Being a fan of horror films, i’ve had many discussions with friends about which films had the best scares or creepiest moments. If you were to ask me what was the creepiest thing i’d ever seen on film, the first would be the process of natural human birth. Gross and weird. The second, would be famed Bjork stalker Ricardo Lopez’s video diary. I remember seeing clips of this thing on some talk show years ago (see end of this post), and I just couldn’t get the images out of my mind. Lopez, an obsessed 21 year old Bjork fan from Florida, shot over 20 hours of video footage of himself gradually losing his mind, confessing his love for Bjork, all the while constructing an acid bomb that he would later send to her in the mail. (eventually intercepted by authorities) One day after his birthday, Lopez begins some sort of unusual ritual, shaving his head and eyebrows and painting his head. This is something you just have to see. You’re gauranteed to get chills up your spine as you watch a man who’s lost his mind sitting alone in his apartment, making scary faces at the video camera. Eventually, having thought that his plan of killing Bjork was now in place, Lopez shoots himself on video. Pretty crazy stuff. I’d thought this would make an interesting documentary, and as it turns out…it has! ‘The Video Diary of Ricardo Lopez’ was released in 1999 by director Sami Saif. Produced in Denmark, the film edits down the 20 hours of video into a tight 70 minutes or so, in an attempt to somewhat humanize Lopez by focusing on his troubled rants rather then the more sensational approach taken by the mainstream media. I’ve now made it my mission to track this film down, so if anyone has any info, leave a comment! Until then, check out the video below…a short piece from the special that originally introduced me to this story.
The Video Diary of Ricardo Lopez
01.15.07 | by Jay C | 138 Comments
138 Comments
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I remember this guy being all the crazy a couple of years back when he did the movie “Family”, about his own family.
However, while that movie is released through the Film Institure, this one about Lopez is not. According to my dedicated research, the only way to get a hold of a VHS copy of the film is to request it from the educational system, where they apparently have copies.
Since it was never released (it was made for TV), I don’t think it will be easy to track down. Maybe you can write to the danish educational ministry and ask nicely?
Good luck with tracking this down. It looks interesting.
Man, that blows. I’m really interested in seeing this.
Looking for it I came across a big interview with Sami Saif. Apparently the movie is not really about Ricardo Lopez. Sami Saif by chance came across an american program about Lopez (possibly the same that you have watched) and became annoyed with the sensationalising of the case.
His movie focuses less on Ricardo Lopez the person, and more on Ricardo Lopez the phenomenon. So it might not be what you’re looking for. Sami Saif is a very unsensationalist director. Apparently this movie opens with a text containing the words “Ricardo Lopez’ suicide is not shown in this picture”, because he thought that part of the story was not what was interesting.
However, if you’re interested in watching all 20 hours, all you have to do is pay the FBI and they will release the tapes. Apparently they do not even ask what you need the tapes for, they just release the material (confiscated as evidence in the case of the assassination of Bjork) to whomever will pay the fee. This is another thing that Sami Saif thought was outrageous.
Henrik, who would I talk to about getting those tapes?
FBI’s Media Department. Apparently they have a policy of releasing crimes caught on video, if they think that the video shows that crime doesn’t pay(!). This would fall under that category, so they release it for a smaller fee.
I live in South Fla where this happened and am a documentary film maker trying to track down the tapes. The FBI does not have them, I am working on some leads that they gave me (after being persistent). When I get them a full scale doc on mental illness and mind control will follow. I will post here when I locate them.
I came across Lopez’s short while looking for a Bjork video on you tube for inspiration. It creeped me out a bit to say the very least. In fact I felt down rite empty. I emediatelly went looking for the actual documentery and yes, nothing, nothing… anywhere. I thaught to myself, I can’t be the only one interested in this and so I too, stumbled looking and found my way here. Please, Please somebody find it if possible. I am not interested in spreading it like wildfire. I am selfish. I am interested in the peculier mood it gave me. I am an artist and I think possibley watching something like that could influence my mood when I feel the need to do a dark or sad painting. I would appreciat it very much. a humble Good luck. Please contact me if, when found. thank you.
Eureka! I have found the tapes and copies are being made as I write this. After nearly two months of work, phone calls and patience. The originals were released to Lopez’s family, who I have not contacted. I found all the footage from a source I will reveal after I have the copies in my hand. (which should be within 2 weeks) Then you guys who want them can go after them. They are not free however so be prepared to be set back nearly two hundred bucks.
i grew up with ricardo in doraville ga.He was one of my closest friends.If you want any info about his childhood contact me at rayskius@hotmail.com…thanks
he was a good kid .Very talented in art and drawing.This whole analyzing or depiction of him as a freak is so cruel.underlying mental illness and demonic pressures is what you see in this footage not the real person he was…thank you …goodbye
Hi Guru:
I would like to contact you briefly regarding your Lopez project. If you wouldn’t mind reaching me via email that woul be great
returntoone@hotmail.com
thank you
NB
Sorry Guru, that was…
returntoone@hotmail.com
I did a Lopez music video. Poor quality, but the synergy was there. So there.
http://www.youtube.com/profile
I saw this doc on danish television years back. I happened on this thread through youtube in a different context and was surpised to find a renewed interest for this bit here. Thrillseekers!
I will convey that unless you are an unhappy dweller yourself obsessed with someone as tedious as Bjork or perhaps a psychotherapist, the doc is as interesting as ricepudding.
However in a social context, which is the core of the matter, of how todays valuesystem can devastate a fragile mind and how fast a life will come to a tragic end, it is but a crude reminder for the unenlightened, which increase in number day by day.
But then how many have the time or interest in dwelling on reality? ‘It’s just a show on TV or youtube while you gulp on a pizza! Let’s chase a cellphone!’
Image, dreams and greed are on the rise everywhere. Slick elaborate fabrications convinces the feeble minds of the masses until the cookie crumbles. Even then the ‘rolemodels’ just get a pass?!
The doc is simply about a boy, emotionally abandonded yet spoiled for choice by the establishment who are the real criminals.
