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Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), also known as the Green River Killer, is an American
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
and
sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
. He was initially convicted of 48 separate
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
s. As part of his
plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
, another
conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...
was added, bringing the total number of convictions to 49, making him the second most prolific serial killer in United States history according to confirmed murders. He killed many teenage girls and women in the
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
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during the 1980s and 1990s. Most of Ridgway's victims were alleged to be
sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...
s and other women in vulnerable circumstances, including underage runaways. The press gave him his nickname after the first five victims were found in the
Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
before his identity was known. He strangled his victims, usually by hand but sometimes using ligatures. After strangling them, he would dump their bodies in forested and overgrown areas in King County, often returning to the bodies to have sexual intercourse with them. On November 30, 2001, as Ridgway was leaving the
Kenworth Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Class 5–7) commercial vehicles. Headquartered in ...
truck factory where he worked in
Renton, Washington Renton is a city in King County, Washington, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 2020 census, the ...
, he was arrested for the murders of four women whose cases were linked to him through
DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
evidence. As part of a plea bargain wherein he agreed to disclose the locations of still-missing women, he was spared the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
and received a sentence of
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
without the possibility of
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
.


Early life

Gary Leon Ridgway was born on February 18, 1949, in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, the second of Mary and Thomas Ridgway's three sons. His home life was somewhat troubled; relatives have described his mother as domineering and have said that, while young, he witnessed more than one violent argument between his parents. His father was a bus driver who would often complain about the presence of
sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...
s. Ridgway had a bed-wetting problem until he was 13, and his mother would wash his genitals after every episode. He would later tell
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
s that, as an adolescent, he had conflicting feelings of anger and sexual attraction toward his mother, and fantasized about killing her. Ridgway is
dyslexic Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
, and was held back a year in
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. When he was 16, he stabbed a six-year-old boy who survived the attack. Ridgway had led the boy into the woods and then stabbed him through the ribs into his
liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
. Ridgway's IQ was recorded as being in the "low eighties".


Adult life

Ridgway graduated from
Tyee High School Tyee High School, formerly Tyee Educational Complex, is a public high school campus located in SeaTac, Washington, United States. It was founded as Tyee High School, a single public high school, in 1962. It is operated by the Highline School Distr ...
in 1969 and married his 19-year-old high school girlfriend, Claudia Kraig. He joined the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and was sent to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, where he served onboard a supply ship and saw combat. During his time in the military, Ridgway had frequent
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
with sex workers and contracted
gonorrhea Gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium '' Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Infected men may experience pain or burning with ...
; although angered by this, he continued this activity without protection. The marriage ended within a year. When questioned about Ridgway after his arrest, friends and family described him as friendly but strange. His first two marriages resulted in divorce because of
infidelities Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...
by both partners. His second wife, Marcia Winslow, claimed that he had placed her in a
chokehold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...
. He became religious during his second marriage,
proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
door-to-door, reading the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
aloud at work and at home, and insisting that his wife follow the strict teachings of their pastor. Ridgway would also frequently cry after sermons or reading the Bible. Despite his beliefs, Ridgway continued to solicit the services of sex workers and wanted his wife to participate in sex in public and inappropriate places, sometimes even in areas where his victims' bodies were later discovered. According to women in his life, Ridgway had an insatiable sexual appetite. His three ex-wives and several ex-girlfriends reported that he demanded sex from them several times a day. Often, he would want to have sex in a public area or in the woods. Ridgway himself admitted to having a fixation with sex workers, with whom he had a love/hate relationship. He frequently complained about their presence in his neighborhood, but he also took advantage of their services regularly. In a statement read at his plea hearing, Gary Ridgway said he hated prostitutes and didn't want to pay them for sex. Some have speculated that Ridgway was torn between his lusts and his staunch religious beliefs. With his second wife Marcia, Ridgway had a son, Matthew (b. 1975).


