'Night Stalker' Serial Killer Dead at 53

California's "night stalker" is dead. Serial killer Richard Ramirez died this morning at a hospital after being transferred there from San Quentin, reports AP. The 53-year-old died of natural causes, but specifics aren't known. Ramirez was convicted of killing 13 people during a rampage in 1984 and 1985 that terrorized Southern California and led to an increase in sales of guns and bars for windows, reports the LA Times.

Ramirez mostly broke into homes overnight. He shot the majority of his victims, though some were strangled or had their throats slashed. He also painted Satanic pentagrams at some of the murder scenes. The cops didn't catch him—his spree came to an end in 1985 when a group of citizens caught and beat him as he tried to carjack a woman. Ramirez had been on death row, and the LAT recalls his quote as he left the courtroom upon hearing the sentence: "Big deal. Death always went with the territory." (More Richard Ramirez stories.)