Regretably we haven’t seen the last of the Ricardo’s as more and more will take his place with radical obsessions typically fostered by ‘the have nots’. Simple mathematics. ‘If Britney Spears can be a star and swim in fame and money then why shouldn’t ‘I’ enjoy the same’? Intelligence, upbringing and environment are the only things holding anyone back. And todays ‘babysitter’ is technologies that whisper away reality.
Technology has simply made people ‘insane’, and respect, consideration for your neighbour has evaporated, which is key to life.
Good hunting, find it and hopefully it will not encourage another ‘Ricardo’ incident, which might then not be stopped! You could be responsible.
this is in reference to guru: if you could get ahold of me via email,i would like to acquire a copy of that video diary. obviously im willing to purchase. contact me at: rollanddave@yahoo.comthank you
hi, i would really like to see these tapes. my email is Zzzfilesk1@aol.com
or myspace.com/thezzz
I see I’m not the only sick bastard here. I wouldn’t pay the FBI just to see a guy shoot himself though. but I do feel sorry for him in a way. I can’t understand how someone’s mind could be that messed up. it doesn’t make any sense to me.
I’mvery curious in seeing these videos… if anyone has any leads on where to see them, contact me at pikapalooza@gmail.com, thank you
Any new developments, Guru?
Hello: I am doing a documentary on Celebrity Stalkers. I am very interested in obtaining a copy of the entire Lopez video tapes. Am willing to pay for this. Am also trying to obtain a copy of Arthur Jackson’s diaries (he stalked and assaulted the actress Theresa Saldana). Any info will be greatly appreciated and I will make it worth your time.
Thanks, Alex C. axcrowe@yahoo.com
That young man’s tragic condition speaks to the need for Jesus in His life, I pray please forgive me for the people I have let slip through the cracks, Yes what He did was wrong, and yet, I really hope the Lord had some mercy on His soul, to many people with either illnesses, or suffering demonic oppression are out there and many perish without hope, and yet this society has the nerve to idolize professional atheletes, yet we miss that which God requires, now I in no way am moved by criminals who commit crimes because they are just scum, I support the death penalty, and harsh punishment, we need to in many ways punish crime the way called for in the Old testament, but that’s my opinion, but we do need to oust attorney’s who for greed or making a name for themselves constantly help the wrong people, Let’s support our Police, Fire fighters, and President.
Just wanted to add has a footnote, I am a Veteran, and I beleive we never served, so that this nation could prop up sportshero’s and I use the term loosely, we did serve hopeing that we would continue to become a society with strong values etc. sadly, in this age many values of old have been tossed aside, and people wonder why is there so much more death and sickness, something for our liberal friend’s to think about, the whole thing is this Feminist and gay agenda has deluted our Nation, Judges are soft, democrats only want to save forest, a bunch of yellow cowards! and like the the song say’s “Mercy Mercy me thing’s are not what they used to be”
D.Sharp, sounds like your the one who needs the help! You believe in the death penalty but preach about and pray to a god who says “thou shall not kill” I don’t believe that it says “thou shall not kill…unless” in the ten commandments. You claim that it would have been the up-most beneficial for a troubled psychotic lost soul like Recardo Lopez to find Jesus, yet more people in history have died because of religion. D.Sharp, it is not only delusional and psychotic but more so dangerous & evil for you to place blame for the troubles in this world on Feminist,gay people and liberal/democrats. Is your God going to fix Global Warming you nut case or are you not worried about it ’cause whatever happends you’ll be in heaven,screw the next generation and generations to come right?. Like I said D.Sharp…I believe your the one that needs the help!
touFUCKINGché, creatureart!
Hey guys,
The footage is available through the Hollywood Police Department Records Unit. 11 DVD’s total at $20 a piece. I said I would provide you guys the source of the original tapes and I am a man of my word. The footage is humbling, disturbing and unsettling to say the least.
So, how is that documentary going?
i cant describe how disturbing his face turns when hes painted red, it scares me to death.. i would give anything to see more than just what youtube shows u
Is it possible to buy the footage over the internet or would i have to get in contact with the police to arrange it
Would somebody be willing to make copies
Droid83@gmail.com
creatureart,
“You believe in the death penalty but preach about and pray to a god who says ‘thou shall not kill’”
You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
Where can I get this video? I went to elementary school w/ Ricardo and was a great friend. The person I’ve seen in pictures and video is not the Ricardo Lopez I knew, he had a great sense of humor and a great artist. It said to learn what happend to him. I cannot imagine what his parents must of felt. If anyone has any info on this Doc please let me know or if you want to share your thoughts. Thanks,
Uli
Man, you guys are a bunch of sick fuck wankers…let the man rest in peace, you vultures preying on the corpse of a mentally unstable individucal, immortalized by a culture obsessed with violence and death. Kiss me fooking arse, ye wankers, bend over and say ‘hi’ to uncle willie!
All ye motherfooking wankers can line up and plant a ruby red rosy on me fooking arse!!!
BUNCH OF SICK FUKING SCUM -why dont you go study tapes of me shitting on yous ,bunch of retarded low life scum bags with nothing else to do ,
Hey, Guru can you post your email or something so I can contact you about getting a copy of the tapes?
I’m seriously interested in seeing them ever since I first heard about this. The YouTube clip is too short and I never got to see what happened next.
jesus christ.
Contact me at: ciakar999@yahoo.com, if you guys dont want to go through the cops I will make copies at $20 a disc, there are 11 discs total. I will not provide just the final disc with the suicide. You need to see the whole story and by the way, the 10 minutes leading up to the final act is far worse than the suicide itself. I will do this because I know a lot of people are interested in this. I am in the middle of making another doc right now and have not begun even pre-production on my Ricardo Lopez doc.
I would also like to respond to these people calling out those of you who are interested in this guys story, calling people names and such. People have a right to be interested in whatever they wish and it is not disrespecting this man to view these discs. He recorded them because he wanted them to be seen, he wanted people to see who he really was, otherwise why bother shooting them. I warn all of you though, the footage is numbing and once you see it you cannot unsee it. Some of it is extremely disturbing and insane. This will be my last post until I begin making the doc my email is: ciakar999@yahoo.com should any of you want to contact me.
Extreme depression on a creative individual can produce this, I think that he was trying to be noticed, he lacks afection and became obsesed with someone how cannot reciprocate, all these strange faces only serve to hide the sadness of his eyes.