Murders

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Ridgway is believed to have murdered at least 71 teenage girls and women near
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and Tacoma,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. In court statements, Ridgway later reported that he had killed so many that he lost count. A majority of the murders occurred between 1982 and 1984. The victims were believed to be either sex workers or runaways, whom he picked up along Pacific Highway South. Ridgway sometimes showed the women a picture of his son, to trick them into trusting him. They would engage in sexual activity, and after minutes of intercourse from behind, Ridgway would wrap his forearm around the front of their necks and use the other arm to pull back as tightly as he could, strangling them. He killed most victims in his home, his truck, or a secluded area. Most of their bodies were dumped in wooded areas around the
Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
,
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...
, and other "dump sites" within South King County. There were also two confirmed and another two suspected victims found in the
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, area. The bodies were often left in clusters, sometimes posed, usually nude. He would sometimes return to the victims' bodies and have sexual intercourse with them. Ridgway later explained that he did not find necrophilia more sexually satisfying, but having sex with the deceased reduced his need to obtain a living victim and thus limited his exposure to being caught. Because most of the bodies were not discovered until only the skeletons remained, two victims are still unidentified. Ridgway occasionally contaminated the dump sites with gum, cigarettes, and written materials belonging to others, and he even transported a few victims' remains across state lines into Oregon to confuse the police. In the early 1980s, the
King County Sheriff's Office The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is a local police agency in King County, Washington, United States. It is the primary law enforcement agency for all unincorporated areas of King County, as well as 12 cities and two transit agencies which ...
formed the Green River Task Force to investigate the murders. Task force members included
Robert Keppel Robert David Keppel (June 15, 1944 – June 14, 2021) was an American law enforcement officer and detective. He was also an associate professor at the University of New Haven and Sam Houston State University. Keppel was known for his contribut ...
and
Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...
, who periodically interviewed incarcerated serial killer
Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy ( born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade ...
in 1984. Bundy offered his opinions on the psychology, motivations, and behavior of the killer. He suggested that the killer was revisiting the dump sites to have sex with his victims, which turned out to be true, and if police found a fresh grave, they should stake it out and wait for him to come back. Also contributing to the investigation was
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
Special Agent
John E. Douglas John Edward Douglas (born ) is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was one of the first criminal profilers and has written books on criminal psychology. Early life a ...
, who developed a profile of the suspect. Ridgway was arrested in 1982 and 2001 on charges related to prostitution. He became a suspect in the Green River killings in 1983. In 1984, Ridgway passed a
polygraph test A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...
. On April 7, 1987, police took hair and saliva samples from Ridgway. Around 1985, Ridgway began dating Judith Mawson, who became his third wife in 1988. Mawson claimed in a 2010 television interview that when she moved into his house while they were dating, there was no carpet. Detectives later told her he had probably wrapped a body in the carpet. In the same interview, she described how he would leave for work early in the morning some days, ostensibly for the overtime pay. Mawson speculated that he must have committed some of the murders while supposedly working these early morning shifts. She claimed that she had not suspected Ridgway's crimes before she was contacted by authorities in 1987, and had not even heard of the Green River Killer before that time because she did not watch the news. Author Pennie Morehead interviewed Ridgway in prison, and he said while he was in the relationship with Mawson, his kill rate went down and that he truly loved her. Of his 49 known victims, only three were killed after he married Mawson. Mawson told a local television reporter, "I feel I have saved lives ... by being his wife and making him happy." The samples collected in 1987 were later subjected to
DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
, providing the evidence for his arrest warrant. On November 30, 2001, Ridgway was at the
Kenworth Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Class 5–7) commercial vehicles. Headquartered in ...
truck factory, where he worked as a spray painter, when police arrived to arrest him. Ridgway was arrested on suspicion of murdering four women nearly 20 years earlier after first being identified as a potential suspect, when DNA evidence conclusively linked semen left in the victims to the saliva swab taken by the police. The four victims named in the original
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
were Marcia Chapman, Opal Mills, Cynthia Hinds, and Carol Ann Christensen. Three more victims—Wendy Coffield, Debra Bonner, and Debra Estes—were added to the indictment after a
forensic scientist Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
identified microscopic spray paint spheres as a specific brand and composition of paint used at the Kenworth factory during the specific time frame when these victims were killed.


