She Was Supposed To Get On A Bus Home One Night In 1982, But She Never Made It And Was Found The Next Morning With 60 Stab Wounds

Katharina Buczek |

Aug 22, 2022

In 1982, fifteen-year-old Karen Stitt was the new girl in Santa Clara County, California. She had just moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to attend Palo Alto High School, and her spunky personality quickly gained her a vibrant social life.

And in addition to a friend group, Karen also hit it off with a guy who eventually became her boyfriend.

Following the pair’s casual hangout on September 2, 1982, though, Karen’s life was tragically taken from her.

That Thursday evening, Karen and her boyfriend had stayed out late to play video games at a 7-Eleven.

Then, around 12:30 a.m., Karen’s boyfriend walked her to a nearby bus stop at the intersection of South Wolfe Road and El Camino Real so she could travel back to her home.

While the pair was approaching the bus stop, though, Karen’s boyfriend began to worry that he would get in trouble for staying out past curfew.

So, he quickly ran home after they got close enough to the stop; but Karen never got on the bus.

Instead, she disappeared from the roadway– last seen wearing a striped shirt, leather jacket, and her boyfriend’s Rush rock baseball hat, according to the County of Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office.

County of Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office; pictured above is Karen

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Then, the following morning, a delivery man discovered Karen’s body near a popular establishment known as Honey Bee Restaurant.

She was left thrown over a four-foot wall, without clothes, and had been stabbed over sixty times. Autopsy reports also revealed she had been raped.

The young teen’s horrific murder shook the Santa Clara community to its core, and authorities launched an extensive investigation.

And after decades without justice, Karen’s family and friends have finally received some answers as of this month.

On August 2, a seventy-five-year-old Hawaii resident name Gary Ramirez was arrested and will be arraigned on murder, kidnapping, and rape charges.

County of Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office; pictured above is Gary in 1979

The break in the case came in April of 2022 when Detective Matt Hutchison of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety identified Ramirez as the likely source of the bodily fluid and blood found at the crime scene.

Then, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Crime Lab confirmed the DNA identification and coordinated a months-long effort to arrest Ramirez in his Hawaii home.

Now, if convicted, Ramirez will face life in prison without parole.

Following his arrest, District Attorney Jeff Rosen described the determination of Detective Matt Hutchison in finally closing this case and how crucial DNA advancements are for solving cold cases like Karen’s around the world.

“Behind every old murder file in every major police department, there is a person, heartbreak, and a mystery. The mystery of Karen Stitt’s death has been solved thanks to advances in forensic science and a detective that would never, ever give up,” Rosen said.

County of Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office; pictured above Karen smiles

Karen’s family and friends also opened up about the relief they now feel, knowing that the teen’s perpetrator will finally be brought to justice.

“Forty years melted away, and the emotions that had been buried all came back. A wound was reopened, but somehow I felt relief and peace. Soon, we will be able to write the end to this painful chapter of our lives,” Karen’s aunt, Robin Stitt Morris, explained following Ramirez’s arrest.

One of Karen’s former boyfriends, Michael Calhoun, also reminisced about her spirit as a person and the impact she had on his life. “Her smile could light up the darkest of rooms; her beautiful feathered blonde hair, and the way she spoke… I really fell hard for her. I would say she was my first ‘true’ love,” Calhoun began.

“I have carried Karen in my heart and soul for over forty years now. I will continue to carry Karen in my heart and soul until my last breath on this earth.”

“I am just glad that we, her friends and family, can breathe a sigh of relief that her killer has been named and caught. I hope Karen is resting in peace now.”

Now, as the Stitt family and the Santa Clara community await trial, anyone with information regarding Gary Ramirez is urged to contact the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Prosecutor Rob Baker at [email protected].

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