Hey Guru. Its a little hard to be dishing out 200 plus bucks to someone without every seeing if its on the up and up. Any chance you can post some insignificant footage that we didnt see on the news release. Something that we can see. Iwent to the hollywood police departments website and it shows nothing about the dairy vidoes of ricardo lopez. Maybe a few seconds of it may spark more people wanting to buy it. I know ill be sold.
http://theync.com/m011108bjork.shtml
Here is the actual suicide, this is pretty sad
I would really like this movie to come on DVD cause I would really like to see more of this persons home movies!
I was disappointed with the final moments, though he does make an interesting sound at the end. This is the actual video, but it would probably be removed by the time you see it:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IRorM4EMs8U
http://nothingtoxic.com/media/1200120331/Unedited_Version_of_Bjorks_Twisted_Stalker_Killing_Himself
That link is footage of his last minutes, he talks about his disgust with the world, his thoughts on Bjork, listens to his favourite track and eventually shoots himself.
This is raw, unedited video footage. Discretion is advised… this video is not for the faint of heart. Be warned, it is actual footage of a person shooting themself through the mouth.
Well, his death is all over the net now and I decided to not make the rest of the diaries available anymore. Too many emails from people being critical of me for charging for them when it took me a lot of work and money to find them. I saw Video Diaries, a guy in London was kind enough to send me a copy and it was very good although he left out tons of things that I thought he would have used but film makers have their own visions. I thought it was well done. I thought that providing the tapes to people would be a good thing but all I have gotten is
foul remarks and anger so only serious film makers please contact me from now on, people who want the footage for a documentary. I am working on another doc that I am knee deep in and have another one after this so I will not being going forward with The Ricardo Lopez doc. I wish all the doc makers out there the best of success in your endeavors.
the unedited ending has been posted on theync.com Check it out
I would like your guy’s opinion on our upcoming documentary, go to: http://www.myspace.com/montaukunveiledmovie and check out the trailer and let me know what you think. Email: ciakar999@yahoo.com Best of luck to all of you film makers out there, I wish you all success.
Stalker Diaries: The 8 month death of Ricardo Lopez here on DVD: http://silverbulletvideo.com/RARE_DVDS.html
I bought stalker diaries. It almost made me cry. Sure he did some twisted stuff, but he was mentally
ill… he even knew that, his family & friends did, they even tried to help him… but in the end he made his own decisions. One thing that bothered me was right before he killed himself I could see this sadness/loneliness and also regret for what he done. It was as if he was powerless to stop himself.
The documentary can be obtained through the mininova bitorrent site.Its seems to have surfaced in the last few days.
Ye will all probably think I’m stupid or crazy, but I believe in spirits like many of us here do and after watching this video I got serious chills and it almost like like Lopez was there. I don’t think I can ever watch this video again.
Its haunting to say the least
Its on youtube
basically he was fat..
My first encounter of this was a video showing him shoot himself. At the time I thought he was just a fat psycho who had painted his face and nipples. But then I started to find out about him and it’s an absolute tragedy. Watching all through his video diarys, which is about an hour and a half altogether, you just come to realise he’s a guy that needs help. He talks about his mom and how he doesn’t want to commit suicide until she dies because it’ll cause her too much pain. How he views life, and basically a huge insight into his mind and how his mental state is deteriating with every video that he makes. Sad, tragic, but massively interesting.
if he stayed around he might have been one of the famous pessimistic authors. For a lot of people, too much deep thought can easily bring depression, and theyr smart enough to know that the world sucks, and that there are major assholes out there. I realized that he reminds me alot of Chris Mccandless. because they see that people act so shitty towards eachother. I wanna see more because i wanna hear what he has to say
i watched the doc last night on youtube.
however it dont show him painting his face shaving his head or other insane rants.i cant understand why the morons who made it didnt include those parts.it ends far to soon.the stalker report was far better i though.the 3 minutes with his suicide is crazy ofcourse.would like to see more of the last tape where he shaves his head and paints himself and does his “the best of me” sign. that was important i think and those swedish jerks didnt include it…in all their documentary was a failure.
If anyone is interested in seeing the diary of ricardo lopez documentary, it is currently posted on movieforumz.com.
in response yo Domas, I felt the same way after watching, and the suicide, I believe in spirits as well, and am currently having to deal with one in my home , and after watching him die, I REALLY felt almost like his presence was around me, it’s a very uncomfortable, haunting feeling, and to tell the truth I wish I could “unsee” what I’ve seen, {his death},m it’s an all around very sad, and tragic life and story
To Adam W,
I felt the exact same way. I actually almost started crying when I saw the suicide video. There was a point where he just looked really sad, lonely, and depressed and I think he probably did regret sending that package. He did admit that he didn’t think it would work. I would like to have a copy of the other videos to see what led up to it.
lots of people have said the doc is available on youtube, but no one has posted it, so i will:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JakTheKnife7
i would very much like to get my hands on the original uncut diary of Ricardo… but i wouldnt watch him shoot himself… i couldnt handle that… not just because its too horrific to me (which it is), but also because i feel like i would be disrespecting him…
to yall that woul like to see this go to
http://www.nothingtoxic.com/media/1200120331/Unedited_Version_of_Bjorks_Twisted_Stalker_Killing_Himself
its the full version too
enjoy
Hello . I watched all the parts on youtube thanks james! but i still wanna see the whole documentary not just 1 hour like that you showed.
I really hope to god :-9 that someone puts out a full torrent of this, its great knowledge value especially to me. i price knowledge one of the most best things i know in life.
my email kolegem_sv@mail.com if anyone has any more information much appreciated thanks.
I’m sorry, I just had to write a response to this crap:
D. Sharpe
June 1st, 2007 11:14 22
“That young man’s tragic condition speaks to the need for Jesus in His life, I pray please forgive me for the people I have let slip through the cracks, Yes what He did was wrong, and yet, I really hope the Lord had some mercy on His soul, to many people with either illnesses, or suffering demonic oppression are out there and many perish without hope, and yet this society has the nerve to idolize professional atheletes, yet we miss that which God requires, now I in no way am moved by criminals who commit crimes because they are just scum, I support the death penalty, and harsh punishment, we need to in many ways punish crime the way called for in the Old testament, but that’s my opinion, but we do need to oust attorney’s who for greed or making a name for themselves constantly help the wrong people, Let’s support our Police, Fire fighters, and President.”
