00:38:17
PAUL LOPEZ: Correctional
officers searched the cell,
00:38:19
and they located a letter
that had been written
00:38:22
by Escobar, clearly
citing five reasons
00:38:26
that he killed Villanueva.
00:38:27
[tense music]
00:38:29
NARRATOR: The first
reason Escobar
00:38:31
gave was Villanueva
refused to shower
00:38:34
or clean the cell properly.
00:38:36
PAUL LOPEZ: To provide
the exact quote in the letter.
00:38:38
He stank like, [bleep].
00:38:40
[tense music]
00:38:41
HECTOR BRAVO: On that list
of motives that Escobar left.
00:38:44
Number 5 on the list
said he did not
00:38:46
want to take me
serious, so it was time
00:38:49
for him to meet the devil.
00:38:50
[somber music]
00:38:53
PAUL LOPEZ: Escobar
explained to prison staff
00:38:55
that he killed Villanueva
by using his bare hands
00:39:00
to strangle him to death.
00:39:02
[tense music]
00:39:04
He stated that it took
approximately five minutes
00:39:08
before the job was done,
and he was able to successfully
00:39:11
kill Mr. Villanueva.
00:39:12
[suspenseful music]
00:39:21
DR. LINA HAJI: Escobar shows
us that his reasons for murder
00:39:24
are just as flimsy
as the last ones.
00:39:27
I was just murdering
because I needed the money.
00:39:30
I was just murdering
because I felt disrespected.
00:39:33
He's very selfish,
but yet, at his core,
00:39:36
I don't believe that
Escobar actually likes
00:39:38
himself as a human being.
00:39:40
And as a result, he's
incapable of liking
00:39:42
or loving anybody else.
00:39:44
[ominous music]
00:39:48
NARRATOR:
On September 18, 2023,
00:39:52
Escobar was charged with first
degree murder of Villanueva.
00:39:56
[suspenseful music]
00:39:59
JAMES QUEALLY:
If Escobar is convicted,
00:40:01
that would be his eighth
murder conviction.
00:40:02
[tense music]
00:40:07
NARRATOR: With as many victims
as the infamous East Bay
00:40:10
Slayer, Ramon
Escobar's security
00:40:14
was upgraded accordingly
to protect those incarcerated
00:40:17
alongside him.
00:40:19
[eerie music]
00:40:25
JAMES QUEALLY:
Escobar is currently
00:40:27
being held in a California
State Prison in Sacramento.
00:40:31
HECTOR BRAVO: It is a high
maximum security institution.
00:40:34
It's a very dangerous
and very volatile prison.
00:40:37
[suspenseful music]
00:40:42
Going forward, Escobar will
never have another cellmate.
00:40:45
It is affixed on his
file everywhere he goes,
00:40:48
he should not be housed
with anybody else.
00:40:50
[suspenseful music]
00:40:59
NARRATOR: Escobar's actions
scarred the lives of many,
00:41:03
not just the ones he took.
00:41:05
[somber music]
00:41:06
LEROY EL: I'm still feeling
the effects of that attack.
00:41:09
When I stand up from
this position right now,
00:41:12
it's going to be
pain in my hip.
00:41:14
It's pain in my knees.
00:41:15
[somber music]
00:41:19
One more thing is
that, that's actually
00:41:22
what helped me get off of--
00:41:23
off of the--
the substances too.
00:41:26
[somber music]
00:41:34
If he wouldn't have
tried to kill me,
00:41:35
I wouldn't have been
reunited with my family.
00:41:37
I wouldn't be looking
like this today right now.
00:41:40
It was fly.
00:41:41
[laughs]
00:41:48
NARRATOR: Oswaldo and his
brother and sisters
00:41:51
also had to rebuild
their lives after the loss
00:41:54
of their mother, Dina.
00:41:55
[somber music]
00:41:56
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
Weren't even able
00:41:58
to retrieve her body
from the dump site
00:42:00
where she was thrown at.
00:42:03
My uncle too, we weren't able
to salvage his body since it
00:42:07
had already been three months.
00:42:09
They were saying
that we probably
00:42:10
wouldn't even get bones back.
00:42:12
There's never really going
to be any closure for us.
00:42:15
[foreboding music]
00:42:22
NARRATOR: Denied the chance
to bury their loved ones.
00:42:25
Oswaldo's family celebrate
their lives instead.
00:42:29
OSWALDO SALAMANCA: The impact
my mother and my uncle
00:42:31
had on us.
00:42:32
They showed us
how to be family,
00:42:33
how to love our children,
how to love each other.
00:42:36
[somber music]
00:42:37
Dina Escobar and Rogelio
Escobar, two of the greatest
00:42:41
people that walked this world.
00:42:43
[mellow sad music]
00:42:44
CYNTHIA MARTINEZ: We really,
really miss her and him.
00:42:47
When my mother-in-law
went missing,
00:42:51
unknowingly, I was a month and
a half pregnant with my oldest
00:42:55
daughter, and that's
why we decided
00:42:57
to call her after her grandma.
00:42:59
[mellow sad music]
00:43:06
NARRATOR: But there's
one family
00:43:08
member they choose to forget.
00:43:11
OSWALDO SALAMANCA:
Ramon Escobar.
00:43:14
This man is evil
in so many ways,
00:43:16
and I know that he is
where he's supposed to be.
00:43:19
And God has the last
word with him.
00:43:21
When he decided to hurt
somebody in our family,
00:43:24
he is not family,
he is nothing to us.
00:43:27
[somber music]
00:43:30
PAUL LOPEZ: Escobar
is not human.
00:43:33
In my mind, he's
an empty vessel.
00:43:37
He's violence wrapped
in human skin who
00:43:41
does nothing but pray
like a coward
00:43:45
on the vulnerable
and the defenseless.
00:43:48
LEROY EL: When I found out who
he was and what he had done,
00:43:51
I was even more
thankful for God
00:43:53
that I even made it because he
was really a straight beast,
00:43:57
just a monster.
00:43:59
[somber music]
00:44:19
[theme music]
