The Night Stalker
And who put an end to his rein
photo credits: Elaine Mullane (Grandma)
The Detectives behind the Case
My Papa, Mike Mullane, was one of the detectives called to the case of Mei "Linda" Leung and helped put Richard Rameriez in jail.
My Papa was an amazing grandfather, dad, police officer, husband, and person. He was always at our games in the same brown and yellow striped chair and the same brown leather jacket, cheering us on from the sidelines. He cared about us more than anything, whenever we went to the city with him, it was like he put his police hat back on, he wanted to keep us safe no matter what. He dealt with a long battle with cancer and sadly passed away on June 7th, 2020. But just because he is gone, his legacy will still live on forever.
How he got there
My Papa, Mike Mullane, was a San Francisco Police Officer, but he spent the majority of his career as an Inspector in the Homicide Detail. He entered the police force on June 16, 1965, and was assigned to star #151. He then graduated on September 5, 1965.
He was born and raised in San Fransico and graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1961. Later In 2014, he was enrolled in the Sacred Heart Athletic Hall of Fame, as a part of the 1961 Championship team. His career in the SFPD ended in 1995 when he retired from his impressive 30-year career.
photo from: obituary
Richard Rameriez’s rein
Richard Rameriez, the infamous night stalker, and California’s most terrifying and dangerous criminal’s rein finally ended on June 7, 2013, when he died behind bars, from lymphoma, while on California death row. While on death row he was connected to at least 14 killings in San Fransisco from the 1980s.
Richard Rameriez's mug shot
Richard Rameriez walking into court
Mei "Linda" Leung
Richard Rameriez in court
Mei Leung
On April 10th, 1984 Michael Mullane and his partner Ronald Schneider were called into the case, of Mei Leung. Her brother found her hanging on a water spigot in her family’s basement partly nude hanging from her blouse. Mei “Linda” Leung was 9 years old when she was strangled, raped, and hung by Richard Rameriez. Rameriez was a declared Satanist, which led police to believe this was a ritual-style killing.
My Papa who was called to the case said “Had she been a little taller, she could have transferred her weight to her feet on the ground and screamed and somebody could have come and helped her,” Mullane said, adding, “This was one of the tougher ones. One of the ones you’d like to solve. I had little children at the time.”
Days after the murder the mayor of San Francisco at the time held a press conference. $10,000 was offered in exchange for information that could be used for an arrest.
In 2009, through DNA it was found that he was proven guilty, but was never charged with the crime, instead, he died from lymphoma four years later at the age of 53, while on California death row.
Connections
My Papa, along with Falzon, Klotz, and Dubour were awarded the Meritorious Conduct Award for uncovering the identity of the Night Stalker, and consequently leading to the capture of California’s most terrifying and dangerous serial killers in its history. On August 17, 1985, Mr. Peter H. Pan and his wife were shot and killed while in their bed.
The investigators, Inspector Mullane, with fellow Inspectors Frank Falzon, Carl Klotz, and Larry Dubour, later noticed that this crime had similar characteristics to the infamous “Night Stalker” and his murders in Los Angeles. This was then used to connect him to a burglary on Baker Street, as well as other crimes.
Through this, they got a name and later submitted fingerprints. He then was confirmed as the Night Stalker. Once fingerprints and a name were collected, they connected him to the fingerprints from the Los Angles and San Fransisco murders.
The SFPD created a strong case to tie him to the Peter Pan murder case, and then a warrant was put out for his arrest with the Peter Pan murder case.
My Papa (far right), my sister (next to him), my mom (in the middle), me (next to my mom), my older sister (next to me), and my brother (far right) at an A's game in the city.