You are the ultimate stereotype. And a hypocritical one at that. If our laws mirrored those of the Old Testament, we would ALL suffer death for one thing or another. Have you read the banal things you can be put to death for in the Old Testament?
Why is it that everytime I come across an interesting message board, there always ALWAYS has to be an uneducated religious nut who’s self-righteousness is matched only by their complete lack of education on religious matters.
I’m an atheist, but at least I took the time to study my side of the argument. Oddly enough, because of my lack of faith, I don’t idolize celebrities at all. You see, when you let go of the assumtion that there is a God, you tend not to idolize anyone. Teaching kids to idolize God shows them it’s okay to idolize people too. Even though the commandment stresses not to, we’re talking about children here. Children who couldn’t give a flying fuck about church or an afterlife. How depressing is that? You’re just starting out in life and you have to go to a smelly, quiet, OVERLY decadent building every Sunday and listen to someone tell you what you should do before you DIE!
Anyway, I feel bad for Ricardo. He deserved much better than Bjork.
If anyone has the full 18 hours I would like to hear from you oneirology@hotmail.co.uk
No silly prices though – I will also need some proof you have the set,thanks
To Warren:
The reason Sami Saif chose not to include the parts where he shaved and painted his head is simple. When this story happened, all the media wanted to focus on were those very images of him. You can even watch the archived videos on YouTube. The very minimalist, narrow view the media tried to give on Ricardo Lopez was one of a mindless, heartless psycho that was cut off from reality. The media didn’t even bother to portray why this intense hatred for Bjork developed (her relationship with an African-American). They only chose to run with their ratings-grabbing, sensationalist methods of “reporting”. Yes, there is absolutely no excuse for what Lopez tried to do and he was very mentally sick. But to say that’s all that went on here was very ignorant. Lopez was not cut off from reality. He says many times he had a very loving family and early on. During the span of this diary, he worked for his brother, George, and went to visit his parents in Uruguay. His original plan was not to do any of this until his mother died. His reason was he knew how bad it would hurt her. Very skewed, but it IS a form of emotion, despite what the American media wanted you to believe. There are times within this video where Lopez cries, looks sad and empty, and even insults himself for what he’s doing. There is definitely a humanized, safety voice trying to reach out to him. Even after the package has been mailed, he has a look on his face that says somewhere, something in his psyche is telling him what he did was wrong. He didn’t come back and celebrate what he did. He looked no different than he did before: nervous and contemplative. But instead of trying to understand what went on in Lopez’s mind and portraying him as a harmless human being that gradually fell out of reality (instead of always being psycho as they portrayed him), they chose to just slap all the images of himself in the paint and dub evil music behind those scenes. If there’s nothing else among this story you want but psychotic images and video of him killing himself with no context or reasoning, you’re probably not far off mentally from Lopez himself.
I think this video diary must be a really interesting thing:
philosophically: some one said he might have been a really interesting pessimistic philosopher
psychologically: because we would see madness from the inside
artistically: some people wrote he was a real artist when he was young. Anyway, this kind of mad dairy film could have been a really fascinating fiction film.
Of course, the thing is: it isn’t a fiction movie, and one can see a bit of voyeurism in the act of watching that movie. Some said he filmed himself because he wanted to be seen, which might be true, but on the other hand, do people who write a written diary want to be read? Most of them don’t…
Anyway, I think seeing that movie would really be an interesting experience, so I’ll try to get it. Could anyone seed on the torrent file?
PS: I wonder if I’m the only one here who understand Lopez’s fascination for Björk (according to what have been said on her here so far, I think I am), it was actually hard for me to understand her music (and to accept her voice) at the beginning, but since I’ve learned to accept it, I’m quite addicted to her music and to her in general (not as much as Lopez, obviously). Of course I would never kill her or anyone else I like (or don’t like).
A bit of voyeurism? I think reading the general reactions above, there’s a real interest in seeing the process of a suicide here. I’m not sure if Lopez intended this to be seen though, sure he made the videos, but it could have been the simple act of purging without the intention of an audience – much like a diary – you are in a sense, talking to yourself.
A few comments above worry me though, sometimes there is a tendency to romaticise mental illness by tagging it with notions of the burden of “creativity” and “intelligence.” Don’t forget, the man sent an acid bomb in the post to Bjork with the intention of hurting her, if not KILLING her. There is nothing sad or romantic about that action.
What is sad is how people respond to clinical depression, how mental illness goes unchecked in society and how some people really are alone with themselves without help. His videos are haunting, if not for the simple fact of highlighting how easy it is to fall into a broken mental state.
Well youtube removed it
Anybody wanting to see it can find it on live leak
Part 1 – http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=735_1217360528
Part 2 – http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c10_1217361570
Mr.Enigma,
Thanks for your post. I grew up with Ricardo in Doraville, Ga. We were close friends from the age of 7 to about 15 years. Growing up we did normal things such as play with g.i.joes, kickball, etc. Ricardo had an incredible sense of humor and was a great artist. His artwork varied and was not dark. I always thought that he would become a famous artist. the only thing was that he was alittle over weight but that was no big deal. he also was very respectful and kind. he later moved to florida and i lost direct contact with him. i first learned of his passing through a mutual friend and then saw footage on tv. even though his transformation was dark and sad i still remember Ricardo as a good friend who always made me laugh. R.I.P
OK, guys I keep getting emails, if people want the 10 dvds of of all 18 hours of footage send me paypal only $80 postage paid if your are in the U.S. and $90 postage paid foreign to: cinemawar9@yahoo.com. If you want insured or X press delivery add an additional $15 dollars U.S. or foreign. My doc for this project has been canceled because I am knee deep in another one that is not going to end anytime soon.
EVERYONE GO TO: http://WWW.COTTONMOUTH.TV TO SEE FREE OF CHARGE A SHORT HORROR FILM 2 YEARS IN THE MAKING. RIGHT NOW ON THE SITE IS BEHIND THE SCENES DOCUMENTARIES CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN, HORROR COMICS AND HORROR FILMS IN GENERAL. FOR HORROR FANS CHECK IT OUT.
