Man sentenced to life in 1982 cold case murder of Palo Alto teen Karen Stitt
District Attorney Jeff Rosen's office announced that 78-year-old Gary Ramirez was sentenced Monday to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. Prosecutors said many of Stitt's family and friends attended the sentencing hearing.
Ramirez pled no contest to Stitt's murder on Feb. 24. He was arrested on the island of Maui in Hawaii in 2022, where he had been living at the time.
Gary Gene Ramirez August 2022 booking photo, how he appeared approximately 40 years ago.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety
"Over 40 years ago, Karen Stitt lost her life, but she was not forgotten," Rosen said in a statement. "Today, thanks to a dedicated detective, a persistent prosecutor, and our Crime Lab, the person responsible is behind bars."
Stitt was a student at Palo Alto High School and had recently moved to the South Bay from Pittsburgh. On Sep. 2, 1982, Stitt had taken a bus from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale to visit her boyfriend.
Around midnight, Stitt was waiting for a bus home near El Camino Real and Wolfe Road. The next morning, her body was found about 100 yards away from the bus stop.
Karen Stitt, a 15-year-old student at Palo Alto High School, was found murdered in Sunnyvale in Sep. 1982. Gary Ramirez was convicted of Stitt's murder in 2025 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office
Prosecutors said Stitt had been sexually assaulted and stabbed more than 50 times.
Despite investigating all potential leads, the case went cold for decades. In 2019, detective Matt Hutchison of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety used a tip to determine that Stitt's killer was likely one of four brothers from Fresno, prosecutors said.
In April 2022, the DA's office said Ramirez was identified as the likely source of blood and bodily fluid left at the crime scene. The DA's crime lab confirmed the identification.
"I believe we have a responsibility to these victims no matter how old the case is," Hutchison said following Ramirez's arrest.
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