She was raped, stabbed 50 times. 43 years later, her killer is finally behind bars
Karen Stitt, 15, was murdered in Sunnyvale in 1982. Her case remained unsolved for over 40 years before DNA evidence led to an arrest.
More than four decades after the brutal killing of a 15-year-old girl shocked a community and haunted her loved ones, justice has finally been served.
Gary Ramirez, a 78-year-old resident of Maui, Hawaii, was sentenced today to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years for the 1982 murder of Karen Stitt, a high school student from Palo Alto. Ramirez had previously pleaded no contest to the charges earlier this year on February 24.
The sentencing took place in a Santa Clara County courtroom, where Judge Hanley Chew handed down the punishment. Emotions ran high as family members and friends of Karen Stitt filled the courtroom, some tearfully recounting the enduring grief and anger caused by the young girl’s tragic death.
"Over 40 years ago, Karen Stitt lost her life, but she was not forgotten,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “Today, thanks to a dedicated detective, a persistent prosecutor, and our Crime Lab, the person responsible is behind bars.”
The murder that shocked US
Stitt’s murder shocked the Bay Area community in the early 1980s. On the night of September 2, 1982, she took a bus from her Palo Alto home to visit her boyfriend in Sunnyvale. Around midnight, she began her journey home, walking toward a bus stop near El Camino Real and Wolfe Road. The next morning, her body was discovered just 100 yards from the stop, beside a bloodstained cinderblock wall. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed more than 50 times.
Despite leaving behind both blood and bodily fluid at the scene, the killer remained unidentified for decades, eluding numerous investigative efforts.
The breakthrough
The breakthrough came in 2019, when Detective Matt Hutchison of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety received a tip that led him to a group of four brothers from Fresno. After extensive genetic analysis, Ramirez was identified in April 2022 as the likely source of the DNA found on Karen Stitt’s body. The Santa Clara County Crime Lab confirmed the match.
“Today’s sentencing is the culmination of years of relentless effort,” said one prosecutor involved in the case. “This was a crime that could have faded into history, but it never did—thanks to the persistence of our team and the memory of a young girl whose life was stolen far too soon.”