Plea bargain, confessions, sentencing

Early in August 2003,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
television news reported that Ridgway had been moved from a
maximum security Maximum Security may refer to: * Supermax, "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons * Maximum Security (comics), a comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics * ''Maximum Security'' (Tony MacAlpine album), 1987 * ''Maximum Security'' ...
cell at King County Jail to an Airway Heights Minimum-Medium Security Level Tank. Other news reports stated that his lawyers, led by Anthony Savage, were closing a
plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
that would spare him the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in return for his confession to a number of the Green River murders. On November 5, 2003, Ridgway entered a
guilty plea In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law (legal system), common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment ...
to 48 charges of aggravated first degree murder as part of a plea bargain, agreed to in June, that would spare him execution in exchange for his cooperation in locating the remains of his victims and providing other details. In his statement accompanying his guilty plea, Ridgway explained that he had killed all of his victims inside King County, Washington, and that he had transported and dumped the remains of the two women near Portland to confuse the police. Deputy prosecutor Jeffrey Baird noted in court that the deal contained "the names of 41 victims who would not be the subject of ''State v. Ridgway'' if it were not for the
plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
."
King County Prosecuting Attorney The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as all misdemeanors in unincorpo ...
Norm Maleng explained his decision to make the deal: On December 18, 2003,
King County Superior Court The Superior Court of Washington for King County (more commonly, the King County Superior Court) is the largest trial court in Washington state. It is based at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, in downtown Seattle, Washington. It als ...
Judge Richard Jones sentenced Ridgway to 48
life sentences Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
without the possibility of
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
to be served consecutively. He was also sentenced to an additional 10 years for
tampering with evidence Tampering with evidence, or evidence tampering, is an act in which a person alters, conceals, falsifies, or destroys evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation (usually) by a law-enforcement, governmental, or regulatory authority. ...
for each of the 48 victims, adding 480 years to his 48 life sentences. Later given another life sentence after the remains of his 49th victim were found. Ridgway led prosecutors to three bodies in 2003. On August 16 of that year, the remains of a 16-year-old girl found near
Enumclaw, Washington Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 y ...
, 40 feet from State Route 410, were pronounced as belonging to Pammy Annette Avent, who had been believed to be a victim of the Green River Killer. The remains of Marie Malvar and April Buttram were found in September 2003. On November 23, 2005, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported that a weekend hiker found the skull of one of the 48 women Ridgway admitted murdering in his 2003 plea bargain with King County prosecutors. The skull of another victim, Tracy Winston, who was 19 when she disappeared from Northgate Mall on September 12, 1983, was found on November 20, 2005, by a man hiking in a wooded area near Highway 18 near
Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the "Issaquah Alp ...
, southeast of Seattle, this was the find which led to Ridgway's 49th life sentence. Ridgway confessed to more confirmed murders than any other American serial killer. Over a period of five months of police and prosecutor interviews, he confessed to 48 murders - 42 of which were on the police's list of probable Green River Killer victims. On February 9, 2004, county prosecutors began to release the videotaped records of Ridgway's confessions. In one taped interview, he initially told investigators that he was responsible for the deaths of 65 women. In another taped interview with Reichert on December 31, 2003, Ridgway claimed to have murdered 71 victims and confessed to having had sex with them before killing them, a detail which he did not reveal until after his sentencing. In his confession, he acknowledged that he targeted prostitutes because they were "easy to pick up" and that he "hated most of them." He confessed that he had sex with his victims' bodies after he murdered them, but claimed he began burying the later victims so that he could resist the urge to commit necrophilia. Ridgway later said that murdering young women was his "career."


Life imprisonment

Ridgway was placed in solitary confinement at
Washington State Penitentiary Washington State Penitentiary (also called the Walla Walla State Penitentiary) is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest priso ...
in
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
in January 2004. On May 14, 2015, he was transferred to the
USP Florence High The United States Penitentiary, Florence High (USP Florence High) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States United States Departm ...
, a high-security federal prison east of
Cañon City, Colorado Cañon City is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 17,141 at the 2020 United States Census. Cañon City is the principal city of t ...
. In September 2015, after a public outcry and discussions with
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...
, Corrections Secretary Bernie Warner announced that Ridgway would be transferred back to Washington to be "easily accessible" for open murder investigations. Ridgway was returned by chartered plane to Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla from USP Florence High, on October 24, 2015.


Victims

Before Ridgway's confession, authorities had attributed 49 murders to the Green River Killer. Ridgway confessed to murdering at least 71 victims. Ridgway's victims were not women of any specific race or ethnicity, rather, they were all financially poor, younger women and girls between the ages of 14 and 26 (except for 3) whom he found in vulnerable circumstances, often working as prostitutes or having run away from home.


