LOS ANGELES — In a bizarre footnote from the 1980s, actor Sean Penn received a handwritten note from notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez while both were incarcerated in the same Los Angeles County jail facility.

The encounter occurred in 1987 while Penn was serving a 60-day sentence for violating probation after an on-set altercation with a film extra. Ramirez, already infamous as the “Night Stalker” and awaiting trial for a string of brutal murders, was also being held at the facility.

According to accounts of the incident, Ramirez sent Penn a note requesting an autograph. Penn responded with a blunt message, reportedly telling the killer that he hoped he would be executed soon.

The brief written exchange between the Hollywood star and one of America’s most notorious serial killers later became a widely reported anecdote highlighting the strange intersections that can occur inside the prison system.

Ramirez was eventually convicted in 1989 of 13 counts of murder, along with numerous other charges including rape and burglary. He was sentenced to death but died in prison in 2013 while still on death row.

Sean Penn, who was married to Madonna at the time of his brief jail stint, has occasionally referenced the story in interviews over the years.

The incident remains one of the more unusual celebrity-crime crossovers in Hollywood history.