More on this subject can be found at: https://archive.org/details/casacsh_000596









Richard Trenton Chase (1950 - 1980) was an American serial killer who killed six people in the span of a month in Sacramento, California in the late 1970's. He was nicknamed "The Vampire of Sacramento" because he drank his victims' blood and cannibalized their remains. He committed suicide in his jail cell on December 26, 1980 with an overdose of prescribed antidepressants.



Source: SVHS from original 16mm film

Accession number: 1983/131; VAM 119

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Decades after the fact, the name Richard Chase still brings forth feelings of horror, revulsion, and sadness to the people of Sacramento. His reign of terror in the late 1970's has become legend, with the facts of the case difficult to comprehend. In this footage, filmed by KCRA-TV cameramen, we see Chase in court along with his mother, his apartment on Watt Ave, as well as those who knew him and tried to help him with his mental illness. Reporters Mike Boyd and Spencer Michaels are featured.