Confirmed

At the time of Ridgway's December 18, 2003, sentencing, authorities had been able to find at least 48 sets of remains, including victims not originally attributed to the Green River Killer. Ridgway was sentenced for the deaths of each of these 48 victims, with a plea agreement that he would "plead guilty to any and all future cases (in King County) where his confession could be corroborated by reliable evidence." * Before Ridgway's confession, authorities had not attributed to the Green River Killer the deaths of victims Rule, Barczak, Hayes, Reeves, Yellowrobe, and Jane Doe B-20. * Ridgway's confession and directions led police search crews to find the bodies of Avent, Buttram, and Malvar in August and September 2003. * On Tuesday, December 21, 2010, hikers near the West Valley Highway in Auburn, Washington, found a skull in the vicinity of where Marie Malvar's remains had been found in 2003. The skull was identified as belonging to Rebecca "Becky" Marrero, who was last seen leaving the Western Six Motel at South 168th Street and Pacific Highway South on December 3, 1982. The King County Prosecutor confirmed that Ridgway would be formally charged with her murder on February 11, 2011. On February 18, 2011, he entered a guilty plea in the murder of Rebecca Marrero, adding a 49th life sentence to his existing 48. Ridgway confessed to murdering Marrero in his original plea bargain, but due to insufficient evidence, the charges could not be filed. Therefore, there is no change in his current incarceration status. * The remains of Tracy Winston were found, without a skull, in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
's
Cottonwood Grove Park Cottonwood Grove Park is a park in the city of Kent, Washington, Kent, Washington (state), Washington. It is located on the banks of the Green River (Duwamish River), Green River off Frager Road, at approximately the 23800 block South. In March 19 ...
in March 1986. Winston's skull was found in November 2005 near Tiger Mountain, miles away from the discovery site of the rest of her body. Police assume someone carried it to the location. * Sandra Denise Major was not identified until June 2012. A family member asked the King County Sheriff to investigate after seeing a TV movie about Ridgway. DNA confirmed Major's identity. * Wendy Stephens, previously known as "Jane Doe B-10", was previously unidentified. Ridgway claimed that she was a white female in her early 20s and possibly had brown hair. Examination of the remains suggested that she was actually between 12 and 18, most likely around 15. She was later confirmed to be 14 years old. Analysis of the victim's skeleton indicated she was probably left-handed, and she had at one point in her life had skull fracture to the left temple that later healed. * Jane Doe B-17, a still-unidentified victim, was discovered on January 2, 1986; remains that had been found in another area February 18, 1984, were later matched to this victim. In 2003, Ridgway claimed responsibility for her death. * Jane Doe B-20, also unidentified, was discovered in August 2003. Because the remains were partial, her face could not be reconstructed and her race could not be determined, but she was estimated to have been between 13 and 24 years old at the time of her death. She was murdered between 1970 and 1993, but she is believed to have been murdered during the first decade of Ridgway's murder spree.


Task force victims list

Ridgway is suspected of—but not charged with—murdering the remaining six victims of the original list attributed to the Green River Killer. In each case, either Ridgway did not confess to the victim's death, or authorities have not been able to corroborate their suspicion with reliable evidence. * Ridgway denied killing Amina Agisheff. Agisheff does not fit the
profile Profile or profiles may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Music * ''Profile'' (Jan Akkerman album), 1973 * ''Profile'' (Githead album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Pat Donohue album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Duke Pearson album), 1959 * '' ''Profi ...
of any of the victims of the Green River Killer considering her age, and she was not a sex worker or a teenage runaway. * Although he has never been charged with her murder, during police interrogations in 2003, Ridgway did confess to killing Kasee Ann Lee (née: Woods). He stated that he strangled Lee in 1982 and left her body near a drive-in theatre off of the Sea-Tac Strip. Law enforcement officials have been unable to locate Lee's remains at the dumpsite that Ridgway indicated. * Evidence exists to suggest that Ridgway murdered Kelly Kay McGinniss. Shortly before her disappearance, McGinniss was questioned by a Port of Seattle police officer while "dating" Ridgway near the SeaTac Strip. Furthermore, during the summer of 2003, Ridgway led authorities to the bodies of several of his victims. One of those bodies, later identified as that of April Buttram, was initially identified by Ridgway as being that of McGinniss. According to Ridgway, he often confused McGinniss with Buttram because of their similar physiques. * Ridgway is a suspect in the deaths of Angela Marie Girdner and Tammie Liles. Their bodies were discovered within a mile of the bodies of known victims Shirley Shirell and Denise Bush. Liles remained unidentified until 1998 and Girdner until October 2009.