Also, our documentary MONTAUK UNVEILED, about the Montauk Project is moving along. To see our 10 min preview go to: http://www.myspace.com/montaukunveiledmovie and let me know your opinion, I would like your feedback. Peace to you all.
Hey Kevin,
Could you tell us more about Ricardo. After reading youre post, you mentioned that he is a someone not like quite shy guys, but had a great sense of humor and a strong set of artistic skills. Why would anyone funny like him lose his mind, I do notice that you mentioned he was a little over weight, that we all know of. But was he insecure about that, maybe and started to become anti social. What did he in his later age, before he killed himeself, any information would help. I am pretty sure, he was making those faces, not because he was insane. We all talk to ourselves in front of the mirror and stuff.. My point is, he would not have stayed in his apartment all the time. He would have worked somewhere, he would have had his social life too, and there might have been at least one person he was talking to, before all these happened. Any information would help. For the people thinks, who cares…You dont have to be here in this forums, if you dont care.
Hello,
I am a small Dutch documentary filmmaker, and I am very interested in seeing some more footage of Ricardo Lopez’ tapes. I am currently planning to make a documentary about mental illness, and Lopez’ tapes sparked my interest some time ago. However, I can’t seem to find more than the news report, and the documentary by Sami Saif. If anyone can provide me with further footage, please contact me at tomzaandam@gmail.com.
Thanks,
Tom
Hi Tom
You can buy the tapes here.
http://www.thedragonflygroup.org/rare_dvds.php
http://www.bloodshows.com/htmls/Bjork%20Fan%20Suicide.html here you can see the uncensored version containing the last 10 minutes of lopez life.
I have all 18 hours up for sale on 10 dvds. But if anyone just wants “The Last Day” which is about 80 minutes in length showing the final horrible day of his life including the shocking death ritual. I will do that for the month of December 2008 only. $19.99 plus $5 shipping anywhere in the world. Paypal payment to: cinemawar9@yahoo.com and just put in The Last Day in the order box. This is not on my site, nor will it be. Only readers here will get this if they are interested. Also, check out our 10 minute preview of our doc Montauk Unveiled at: http://www.montaukunveiled.com and let me know what you guys think.
I saw the video a couple months ago…
It’s so sick that ever since I can’t get it out of my mind…
Watching so much crime and violence on television makes people sick. That’s actually it. That guy was probably using hard drugs and that was probably what led him to depression.. Loneliness is another thing. I really don’t know what to say about this subject…
Yesterday I got followed by this one freaky guy, the moment I turned the keys to open my apartment’s door I heard a voice behind my back. It was a man about 20 years older than I am simply saying: ”You are so beautiful and so sad, that attracted me and I followed you..”. We live in a day that stalking is acceptable by many people. I’m sure most of you guys wouldn’t find this incident creepy but it scared me to death! I’m sure that if we keep on letting crime and violence look ”cool” than one day we will have to face it ourselves (IN THE REAL WORLD AND NOT ON A VİDEO TAPE THAT WAS SENT TO SOMEONE YOU WİLL NEVER KNOW WHO LİVES ACROSS THE GLOBE).
PS:I should admit that I found this page looking for more info about Ricardo Lopez.
Hi guys
Thers a lot of people intrested in this case here so i thought i would share this with you.
Its Ricardos Year book picture from the early 90s
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7623/imgp3594arg3.jpg
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/3681/lopezye1.jpg
Please seed the video on the bittorrent network.
wow, that picture is actually pretty good!
wow ,charging people money to see footage of someone KILLING them self? You operate in sick ways dude..And if you say its for all the money you’ve spent for them then : The costs of dvd’s are around 25-50 cent per dvd which is a profit of at least $7.50 per dvd for you.. Making profit from a mentally ill guy killing himself.. I hope you burn in HELL..
LOL, Okay “TONY” he’s so sick, yet let’s see, you obviously googled your way here and saw the footage yourself, bucko, so why so serious? I don’t see why you are passing judgement on this guy, these people are film makers and not just curious shock seekers, they are actual professionals selling this material for education and film making purposes and you are just a simpleton who doesn’t seem to understand the economics of that, (although it is funny trying to see you do math). You were obviously interested in the case yourself or else you wouldn’t be here now would you?
I just saw this movie yesterday, quite depressing really.
I often finger my ass while thinking of Ricardo’s dead corpse. viva la Ricardo!
Very mixed feelings about the whole the diaries.
The last 10 minutes are waaaay worse than the actual shot that kills him.At times my heart was going so fast I thought I was gonna croak myself.Just trying to imagine what was going though his head (no pun intended) in those last few moments horrified me.
At times I felt like he was having second thoughts too.
But the fact that he knew he would eventually be caught forced him into pulling the trigger I think.
So,so tragic.
But on the other hand he attempted to kill a innocent person.
In conclusion, I’m confused & feeling a little sick about myself to be honest.
If you want the 1hr 44min version you could try a little gem of a site called docs4you.
But you didnt her that from me, okay.
The Guru you suck for profiting from this in that way. and to say that its fine cuz he is doing it for educational reasons is crap hes doing it for pure profit otherwise he would give it free and for the cost to him, but instead hes charging way over. this is on torrent sites if u want it for free, and gladly it dosent show the shooting(seriously if u wanna watch that part you need help yourself).
Guru, you are a fucking cunt profiting from this guys death. $25 for one DVD, you’re a fucking con artist. His family have lost their young ill son.
Hope you get exposed for the pointless bastard that you are.
Hilarious to see people can’t stand to hear another opinion so they’ll stoop to no end to put other people down, tsk tsk. Some trolls just aren’t original.
Here’s some comments I found interesting.
“and to say that its fine cuz he is doing it for educational reasons is crap hes doing it for pure profit otherwise he would give it free and for the cost to him, but instead hes charging way over. this is on torrent sites if u want it for free, and gladly it dosent show the shooting(seriously if u wanna watch that part you need help yourself)”
First off, if such sites existed, then point them out. The fact that you know about them says more about you but that’s just me. Coming here pointing down Guru for selling them rather than have people deal with the hassle of downloading a ridiculous amount of video which requires space, Call it what you will, but some people rather pay money than deal with a poorly seeded file that doesn’t even exist.
