Maxson Kneiding, 68, and his wife Lela, 66, were shot to death in their Glendale, California home on July 20, 1985. Their killings were later linked to a series of home invasions and murders carried out in 1984–1985 by Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker.

After the attack, the Kneiding daughters recognized rings missing from their parents’ home; those rings were recovered from a factory worker who had purchased stolen items from Ramirez and later testified, having been granted immunity. The worker said he bought a television, rings and a radio from Ramirez between December 1984 and August 1985. Ramirez was arrested on August 31, 1985, after residents of East Los Angeles subdued him; he was charged with multiple murders and other felonies, convicted and sentenced to death in 1989.

The Kneidings’ murders were part of a wider pattern of violent crimes that terrorized parts of California in 1984–1985. Anyone who knew the Kneidings or has information about that July 1985 attack is urged to come forward.