Richard Trenton Chase (May 23, 1950 December

26, 1980) was an American serial killer who killed six

people in a span of a month in Villa Park, California. He
was nicknamed "The Vampire of Sacramento"
because he drank his victims'
blood andcannibalized their remains.

EARLY LIFE
Chase was born in San Jose, California. He was abused by his mother, and Chase exhibited by
the age of 10 evidence of theMacdonald triad: enuresis, arsonism, and cruelty to animals. In his
adolescence, he was known as an alcoholic and a chronic drug abuser.
EARLY ADULTHOOD
Chase developed hypochondria as he matured. He often complained that his heart would
occasionally "stop beating", or that "someone had stolen his pulmonary artery". He would hold
oranges on his head, believing Vitamin C would be absorbed by his brain via Osmosis. Chase
also believed that his cranial bones had become separated and were moving around, so he shaved
his head in order to watch this activity.
After leaving his mother's house (believing she was attempting to poison him), Chase rented an
apartment with friends. Chase's roommates complained that he was constantly intoxicated
on alcohol, marijuana, and LSD. Chase would also walk around the apartment nude, even in
front of company. Chase's roommates demanded that he move out. When he refused, the
roommates moved out instead.
Once alone in the apartment, Chase began to capture, kill, and disembowel various animals,
which he would then devour raw, sometimes mixing the raw organs with Coca-Cola in a blender
and drinking the concoction. Chase reasoned that by ingesting the creatures he was preventing
his heart from shrinking.

INSTITUTIONALIZATION
In 1975, Chase was involuntarily committed to a mental institution after being taken to a hospital
after injecting rabbit's blood into his veins. He often shared with the staff fantasies about killing
rabbits. He was once found with blood smeared around his mouth: hospital staff discovered he
had been drinking the blood of birds and had thrown the birds' corpses out of his hospital room
window. Staff began referring to him as "Dracula".
While he was held at the institution, he claimed to have extracted blood from a therapy dog to
curb his addiction, having obtained the syringes by cracking open the disposable boxes left in the
doctor's offices.Occasionally, he defecated on himself and smeared the walls of the institution
with his feces.
Chase was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. After undergoing a battery of treatments
involving psychotropic drugs, Chase was deemed no longer a danger to society and, in 1976; he
was released under the recognizance of his mother.
Chase's mother weaned him off the medication and got Chase his own apartment.
Later investigation uncovered that in mid-1977; Chase was stopped and arrested on a reservation
in the Pyramid Lake (Nevada) area. His body was smeared with blood and a bucket of blood was
in his truck. The blood was determined to be cow's blood, and no charges were filed

MURDERS
On December 29, 1977, Chase killed his first known victim in a drive-by shooting. The victim,
Ambrose Griffin, was a 51-year-old engineer and father of two. After the shooting, one of
Griffin's sons reported seeing a neighbor walking around their East Sacramento neighborhood
with a .22 caliber rifle. The neighbor's rifle was seized, but ballistics tests determined that it was
not the murder weapon.
He attempted to enter the home of a woman two weeks later, but because her doors were locked,
he walked away. Chase later told detectives that he took locked doors as a sign that he was not
welcome, but unlocked doors were an invitation to come inside. He was once caught and chased
off by a couple returning home as he pilfered their belongings. He had also urinated and
defecated on their beds and clothing.

Teresa Wallin was Chase's next victim on January 23. Three months pregnant at the time, Wallin
was surprised at her home by Chase, who shot her three times; killing her using the same gun he
used to kill Griffin. He then raped her corpse while stabbing her several times with a butcher
knife. He then removed multiple organs, cut off one of her nipples and drank the blood. Before
leaving, he collected dog feces from the yard and stuffed it into the victim's mouth and down her
throat.
On January 27, Chase committed his final murders. Entering the home of 38-year-old Evelyn
Miroth, he encountered her friend, Danny Meredith, whom he shot with his .22 handgun.
Stealing Meredith's wallet and car keys, he rampaged through the house, fatally shooting Miroth,
her six-year-old son Jason, and her 22-month-old nephew David Ferreira. As with Wallin, Chase
engaged in necrophilia and cannibalism with Miroth's corpse.
A six-year-old girl with whom Jason Miroth had a playdate knocked on the door, startling Chase,
who fled the scene in Meredith's car, taking David's body with him. The girl alerted a neighbor,
who then alerted the police. Upon entering the home, police discovered that Chase had left
perfect handprints and shoe imprints in Miroth's blood.

REACTION
The line that separates serial killers from other murderers are their motives to kill.
Normally homicides are committed due to disputes that range from family affairs, gang violence,
financial difficulties, and disputes between lovers and between friends. "A psychokiller, I should
make clear, is not a regular murderer. A murderer has a vendetta, a nice specific personal thing
against his victim". Unlike that of a normal homicide, serial killers are only driven by instinct
and a desire to kill. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their arousing fantasies it
often drives these individual to murder those who are complete strangers.
Motivations involved in serial killings are fears of rejection, power, and perfection. Serial
killers tend to be insecure, and irrationally scared of rejection. He will try to avoid developing a
painful relationship with his object of desire and is terrified of being abandoned, humiliated, or
exposed. Many killers often have sex the ultimate form of intimacy with their victims, and
often with the corpse. That way, the possibility of rejection is null. Serial killers also enjoy
prolonging the suffering of their victims as it gives them a sense of power over the victim. They
get to decide whether, and how, the victim will live or die.
NATURE VS. NURTURE?-hot topic of debate in the psychological community. One of
the best targets for study in this area is serial killers. This is because they are so mysterious in
their behavior and it is common for people to want to know why they are who they are.

 The debate of nature versus nurture is an ageless debate among the

psychological community. Is it one or the other? Or, is it a mixture of the
two? Nature is defined by the genetic code of the person. It takes into
consideration DNA and biological connections. Theories that base their
understanding of human behavior on "nature," focus on characteristics that
we are born with, like our genetic make-up, stable personality traits, and
physical predispositions. (Hartney, 2010). Nurture is quite the opposite.
People on the side of nurture are of the opinion that it is the environment
that determines who a person is and becomes. theories that base their
understanding of human behavior on "nurture," emphasize those
experiences that mold and change us throughout our lives, such as how
our parents raised us, what we were taught at school, and our culture.
(Hartney, 2010).
While there are many cases where nurture plays an obvious role in the making of a serial killer,
Chase stood out greatly to this, with his past experiences with his mother and from the behaviors
he exhibited from his environment in his adulthood.There will never be an end to the debate over
nature and nurture; both were equally powerful, though the pull may be stronger on one end or
the other. There are no rules here. Who we become due to genetics and environment can only be
decided on a case by case basis.
This case has taught me a lot about serial killers and just killers in general. I really
hope that someday we will be able to stop people before they start. Maybe someday I will be able
to interview a serial killer take a look into their mind and understand them.I just want to remind
you that this case in no way encourages or supports the act of serial killings. I just wanted to
open your mind to the fact that it does happen and we do need to be aware of it. Now, maybe
someday we will have a sure way of stopping the killings but until then please be careful to who
you talk to and always be aware of your surroundings, thank you!