Secondly, how exactly did YOU know about the shooting? I doubt you just stopped at the Ebaums video, Chances are you wanted to know more so you came here, and you’ve probably seen other material. Seriously, none of you numbbuts see the hypocrisy in your words? You complain it’s wrong to see someone die, but how did you get here? Possibly morbid curiosity, either way, you googled a man’s name, some man you never met because you wanted to know more gorey details. You too are exploiting someone’s death.
In truth, no one here is bad for wanting to learn more about who he is. Guru found this material and is offering it for people who are interested or need it. He’s doing some of us a favor so please shut it.
anyone interested in this video email me and il tell u how to get it
If u want to c him kill him self and other vidios of him go to bloodshows.com
I would like to put in my two cents about this video – which I HAVE SEEN IN FULL a few years ago through a source I wont disclose. First of all I dont think anyone who owns these tapes will put them on the internet (Bittorrent,youtube etc…) because of one of two reasons
1. The video tapes contain explicit material including scenes of suicide,bomb making,full male nudity,racist launguage and general scenes of someone with a mental illness.
2.There are 18 hours of video which would take up lots of space on a P2P network (5gb at lowest quality) to download. Youtube would certanly take it straight down.
in fact some of the tape is barely watchable and in other parts there is nothing happening (Ricardo is off screen and the camera is rolling) so there is only about 6 hours of footage worth watching.The one hour documentry does do it justice it shows his transformation. Maybe someday someone will put up a new documentry about him.
hey. i know where you can get some video footage of the actual shooting. bloodshows.com
yea its a messed up site but its got the video your looking for. eneter the site, go to videos and it should be in the first list of videos. there are two. one of ricardo going crazy and one of him killing himself.
what the fuck! i just found out about this sick fuck ricardo while reading the wiki entry on bjork ! i fucking live in Hollywood florida
i am fucking fat and suffer from obesity and depression I am also hispanic. and even sound and look a little like ricardo. I am 22 and my birthday is fucking january 16 and his was 14
I am utterly disturbed by the similarities and frightened I am gonna seek immediate help I am terrified for my mental health. fuck i am so scared.
I am not a fan of bjork though I dont even know her music very well just like 1 or 2 songs.
Should I watch the rest of the ricardo footage? i am afraid it will damage me psychologically.
how bad is it?
Seen his final moments on bestgore.com. Not as bad as I thought, kinda’ gave you that gutting feeling afterwards. Blah! No blood to be seen but still.. if youre really squeemish DON’T watch it. Oh, and by the way.. hence the name “bestgore”, prepare for some shocking images on it before you even get to the video!
hey oh noes. cheer up man its not you its him.
poor lonely guy was probably headed toward suicide one way or another
which is a trajedy.
long time ago when the UFC was young a 5′11″ 320 dude Scott Ferrozo http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Scott-Ferrozzo-128 beat up Tank Abbott. Ever since then I never take a heavy dude for granted. He was over 300lbs whipping ass – handling Tank when he was real scary.
Don’t say fucking fat – ur a thick dude with ur own karma to over come! We all have unique karma.
c’mon man!
your ok man.
yo u want the dvd set of this guys diary check out this site http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2007/01/15/the-video-diary-of-ricardo-lopez/
Got a megaupload link for anyone that wants to watch this documentary
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W1TRJX7S
Wow this was a sad situation involving someone who was mentally ill. I dont think his situation was simply social- meaning he needed more social contact or a girlfriend he needed real help. I am really deeply saddened after having watched this lonely disconnected mentally disturbed individual. I hope in death he could find the peace he couldn’t find in life.
this guy is dead so who cares aneymore
I’ve watched him do it about 20 times on documentingreality.com. It just amazes me that someone can be talking one minute and dead the next at their own hand.
The documentary can be downloaded from btjunkie.org Its quite large, around 2GB but it works. I cannot believe that guru guy above was trying to sell copies for over $200. I hope he kills himself.
Eh dude, he wasn’t trying to sell copies of the documentary, he was selling copies of the entire, 18 hour recording of his dairy. 18 hours.
He had to go through the Hollywood Sheriff’s department for it, and it was some work to get, so I can see as a person who films documentaries why footage would have a dollar value. Some it’s hard to get and when your in the industry it’s pricey, and you collect alot of it.
Anyhow, my heart goes out to this guy and his family, it’s sad that people get so lonely, but I actually think it’s a good thing that the world sees this. People need to wake up.
Maybe there’s something I’m not getting. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been able to find the full documentary. But this guy tried to kill an innocent woman because of his racial hatred. It’s hard for me to picture him as anything but the lowest type of simpleton, the cruelest scum, for that to have been the conclusion to his life. And people here are commenting that society should treat people like him better? Mental illness, yes, that should not be stigmatized. But being a violent racist fuck should never be treated with respect or legitimacy.
I agree with Chris that you forget he was literally trying to melt Bjork’s face off in an attempt to kill her. He was trying to be a murderer. He was trying to become the monster he spoke of, the ones the supposedly surrounded him. I watched the clips and they are haunting and very wrong. Please someone take them down. Disturbing to say the least. The human condition is an abyss, but he was acting the parts. Now acting and being are both equally horrible and sad, but he was playing into a number of sterotypes and then ended up, by trying to portray a killer, become one, of his own demise. However, I forget while watching it that his motives were to kill a beautiful, caring, intelligent, wonderful woman. And that is the saddest part. Thank whatever God is out there that he didn’t accomplish what he tried so hard to do. Its sad enough that he destroyed his life in a matter of less than a year, but these thoughts are simply too horrible. God have mercy on all of us.
you can see the last couple of minutes on uselessjunk.com, its pretty cool, wish he would of used a bigger gun though
This is really terrifying. I can’t believe he actually committed suicide on camera. I do feel sorry for him, yet his intention to murder Bjork just sickens me. Does anyone know if Bjork had anything to say on the subject?
