The Case of Chainarong Khovananth and Family

On July 20, 1985, Richard Ramirez broke into the Sun Valley home of Chainarong Khovananth and his family. Chainarong, 32, was shot and killed while his wife, Somkid, was beaten and sexually assaulted and their 8-year-old son was restrained and beaten. Somkid survived the attack and later identified Ramirez, providing important evidence against the Night Stalker.

Chainarong Khovananth was 32 years old and had immigrated to the United States from Thailand. He worked as a parking attendant and lived with his wife, Somkid, and their two children in Sun Valley. The family was attacked during the early morning hours of July 20, 1985, as Ramirez's crime spree was approaching its final and most intense stage. The attack occurred on the same night as the separate murders of Maxon and Lela Kneiding in Glendale.

Ramirez entered the Khovananth home in the early morning and confronted the family. Chainarong was shot in the head while he was in the bedroom. Somkid was beaten, sexually assaulted and forced to show Ramirez where the family's valuables were kept. Their 8-year-old son was also beaten and restrained during the attack. The couple's younger daughter, approximately two and a half years old, was asleep during the incident and was not harmed. Ramirez stole a substantial quantity of jewelry and cash from the residence.

The Khovananth attack produced several important investigative leads. Somkid survived and provided investigators with a detailed description of the intruder. She later identified Richard Ramirez as the attacker. A witness also reported seeing a maroon Pontiac Grand Prix with a damaged right front fender fleeing the area after the attack. The vehicle became an important clue in the search for the Night Stalker. Approximately $30,000 in jewelry and cash was reported stolen from the home. Some of the stolen jewelry was later traced to Ramirez after his arrest. The attack also produced physical evidence connecting it to other Night Stalker crimes. Investigators linked the firearm used in the killing to previous shootings attributed to Ramirez, while an Avia shoe print found at the scene matched the distinctive footwear evidence appearing at other crime scenes. Somkid's identification of Ramirez became particularly important during his later prosecution.

Richard Ramirez was convicted of murdering Chainarong Khovananth in 1989. The murder formed part of the 13 murder convictions that resulted in Ramirez receiving a death sentence. Somkid Khovananth and her children survived the attack. Ramirez remained on California's death row until his death from complications of B-cell lymphoma at San Quentin State Prison on June 7, 2013.

The Khovananth case was an important part of the Night Stalker investigation because it produced a surviving eyewitness who directly identified Ramirez. The stolen jewelry, getaway vehicle description and ballistic evidence also provided investigators with multiple independent lines of evidence connecting the attack to the wider series.