SUNNYVALE, Calif. — After decades, the man who committed the heinous murder of 15-year-old Karen Stitt back in 1982 faced his sentencing in a Santa Clara County courtroom on Monday.
The investigation went cold after decades without any new leads before new technology and a tip linked Gary Ramirez to the crime back in 2022.
It has been more than 40 years since Karen Stitt was murdered – taken from her family and friends at just 15 years old.
Decades later, they were present in court to hear Stitt’s killer receive a sentence for his crimes.
Gary Ramirez will be sent to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life with eligibility for parole – the harshest punishment for the 78-year-old.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after other criminal enhancements were dropped.
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Decades before Ramirez was apprehended, Stitt endured a vicious attack involving sexual assault and 59 stab wounds. Her unclothed body was discovered concealed near a bus stop, just about 100 yards away, lying behind a blood-streaked cinderblock wall.
It was the last place where her boyfriend David Woods saw her that night.
“His heinous crimes that ended her life in such a horrific way has caused deep heartache and continued suffering for the many that loved Karen Stitt,” Woods said.
The attorney for Ramirez requested that he not appear on camera due to threats of violence if his face was shown on television and social media.
He entered court with a cane, long gray hair and glasses and sat silently looking forward or down as victims read their statements.
“Since Karen was brutally taken from us, there have been many unanswered questions – ‘why’ being the biggest,” Stitt’s best friend Tracy Lancaster said.
“Just because you’ve been caught, finally, and you will start serving your sentence, your punishment for your brutally gruesome crime, there will still never be closure,” Stitt’s former boyfriend Michael Calhoun said. “Karen is gone. We will never get her back.”
DNA evidence found on Stitt ultimately linked Ramirez to the murder, four decades later.
There were no significant leads for decades until the arrest of Ramirez at his home in Makawao on the island of Maui.
The killer reportedly left both his blood and bodily fluid on Stitt, according to investigators. Her boyfriend, long considered a suspect, was cleared based on the DNA evidence.
In early 2019, Sunnyvale DPS Detective Matt Hutchison used a tip to determine Stitt’s killer was likely one of four brothers from Fresno.
In April 2022, Ramirez was identified as the likely source of blood and bodily fluid left at the scene.
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The Santa Clara County DA’s Crime Lab confirmed that identification.
Hutchinson remained on the cold case and says the new technology helped lead to a sentence for the crimes.
“It’s something that wasn’t available to the detectives who worked the case for the last 40 years,” Hutchinson said. “It was a tool that I had, so I had to use it – because this case had to be solved.”
To bring finality and maybe a sense of peace to those who loved Karen Stitt.
“There will never be true justice because Karen cannot and will not come back,” Lancaster said. “But it does bring a small amount of peace knowing that he will never be able to hurt another being.”
“Over 40 years ago, Karen Stitt lost her life, but she was not forgotten,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Today, thanks to a dedicated detective, a persistent prosecutor, and our Crime Lab, the person responsible is behind bars.”
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