I have been researching the bjork stalker for quite a while now, not for any type of entertainment value, I am currently earning a masters in psychology I want to use Ricardos’ story to write my dissertation when i begin studying for my doctorate. I watched the documentary and it gave me an insight to Ricardos’ behavior which obviously stems from a DSM classified mental disorder. I however feel that I need to see all of his footage to get a better understanding. I noticed on this blog that there are people selling it, which is a road I don’t mind going down but if that is not possible I am curious to those who have went through the system to obtain them what kind of red tape should i expect to run into to obtain them myself, I have a dedicated email set aside for anyone who has information on this, I would greatly appreciate the help. on a more personal note I do feel great empathy for this young man, if he only reached out for help he might of been saved but from observing the behavior that I did,it doesn’t look like he thought he was doing anything wrong, which is a sad symptom of the many disorders he could of been suffering from. my email address is strenneedsinfo@yahoo.com and like I said I would appreciate any information that is provided, thank you.
The full suicide video can be found at bloodshows.com in blood vault #1
I hope someday, gets an actual Wikipedia page, Lopez deserves one. Hopfully they wont make him like he’s just some loco guy that wanted to kill Bjork and make him look like this evil fat loser. Hopfully, they’ll actually get in to detail in his childhood and all his background. Make people feel sorry for him.
Anyone seen NO REASON TO EXIST (2009)? It’s a frightening dramatization, based on Ricardo Lopez.. Seriously disturbing stuff!
http://www.archive.org/download/NoReasonToExist_591/Part3-NoReasonToExistadamCooley2009.avi
don’t watch if you’re squeemish!
@cockroach
He killed cockroaches for living ^^
i meant… @Codename84 (ofcourse..LOL)
I think he wanted to die but he didn’t have the guts. He dragged Bjork into it and concocted the whole plan as a sort of suicide pact with her. It happens all the time, remember Andrew Cunanan the stalker who killed Gianni Versace (and 4 others)? He killed Versace b/c he was miserable and probably insanely jealous.. bad combination. Many theorize that Jim Jones terrorized his 900+ followers and drove them to suicide just so he would then be empowered to kill himself.
Also, most accounts of people going postal have something in common, which is they want to kill themselves but they can’t go through with it so they either get suicide-by-cop or in that final moment have the power to do it before the cops do. Most people just can’t do it under their own power, or they fail the first time and lose the stomach for it. Even after all the planning preparation and after the package was mailed, he still probably wanted to back out in those last moments and it probably took every ounce of courage he had to pull the trigger.
A person losing his mind. A person trying to comit murder. A person becoming a murder. But a person, at the end. The best documentary that anyone can make about Ricardo is a documentary that shows not only the suicide (which is the natural coulmination of the events) BUT MOST OF ALL SPEAK WITH THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF RICARDO, and those people tell the story of what happened to Ricardo, in order to understand the reasons and the motivations of his acts. This could help other people too, I guess.
Good comment Enigma. Fuck you Guru, you profit with dead.
For all of you trying to get a rush out of watching a person shoot themselves, you have no idea what mental illness can do to you. I am a recovering manic depressive and mental illness makes you think things no normal person could contemplate. Please realize that this man had a family and a group of friends. If this were yoru friend you would be defending him as much as you could. pretend yo uactually knew this poor man and show some respect for the deceased.
Rest In Peace Ricardo
One other thing; there are 2 versions of this documentary, the original by Sami Saif and a later one made by someone else who got ahold of the footage. Someone posted the original on YouTube which is how I saw it, but of course it was taken down. Whoever put out the 2nd version didn’t bother to disassociate it with the actual documentary.
It seems like the original download source was a torrent on IsoHunt, but that was a few years ago so those related torrents are all dead.
I don’t think it’s available for purchase, and after a few days of searching, the few available downloads are for the crappy version. If anyone knows how to get the original documentary, leave a comment!
@Scott
Ill put up a torrent of the documentary within the next few days.Will probably take a bit to download cause my line is slow
To Stren I bought the tapes about 3 years ago – some people claim you can get it from the police department but they said that is not true. i bought mine from someone on the internet – was sceptical about handing over $100 bucks for something I may never recieve but they were good to their word the site he was selling it off was shut down. but I would be willing to let you have my copy, but you would need to prove to me that you are a genuine psychology student – what country are you in ?
“—”, put up a link or something when you’re able to post the torrent. That way I can tell yours apart.
I knew Ricardo. I can name the people who have already posted on this thread who said they knew him too. They spoke the truth. Ricardo was well loved by his friends and family. This wasn’t something any of us ever thought would happen.
Contrary to what has been said, Ricardo was very intelligent. He was not a dimwit. Yes, he was a great artist. That’s probably the memory anyone who knew him will say first. We were in the same art classes and he was one of the top artists. His artwork was beautiful and full of life. There was never anything dark or ugly.
It’s also strange that he spoke in such a racist way. That wasn’t how he behaved growing up. I think that was something he must have fixated on as the mental illness took over. Our school was pretty diverse.
It was hard to watch the video. But I did. I wanted to see something of the Ricardo I knew. I also wanted to know that it was quick and that he didn’t suffer. What he did was wrong, there’s no argument. But I think he knew it wouldn’t work. I think he painted himself into a corner and did what he thought he had no choice but to do.
I know this is the internet and everyone says what they want, but the hurtful comments, well…they hurt. Ricardo could have been your brother, neighbor, cousin, co-worker, friend, etc… He wasn’t spawned from nothing. Someone held him everyday and loved him, put band-aids on his cuts and scrapes, soothed him when he cried and checked under the bed for the Boogeyman. He was someone’s baby, he was a fellow human being. That’s something we shouldn’t forget.
On 04.23.10 Dont you worry about that said:
To Stren I bought the tapes about 3 years ago – some people claim you can get it from the police department but they said that is not true. i bought mine from someone on the internet – was sceptical about handing over $100 bucks for something I may never recieve but they were good to their word the site he was selling it off was shut down. but I would be willing to let you have my copy, but you would need to prove to me that you are a genuine psychology student – what country are you in ?
Reply:
To Stren I bought the tapes about 3 years ago – some people claim you can get it from the police department but they said that is not true. i bought mine from someone on the internet – was sceptical about handing over $100 bucks for something I may never recieve but they were good to their word the site he was selling it off was shut down. but I would be willing to let you have my copy, but you would need to prove to me that you are a genuine psychology student – what country are you in ?
