In Los Angeles, during the spring and summer of 1985, residents of the San Fernando and San Gabriel communities were terrorized by an elusive phantom of a killer with an insatiable and diverse appetite. He became known as Night Stalker. Netflix has recently released a four part series on the investigation of the crime spree that lasted for more than 160 days.

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer highlights the crimes, the leads, the near-misses and the eventual capture of the Richard Ramirez. The story is told primarily by the lead investigators, Gil Carrillo, a fresh faced, eager young detective and Frank Salerno, a legend in LA for his work on the Hillside Strangler case. While some considered them an odd pairing, Carrillo and Salerno unique strengths complimented each other and made them a perfect duo to sort the clues that would eventually lead them to the killer.

The series also features interviews from survivors, family members of the lead detectives and other law enforcement officers who were involved in the case. The use of news footage and photographs from the 1985 investigation gives context to the crime and the moment by moment retelling of the investigation.

For weeks it seemed as though they were chasing a ghost but small breaks in the case, such as shoe prints at crime scenes and survivors accounts and descriptions, began to add up to create a profile of the Night Stalker. Though his crimes were escalating in violence, investigators were closing in. In the end, the capture of Ramirez was credited to the community he terrorized, the community that physically stopped him as he attempted to commit another crime, chased him down as he fled and held him until police could arrest him.

The Night Stalker’s reign of terror ended on August 31, 1985. He was tried, convicted on all charges and sentenced to death in the state of California. Though this case was more than 30 years ago, and Ramirez is long dead now, this series is suspenseful from beginning to end. The detectives involved are excellent story tellers who draw you in, moment but moment.

If true crime series are your thing, then be sure to tune into this nail-biter. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is an edge of your seat watch for sure.