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Criminal Profile of Richard Trenton Chase: The Vampire of Sacramento

Kasiopeia West

CJ-2460-501-Sp22

Instructor: Chris Bertram

Salt Lake Community College

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Serial Killer Richard Chase: The Vampire of Sacramento

Richard Trenton Chase was born on May 23, 1950 in Santa Claira California. He had a

fairly normal upbringing for the times. At 27 years old, Richard was arrested on January 28,

1978 and stood trial on six counts of first-degree murder. He was found guilty on May 8, 1979

by a jury and sentenced to death via the gas chamber. (“Richard Chase,” 2022) Richard Chase is

a well-known killer that spread terror through the suburbs of Sacramento during the mid-

seventies by going on a murder spree, killing six people, including two children, within a one-

month time period. He gained his alias “The Vampire of Sacramento”, due to his compulsion to

drink his victims’ blood.

Profile

Criminal profiling is an educated guess that may be used as a tool to resolve a case or

narrow down the type of suspect that tends to commit certain crimes. There is no guarantee that

profilers can predict future behaviors and should not be used as the primary tool in police

investigations. However, there have been profiles that are remarkably accurate and have been a

key tool in some cases where the offender displayed certain types of psychopathologies (Holmes

& Holmes, 2022, p.4). There are three goals in criminal profiling according to Holmes and

Holmes:

 Goal 1: To provide the Criminal Justice System with a social and psychological

assessment of the offender.

 Goal 2: To provide the Criminal Justice System with a psychological evaluation

of belongings found in the possession of the offender.

 Goal 3: To provide interviewing suggestions.

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Personal History

Although Richard Chase had a relatively normal childhood, his father was a controlling,

disciplinarian type. His mother is said to been mentally ill and at odds with his father regularly.

When Chase was 15 years old, his parents separated and he was sent to live with relatives. His

parents eventually reconciled and they packed up and moved to Sacramento. He had a younger

sister and participated in traditional youth activities such as boy scouts and little league (World’s

Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021, 4:52-6:37). Chase

had lots of friends and dated several girls in high school. He seemed to be a happy kid until he

was half way through high school when he was struggling to perform sexually. He began

suffering from impotency that caused him much anxiety. At this point Chase turned to drugs and

struggled the remainder of high school. He also found it difficult to hold a job (“Richard Chase,”

2022).

Criminal History

Chase had several arrests for drug possession in his early years and was occasionally

arrested and sent to psychiatric hospitals due to some of his unruly behaviors (Turner, 2014, p.7).

In June of 1977, at Pyramid Lake Nevada, police came across an abandoned Ford Ranchero with

a pale of blood inside the vehicle. Upon searching the area, they found Richard Chase naked and

covered in blood. They arrested Chase and found he had two riffles, a 0.22 and a 0.33 hunting

rifle. After testing the blood in the pale and on Chase’s body, the results revealed the blood was

from a cow. They then released Chase with no further conditions. On 27, December 1977, Chase
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retrieved his vehicle from police and also purchased a new 0.22 pistol (World’s Most Evil Killers

- Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021).

Medical and Psychological History

At only 10 years old, Chase’s mother discovered he had buried a cat and had knowledge

of several missing cats in the area, she did nothing to address this issue. In his youth, he liked to

set fires and torment animals (Ramsland, 2007, p.1). After experiencing impotency, he saw a

doctor and a psychiatrist about his anxiety surrounding the issue. He eventually became obsess

with his own health and had been to several doctors claiming his organs were falling out

(World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021). At one

point he entered an emergency room claiming his pulmonary artery had been stollen, along with

a claim that his bones were coming out from the back of his head, his stomach was backwards,

and that his heart had stopped regularly (Ramsland, 2007, p.1). Diagnosed by a neurologist at the

age of 23 with paranoid schizophrenia, the neurologist also believed that Chase suffered major

psychiatric disturbances, which later developed into a fixation to drink the blood of animals. He

would kill rabbits claiming their blood would restore his heart (World’s Most Evil Killers -

Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021). Chase ended up in the emergency

room again with a serious blood infection caused from injecting himself with rabbit blood

(Turner, 2014, p.5).

On 28, April 1976, Chase was legally admitted to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 25.

During this time, his roommates had given him the nickname “Dracula” for twisting the heads

off of birds in order to consume their blood (Vorpagel et al., 2001, p.22). After approximately

five months in the hospital and on medication, Chase began to show some improvements in his
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behavior. He was checked out of the hospital by his mother on 29, November 1976, but relapsed

the following June by killing his mother’s cat and smearing its blood on himself in the presence

of his mother. Again, she did nothing to address the issue.

