Closure for Karen Stitt's Family After 40 Years
After more than four decades, the family and community of a 15-year-old girl who was brutally murdered have finally received justice. Gary Ramirez, a 78-year-old resident of Maui, Hawaii, has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He was convicted of the 1982 murder of Karen Stitt, a high school student from Palo Alto. Earlier this year, on February 24, Ramirez chose to plead 'no contest' to the charges, indicating he would not contest them in court.
Emotional Sentencing Hearing
The sentencing took place in a Santa Clara County courtroom, where Judge Hanley Chew delivered the verdict. Family members and friends of Karen Stitt attended the hearing, expressing their ongoing grief and anger over her tragic death, which still resonates with them after all these years.
A Long-Awaited Justice
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen remarked, 'Karen Stitt may have lost her life over 40 years ago, but she was never forgotten. Today, thanks to the dedication of a detective, a determined prosecutor, and our Crime Lab, the individual responsible is now incarcerated.'
Details of the 1982 Crime
The murder of Karen Stitt sent shockwaves through the Bay Area in the early 1980s. On the night of September 2, 1982, she took a bus from her home in Palo Alto to visit her boyfriend in Sunnyvale. Around midnight, she began her walk back to the bus stop near El Camino Real and Wolfe Road. Tragically, her body was discovered the following morning, approximately 100 yards from the bus stop, next to a wall stained with blood. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed over 50 times.
Breakthrough in the Investigation
Despite the presence of blood and other evidence left by the perpetrator, law enforcement struggled to identify him for many years. The case remained cold for decades, with numerous attempts to uncover the truth. A significant breakthrough occurred in 2019 when Detective Matt Hutchison from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety received a tip regarding a group of four brothers from Fresno. Following a thorough DNA analysis, Gary Ramirez was identified as a likely match to the DNA found on Karen Stitt's body. In April 2022, the Santa Clara County Crime Lab confirmed this match.
One prosecutor involved in the case stated, 'Today's sentencing marks the culmination of years of tireless work. This crime could have easily been forgotten, but it remained alive in our memories, thanks to the dedication of our team and the legacy of a young girl whose life was taken far too soon.'
