Ricardo Silvio Caputo was born in 1949 in Mendoza, Argentina. His early life was marked by hardship; according to his brother, Caputo suffered physical and sexual abuse during childhood. In 1970, seeking a new beginning, he moved to New York City.​

Caputo struggled with mental health issues, leading to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He was institutionalized but managed to escape custody in 1974.

Caputo's known killing spree began on July 31, 1971, with the murder of 19-year-old Natalie Brown in Flower Hill, New York. He confessed to the crime but was deemed mentally unfit for trial and committed to a psychiatric facility.

In October 1974, Caputo murdered 26-year-old Judith Becker, a psychologist who had previously worked with him. He then fled to California, where he killed 28-year-old Barbara Ann Taylor in 1975.​

In June 1977, Caputo murdered 23-year-old Laura Gómez in Mexico City. Following this, he evaded capture for nearly two decades, during which he used multiple aliases and lived in various locations across the U.S. and Mexico.​

In 1994, Caputo surrendered to authorities, confessing to the four murders. He was incarcerated at Attica State Prison in New York, where he died of a heart attack on October 1, 1997.