Richard Chase exhibited all three components of the MacDonald triad: cruelty to animals,

fire-setting, and bedwetting (Vorpagel et al., 2001). In the end, Chase displayed no regard,

remorse, or differentiation between animals, adults, or children.

Victimology

Ambrose Griffin (51)

While bringing groceries into his home from his vehicle, Griffin was shot in his driveway

on 29, December 1977. The family initially suspected he had a heart attack (Turner, 2014, p.7).

Griffin succumbed to his injury shortly after medical help had arrived. The medical exam

discovered a bullet wound from a 0.22 caliber.

Teresa Wallin (22)

On 23, January 1978, Teresa Wallin was shot dead in her home in a quiet suburb of

Sacramento. She was shot three times with a 0.22 and eviscerated. She was newly married and

was three months pregnant with her first child. Her husband was at work during the crime and

returned home to find Teresa’s body in their bedroom.

Evelyn Miroth (36)

On 27, January 1978, Evelyn was also shot with a 0.22 in her home, in addition she was

stabbed multiple times and was disemboweled just as Teresa had been. Also shot in the home

was her 22-month-old nephew, David Ferreira, along with Evelyn’s friend, Daniel Meredith and
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Evelyn’s six-year-old son Jason. Neighbors had called police believing they could see Daniel

laying on the floor through the living room window.

David Ferreira (22 months)

Evelyn’s nephew, David, was abducted from the crime scene and later discovered in a

box by a janitor. He had been shot in the head with a 0.22 caliber and decapitated.

Daniel Meredith (52) and Jason Miroth (6)

Daniel and Jason where both shot with the same 0.22 caliber. Daniel a single shot and

Jason twice, both execution style.

Richard Chase chose his victims in a semi-random manner. Chase’s primary discretion

was an unlocked door. While in custody, Chase had explained that an unlocked door was an open

invitation and locked doors said, “you are not welcome here!” All of his victims were white with

no other distinction other than living within Chase’s vicinity and were “accessible” (Turner,

2014, p.10). All three murder scenes were just over a square mile from each other and within one

mile of Chase’s residence.

Crime Scene Details

At the Teresa Wallin crime scene, detectives discovered blood stains around the floor and

a bloody yogurt cup with several rings where the cup had been moved. Teresa was bare from the

waist down, her nipples and genitalia had been mutilated with a knife, indicating sexual sadism,

there was dog feces in her mouth and her internal organs had been moved around. Detective Bill

Roberts described the scene as “a blood bath” (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 -

Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021, 2:51). It appeared that the killer had met Teresa at the door
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and shot her three times, dragged her to the bedroom where he slit her abdomen open and

removed her organs. Crime scene investigator Frank Davidson found 0.22 casings on the floor

along with the knife that was used from the kitchen, it had been partially cleaned and put back.

Investigators processed for fingerprints and saw rubber glove patterns matching ones found on

the faucets and the knife used (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase

- Full Episode, 2021). Two days later the body of a dog was found by its owners who contacted

the police. The police discovered the dog had been shot with the same caliber as Teresa Wallin

and was partially eviscerated with missing kidneys, an indicator the offender was resorting to

animals between murders.

The Evelyn Miroth crime scene contained three of the four victims at the scene. It was

concluded that the killer entered through the front door and met Evelyn in her hallway and shot

her in the head. The killer then found the baby in his crib and shot him, leaving a bullet hole in

the pillow and the crib covered with blood. The killer moved Evelyn to a front bedroom where

he sodomized her, the killer’s first act of necrophilia according to Dr. Elizabeth Yardley, a

criminologist that profiled the case (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard

Chase - Full Episode, 2021). Afterwards, he slit her abdomen, stabbed her major organs and

attempted to cut one of her eyes out. He also placed feces in Evelyn mouth. Disturbed by Daniel

Meredith and Jason Miroth’s return, the killer shot Daniel upon entering the home and Jason near

the bed his mother was on. The killer then proceeded to use a bucket to scoop Evelyn’s blood to

drink it, leaving bloody rings around her body. The killer then took the baby from the scene, and

stole Daniel’s vehicle.

After narrowing down their suspect, police apprehended Richard Chase on 28, January

1978 and searched his apartment. In his apartment they discovered Daniel’s wallet, pictures of
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the Miroth family and newspaper clippings of his crimes. Chase was carrying a box of bloody

rags, a bloody bucket and a 0.22 pistol. Inside the apartment was messy, full of putrid rotten

meat, animal parts in the refrigerator, a mixture of animal or human anatomy was found in the

blender along with brain matter on the bed, matching some found on the bloody rags. Forensic

tests revealed that it belonged to 22-month-old, David Ferreira.

