Ramirez sustained 2 head injuries as a child. After the 2nd injury at age 5, he began experiencing epileptic seizures that lasted until his teens. Mike, Richard’s older cousin, was a huge influence on him during his teen years. Richard was introduced to marijuana at age 10 by his cousin, and they shared many joints while Mike told stories about his experiences during the Vietnam War. Mike shared many photos of Vietnamese women he had raped and murdered to Richard, including pictures of himself posing with a severed head of a woman he had raped. Mike's negative influence on Ramirez could explain his future serial killings.