Arizona Death Row
David Ramirez
During the early morning hours of May 25, 1989, David Ramirez, a parolee, murdered Mary Gortarez and her 15-year-old daughter, Candie Gortarez, in their Phoenix apartment.
He stabbed Mary 18 times in the neck, in the back, in the stomach, and in the left eye. He stabbed Candie 15 times in the neck area. Neither Mary nor Candie died instantaneously.
Neighbors heard sounds of a violent struggle for about half an hour coming from the apartment and when police entered it they found blood smeared and spattered throughout. Ramirez also sexually assaulted Candie Gortarez while she was close to death. Ramirez, the only person alive in the apartment, was arrested at the scene. Ramirez was convicted of both murders.