On the 24, March 1978, David’s body was found in a box by a janitor behind a church.

David had been decapitated with his head placed beneath his torso. Daniel’s car keys were also

found on David’s body (Turner, 2014, p.12).

Investigation

After the dog was shot on 25, January 1978, a crime lab matched the bullets from the dog

to both Teresa Wallin and Ambrose Griffin murders. The blood patterns found at the Wallin and

Miroth crime scenes matched with bloody rings, indicating the offender was drinking their blood

(Vorpagel et al., 2001, p.24).

On 23, January 1978, Chase had broken into a family home and when the couple had

returned from shopping, they heard someone inside and witnessed someone fleeing out the back.

Upon calling police, they found the burglar had defecated in their baby’s crib. Neighbors also

saw the man lurking around the house and provided police with a description for a composite

sketch (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021).

On the same day as the burglary, Chase ran into a former high school friend, Nancy

Holden, at a shopping mall located behind Teresa Wallin’s home. Chase had followed Nancy and

tried to force himself into her car. Nancy was very unsettled by this encounter and finally was

able to drive off. On 28, January 1978, Nancy saw the police sketch in her father-in-law’s police
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cruiser and told him about her encounter with Chase at the shopping mall (Vorpagel et al., 2001,

p. 38).

An investigation team dug into Richard Chase’s criminal background and discovered the

Nevada arrest and his psychiatric hospitalizations. Daniel Meredith’s vehicle was also found two

miles from where Chase lived. When detectives compared Chase’s mug shot with the composite

sketch, it was a close match, the primary difference was the sketch did not show a mustache

(World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode, 2021).

After Chase’s arrest, when asked in the interview about his crimes he blurted out, “I’m in

trouble for a bunch of dogs!” admitting to killing the dogs but not his human victims.

Afterwards, he would no longer speak in the interview according to the Attorney General on the

case, Albert Locher (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full

Episode, 2021). The FBI Behavior Unit classified Chase as a “blitz” killer, disorganized and a

loner acting on impulse. Taking the baby from the scene to extend complete control, power, and

pleasure. Dehumanizing his victims, possibly viewing them as animals. Chase’s “calling card” of

feces at each crime scene is, “a way of gaining control and the upper hand through fear and

disgust”, states Dr. Yardley, going on to mention the necrophilia must be linked to his erectile

dysfunction in his teenage years, “an association between women and shame. Humiliating his

victims.” On 26, December 1980, Chase took his life before his execution could be performed

by overdosing on his psychiatric medication. “Always wants to be in control, up until the end.”,

says Dr. Yardley (World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full

Episode, 2021).
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Conclusion

Richard Chase is clearly a disorganized lust killer, displaying sexual sadism, and

unaddressed mental health problems. He clearly did not plan his crimes, giving little effort to

hide or distroy evidence, using a weapon he found on the scene, leaving footprints, bullet

casings, blood, and a choatic scene. He gave very little thought to the consequences of his

actions, walking around with blood on his clothing and approaching random houses. He had no

pattern in choosing his victims, randomly selecting through illogical means. His unaddressed

mental health is a huge contributer to this case, he started with animals and eventually moved to

humans. His mental state declined at a rapid pace, despirate to fullfil his impulse of consuming

the blood of his victims. The untreated schizophrenia induced hallucinations that continued

throughout his incarceration and trail. If not apprehended, he would have continued his crimes,

with no sympathy or regard for his victims.

Profile of Richard Chase 11

References

Holmes, M. H. R. S. T. (2022). Profiling Violent Crimes (text only) 4th (Fourth) edition by R.

M. Holmes,S. T. Holmes (4th ed.) [E-book]. Sage Publications, Inc.

Ramsland, K. (2007, September 11). CrimeLibrary.com/Serial Killers/Truly Weird &

Shocking/Richard Trenton Chase: The Vampire of Sacramento. Crime Library: Criminal

Minds and Methods.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070911214238/http://www.crimelibrary.com/

serial_killers/weird/chase/vampire_5.html

Richard Chase. (2022, April 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Chase

Turner, J. (2014, May 24). The Psychopathology of Richard Trenton Chasse. Academia.

https://www.academia.edu/4302178/The_Psychopathology_of_Richard_Trenton_Chasse

Vorpagel, R., Harrington, J., & Rule, A. (2001). Profiles in Murder: An FBI Legend Dissects

Killers and Their Crimes (Reprint ed.). Dell.

World’s Most Evil Killers - Season 4, Episode 8 - Richard Chase - Full Episode. (2021, August

12). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02vuqH8NSUg