78-year-old man sentenced for 1982 murder of Karen Stitt

(KRON) — An elderly man from Hawaii was sentenced on Monday for a brutal and long-unsolved murder more than 40 years ago. Gary Ramirez, a 78-year-old Maui resident, was sentenced to life in prison for the 1982 murder of Karen Stitt, a 15-year-old Palo Alto girl.

Ramirez had previously pleaded no contest to Stitt’s killing.

Monday’s hearing was attended by family members and friends of Stitts who, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, expressed their continued grief and anger over the crime.

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“Today’s outcome was the result of a continuous line of detectives at Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety putting their hearts and souls into investigating this infamous crime,” the DA’s office said.

“Over 40 years ago, Karen Stitt lost her life, but she was not forgotten,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Today, thanks to a dedicated detective, a persistent prosecutor, and our Crime Lab, the person responsible is behind bars.”

It was Thursday, Sept. 2, 1982 when Stitt took a bus from her home in Palo Alto to visit her boyfriend in Sunnyvale. Around midnight, she was headed back toward El Camino Real and Wolfe Road to catch the bus home.

She never made it.

The next morning, her body was found 100 yards from the bus stop next to a blood-stained cinderblock wall. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed over 50 times.

According to the DA, the killer’s blood and bodily fluid were on her body.

In early 2019, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety detective Matt Hutchison got a tip that Stitt’s killer was likely one of four brothers from Fresno. In April 2022, investigators identified Ramirez as the source of the blood and bodily fluid found on the body. The Santa Clara County DA crime lab confirmed the identification.