RAMON ALBERTO ESCOBAR || The Homeless Serial Killer | Murdered His Child Rapist Cellmate Due to Bad Hygiene | Autographed Letter, Signed.

Ramon Escobar. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Sacramento, CA. Pmk: January 19, 2024. Content unknown. SEALED.

Serial murders

In the early hours of September 8, 2018, Escobar attacked a homeless man while he was sleeping on a beach in Santa Monica. Despite being repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat and sustaining severe head injuries, the victim survived the assault. Two days later, Escobar attacked another homeless man, 51-year-old Juan Antonio Ramirez, who also suffered a head injury. However, unlike the previous victim, Ramirez fell into a coma and subsequently died in January 2021.

During the early morning hours of September 16, Escobar attacked three sleeping homeless men in Downtown Los Angeles with his baseball bat, robbing them afterwards. Two of the men, 24-year-old Braden Ridout and 59-year-old Kelvin Williams, died, while the third victim, 23-year-old Tievon Harmon, survived. At the time of the murders, Escobar was recorded by the CCTV of a nearby building, which enabled law enforcement to make a facial composite of him. In it, the then-unknown assailant was described as a white or Hispanic male in his 30s or 40s, of average build and height and with medium-length black hair. One notable feature was that he apparently had a noticeable gait due to the curvature of his legs.

On September 20, Escobar carried out another attack under the Santa Monica Pier, during which he beat to death 39-year-old Steven Ray Cruze Jr. Unlike previous victims, Cruze was not homeless and lived with his parents in San Gabriel. According to family members, he had gone to Santa Monica to fish and had apparently decided to spend the night there. In the aftermath of the murder, police were unable to locate any witnesses to the crime.

Four days later, Escobar attacked 63-year-old Jorge Martinez on a street in Downtown Los Angeles, beating him on the head with a baseball bat. The incident had several witnesses who reported it to the police, resulting in Martinez being driven to a local hospital. However, he slipped into a coma and died on September 30.

Trial

Due to several delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Escobar's trial was delayed until early 2022. During said trial, he was offered a plea bargain from the attorney's office: in exchange for the state dropping the death penalty, he would plead guilty to all charges and be sentenced to several life terms without parole. Escobar accepted, and on May 6, 2022, his sentence was subsequently handed down.

Escobar claimed that he had committed the murders out of personal animosity and financial hardship. When it came to the murder of his uncle, he claimed it was the result of an argument during which Rogelio belittled him for his lifestyle.

Prison murder

He shared a cell with 53-year-old Juan Villanueva, who was serving a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a minor. On February 24, 2023, Villanueva was found unresponsive in his cell, and was pronounced dead a short time later. In May 2023, Villanueva's cause of death was revealed to be ligature strangulation, and Escobar awaits prosecution for the murder.

In September 2023, court documents revealed that Escobar had left a note in his cell outlining why he had decided to kill his cellmate. According to the note, he strangled Villanueva because of his poor hygiene, refusal to move out and because he "didn't want to take [Escobar] seriously". Escobar also stated that the entire ordeal lasted five minutes.

• VIDEO: LA, Santa Monica Homeless Murder Spree Suspect Expected In Court Wednesday | https://youtu.be/MDPXBa-008k

• VIDEO: Child-Rapist Juan Villanueva Found Dead In Jail, His Cellmate Ramon Escobar Suspected Of Murder | https://youtu.be/i8itXzKTH0c?t=182

Archiving Protocol:

• Handled with White Gloves ab initio

• Photo Pages/Sheet Protectors: Heavyweight Clear Sheet Protectors, Acid Free & Archival Safe, 8.5 × 11, Top Load

• White Backing Board—Acid Free

Shipping/Packaging: Rigid Mailer 9.5 × 12.5. White, self seal, stay flat, kraft cardboard, no bend. Each rigid mailer is made of heavy cardboard, which has strong resistance to bending and tearing. Thicker that the USPS mailers. Shipping cost never more than it absolutely has to be to get it from me to you.