The Return of Dracula

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He was in and out of mental institutions for most of his adult life, although he died at a young age, going into a mental institution for the first time in 1975 (Blanco). His father went to his apartment one day to find Richard extremely ill; it turns out he had blood poisoning from injecting himself with rabbit’s blood. Shortly after chase was put into the mental institute, he escaped. Fleeing to his mother’s house where he was apprehended. Richard was then sent to an institution for the criminally insane, he would often share fantasies of killing and drinking the blood of animals to nurses and other patients. One day, he was found with blood smeared all over his face, he claimed it was from shaving. It was actually bird blood, he would capture birds sitting outside his window then kill and devour them. Word got around the hospital that Chase was committing these obscene acts and the other patients started to fear him because he was so insane. They even started calling him by a nickname, Dracula, fitting isn’t it? (Blanco). It wasn’t until later when he started killing people and drinking their blood did the newspapers and the public start to call him The Vampire of Sacramento. He was released from the Mental Institute under the supervision of his mother, whom was supposed to make sure he got all of his meds and look after him. She thought Richard didn’t need his medication so she started to ween him off of them very shortly after being released from the institution.

His parents then put him up in another new apartment thinking he was miraculously cured. Once again Chase began his cycle of capturing and cannibalizing wild and domestic animals. Around this same time Richard became obsessed with guns purchasing a few and practicing heavily. When the Hillside Strangler started popping up on the newspapers he began to watch over case very intently. He had a theory that he and the Hillside strangler were victims of a Nazi conspiracy to kill them both. I believe him watching the Hillside Strangler was a huge factor for his new-found hunger for a human kill. Chase began to neglect himself not brushing his teeth, showering, or eating real food (raw entrails only). On a 1977-day Chase went to his mother’s house with a dead cat in his hands. When she opened the door, he slammed the cat on the ground and began to consume its blood and organs in front of her all while screaming. His mother had nothing to say, she simply returned inside her home and didn’t report the incident to anyone. August 3, 1977, a Ford Ranchero belonging to Chase was found near Pyramid Lake, Nevada by State Police. There was a bucket full of blood and a cow liver, after searching the area they found Richard naked and covered in blood. When the officers questioned him about all the blood he said it was his own and that it leaked through his flesh.

His braveness escalated very quickly, within months he would start praying on humans. On December 27, 1977, Chase fires his .22 caliber pistol into a woman’s Sacramento home; fortunately, killing or harming no one. This failed attempt left Chase wanting more, he was hungry for blood. Only two days later, Richard is back at it. December 29, 1977, Chase claims his first victim, Ambrose Griffin. This seemed to have been another practice run for our friend Richie as it was just a drive-by. Ambrose Griffin was a 51-year-old engineer and father of two who was helping his wife bring in groceries when he was gunned down. Early that same week Griffin’s son reportedly saw a neighbor walking around the area with a .22 rifle. The police then seized the man’s gun; however, the ballistics test showed it wasn’t his gun. While conducting these ballistics test, law enforcement found out the bullet that killed Griffin was the same gun used in the drive-by shooting two days early, which we know was also Chase.

After his “warm ups”, Richard was ready for even more. On January, 11, 1978, Richard would forcefully restrain a woman who was simply trying to be nice by giving him a cigarette, he then took a whole pack from her and left. A few weeks later he would attempt to enter a woman’s home; the door was locked so he went around to the back of the house and simply walked away from there. Police were later told by Chase that if he would go up to a door and it was locked it meant he wasn’t welcome; if it was open, it meant he was welcome to walk right in. While walking around looking for a welcoming unlocked door, he came across a former high school peer named Nancy Holden. He asked her for a ride, probably planning to kill her, but she refused because his appearance had frightened her. He continued down the street, where he broke into a young couple’s home. He entered to find no one home so he stole some of their valuables, urinated in their infant’s drawer, then defecated on their son’s bed. Unfortunately, the family came home to witness Chase still in their home, the husband attacked him; however, Richard was able to escape. Chase continued on his way of trying to find his next victim. He finally stumbled upon the house of David and Teresa Wallin, David was at work at the time. While Teresa was taking out the trash, Richard found the front door to be unlocked to he surprised Teresa in the home and shot her three times. Once, in the hand, a defensive wound, then twice in the head killing her, she was three months pregnant. He then dragged her body into the bedroom where he began to rape her post-mortem, while continuing to stab her with a butcher’s knife. When he had finished, he cut the corpse open removing several of her internal orangs, using a bucket he collected what he wanted and took it to the bathroom to bathe in it. After, he sliced off her nipples and filled an empty yogurt cup as a drinking glass to drink the blood he had extracted. Chase still wasn’t done, he went into the backyard where he retrieved dog feces and shoved it down the corpse’s mouth and throat. All of these events happened on the same day.

His final kill wasn’t simply just a single kill, it was a mass murder. In between his final kills and killing Teresa Wallin, he had purchased two puppies from a neighbor. He then killed and drank the blood of the puppies and left their bodies on their front lawn. January 27, 1978, Chase commits his final act of violence. He entered the home of 39-year-old Evelyn Miroth, who had been babysitting her 22-month-old nephew, David. Also with Evelyn was her six-year-old son Jason, and Dan Meridith, a neighbor who was just in to check on her. Evelyn had gone to take a shower and left Dan to watch the kids, this is when Chase came in. Dan walked into the front walkway to find Richard entering the home, he was shot point blank in the head with Chase’s .22 pistol (still the same gun used to kill Griffin and Wallin). Chase then stole Dan’s