Thank you for responding to my inquiry,to answer your question I live in the U.S. and in fact earning a Master’s degree in Psychology to help me obtain a career in law enforcement which I have a Bachelor degree in. to prove it here would mean giving out personal information on a blog and I cannot do that, I need to protect my privacy. However my email address is strenneedsinfo@yahoo.com please feel free to email me and we can discuss this further. I am very interested in this footage for my research on mental illness. I appreciate your time.
http://isohunt.com/lite/#q=The+Video+Diary+Of+Ricardo+Lopez&p=1
The Video Diary Of Ricardo Lopez.avi First listed link.
Length: 1h:44m:01s An obvious edit down from the 20 hour video, but it includes footage of his death and some months leading to it. I downloaded it yesterday and confirm it plays.
BitTorrent or other software required to download this torrent file.
I saw the video of Ricardo and was rendered speechless. I personally knew Ricardo and his family. His brothers were alot older than he was and his parents were very old. I use to think they were his grandparents. I mention this because there always seemed to be a disconnect between him and the rest of his family. He was always very lonely. That said, He was also a very loving child, funny, creative, friendly…so much potential. He would often come over to our home and eat dinner with us because he was friends with two of my brothers. Oh my God! He must have been extremely mentally disturbed and in so much emotional pain. When he moved to Florida, our family lost touch with him. I would have never thought that he would do something like this. Shocking.I have nothing left to say.
Oxycodone and breastmilk….
Addicted to oxycodone while pregnant. What is oxycodone. Oxycodone urine. Oxycodone how long in system. Oxycodone….
Diablo, the isohunt link is to the crappy version, not the good one. Know how I can tell? The crap one is 1:44min and the professionally done good one without the suicide footage is only about 70 minutes long. The original source for the good one was from isohunt interestingly enough, but that was a long time ago and that link is dead. My opinion is; guys who wanna see someone shoot themselves, go watch the short link on some shock site. If on the other hand you wanna learn something about Ricardo, look for the 70 minute Danish doc, if you can find it.
@ Scott and whoever else is intrested its up on Demonoid under Tv\Documentarys.If anybody has a Pirate Bay account upload the torrent to there
@ Scott: Do you know who made the crappy version? (Not the Sami one)
@ Scott: Do you mind downloading this
http://rapidshare.com/files/398886026/The_Video_Diary_Of_Ricardo_Lopez.avi.part1.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/398891365/The_Video_Diary_Of_Ricardo_Lopez.avi.part2.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/398896628/The_Video_Diary_Of_Ricardo_Lopez.avi.part3.rar.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/398899228/The_Video_Diary_Of_Ricardo_Lopez.avi.part4.rar.html
AND/OR this
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W1TRJX7S
To check if that’s Sami’s version, please?
I use linux and it gives me problems when decompressing the first four files… and I haven’t had a chance to download from the second one… Where I found the megaupload one it says it’s a mirror but to be honest I’m not sure what that means…
Plus I don’t want to see the crappy version at all or at least not until I’ve seen Sami’s
Thanks
Apparently someone shared the megaupload one already…
I Have The Full 20 Hours 5 DvD For Sale On eBay Serch True*Image*DVDs.
i cant believe GURU is tryin to make a profit from a dead man!! n im waitin for the oh but it cost him so much time n muni hes a film maker. . . ermm well if he was a propa film maker he wud jus b doin it for the passion surely? n yeh he cud of jus made bk the muni he spent buyin blank disc’s n the actual ”copy” of the footage but no hes willin to sell every last copy for over 200quid/dollars, its sick, its for our educational perpose well last i checked education’s free we shudnt av to pay for documentries wen they r made for us to watch for free to learn stuff, wudnt surprise me if he wasnt dead an that that its him sellin the dvd’s!!
I, hedonist…
I d/l’ed the rapidshare links but it’s just another of the crap version.
I’m familiar with what’s on megaupload; same deal there. Only one torrent on ISOhunt contains the original Sami Saif doc, and it’s been dead for a long time. A guy who posted on here 2 years ago put it on youtube and that’s how I saw it. Of course it’s since been taken down. After many months I’ve given up on finding it. Trust me though, the 1:44min version is just some person who got the FBI tapes slapping together sensational and weird moments, just basically a freakshow with no educational value or insight.
One last thing; I’m almost 100% certain there’s no way to buy the Sami Saif documentary online. I think it was aired on Danish public television; someone recorded it and uploaded it to ISOhunt, but it wasn’t put on VHS or DVD for purchase.
I downloaded this after you mentioned it on the latest filmjunk podcast. I think I disagree with Scott about there being nothing to gain from the 1:44 version, (Even if its true about it not being as good as the Sami Saif one).
I feel like I got a very thorough profile of the guy in his 9 last months. The way that he would have “Dirty Laundry” or some other kind of soundtrack playing in the background was downright haunting. I couldn’t help holding my breath in the last 10-15 minutes as he was just plopped there holding the gun trembling and breathing heavily–And with all that face paint on.
Did anyone see if there was an exit wound? I saw the almost cartoonish lump pop up on top of his head–And then there was that heavy sound of liquid rapidly pouring out after he fell to the ground, which I’m sure was head gravy unless he knocked over a pitcher of juice or something…
I don’t mean to be insensitive about that. The actual moment of death was a wakeup to reality for me. I think there’s a profound difference between what my expectation was, which was something like Vincent D’Nofrio in Full Metal Jacket, and what actually happened. The final physical act, and his coherent documentation of the emotional breakdown leading up to it, is incredibly striking and saddening. This is one of those experiences that will stick with me.
Was it lights out immediately after we hear the gunshot? It seems like his hands are still grasping the revolver as he falls. He says one last word before he puts it in his mouth, I think it’s “kitty!” but I could be wrong, any ideas? Those sounds he makes as he goes down are inhuman. Look at the timestamp too, what an uninteresting minute in the afternoon to die – 2:53pm. The way the chair, couch, and poster move when his body hits the floors makes my heart skip beats. I think the liquid sound at the end is his urine coming out, but it might be from the head wound.