Suspected

Ridgway has been considered a suspect in the disappearances/murders of several other women not attributed at the time to the Green River Killer. No charges have been filed. * An unidentified black female, possibly bearing the first name Michelle, was a possible victim of Ridgway. She has never been located or identified. * Cora McGuirk was the mother of
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player
Martell Webster Martell Webster (born December 4, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The sixth player taken in the 2005 NBA draft, Webster played for Portland, Minnesota ...
. McGuirk disappeared when her son was four years old. * Ridgway was long suspected for the 1987 murder of Rose Marie Kurran, a 16-year-old addict and prostitute, but was recently ruled out as a suspect.


Popular culture


In artwork

* In 2004, Phil Hansen created and displayed artwork depicting Gary Ridgway's face, composed of 11,792 portraits of the 48 victims.


In documentaries and films (fiction and non-fiction)

* The 1984 documentary ''Murder, No Apparent Motive'', about
serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
and FBI Profilers, mentioned that the (then-ongoing) Green River Killer's murders were one of the latest examples of serial murders that go on in America without any apparent motives. * ''
Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...
'' Season 8, Episode 15 (1996), a Green River Killer segment focused on long-time Green River Killer suspect William Stevens. The episode features interviews with Stevens' living family members. Stevens died of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
in 1991 at the age of 40. * The ninth episode of the 2010 American documentary show ''
Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? ''Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?'' is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery. The series debuted on August 25, 2010. The series tells the story of people - mostly women - who find out their spouse has committed a crime ...
'' features his story and his third wife's side of it. * ''
The Riverman ''The Riverman'' is a 2004 American biographical crime drama television film directed by Bill Eagles and written by Tom Towler, based on the 2004 non-fiction book ''The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer'' by Robert D. Keppel ...
'' is based on the true story of
Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy ( born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade ...
assisting investigators trying to identify and catch the Green River Killer. It is based on the book of the same name by
Robert D. Keppel Robert David Keppel (June 15, 1944 – June 14, 2021) was an American law enforcement officer and detective. He was also an associate professor at the University of New Haven and Sam Houston State University. Keppel was known for his contributi ...
. * The
direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
movie '' Green River Killer'' was released in 2005. * A 2006 episode of the TV series '' Crimes That Shook the World'' focuses on Gary Ridgway (played by Frank Violi). * In 2008, the
Lifetime Movie Network LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...
aired ''
The Capture of the Green River Killer ''The Capture of the Green River Killer'' is a 2008 television miniseries that first aired on Lifetime Movie Network and tells the story of the Green River killer serial murders between 1982 and 1998. The miniseries was named one of the top 10 te ...
'', a
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
loosely based on his crimes.
John Pielmeier John Pielmeier (born February 23, 1949) is an American playwright and screenwriter. Life and career Pielmeier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Louise (Blackburn) and Len Pielmeier. He was raised Catholic. He earned a Bachelor of Art ...
portrays Ridgway. In 2014, they aired a documentary called ''My Uncle is the Green River Killer'' which featured Ridgway family members. * The Court TV (now
TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...
) television series ''Mugshots'' released an episode on Ridgway titled ''Gary Ridgway The Green River Killer'', aired in 2013. * In 2005, A&E series
Cold Case Files ''Cold Case Files'' is a reality legal show/ documentary on the cable channel A&E Network and the rebooted series on Netflix. It is hosted by Bill Kurtis and the original series produced by Tom Golden. The show documents the investigation o ...
aired an episode called ''Obsession: Dave Reichert and the Green River Killer''. (Season 5, Episode 1) * On June 2, 2017, HLN (Headline News) premiered the true crime series ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt'' with the episode ''The Green River Killer''. The one-hour episode reports on the advanced
trace evidence Trace evidence is created when objects make contact. The material is often transferred by heat or induced by contact friction. The importance of trace evidence in criminal investigations was shown by Dr. Edmond Locard in the early 20th century. ...
that directly link tiny paint particles from the victims' clothing to Ridgway. * ''Bundy and The Green River Killer'' a 2019
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
by Andrew Jones, starring Jared Nelson as Gary Ridgway. * On February 17, 2020,
Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...
premiered a two-hour special titled ''The Green River Killer: Mind of a Monster'' featuring Ridgway. * ''Catching Killers'', which included an episode about the Green River Case was released on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on Thursday 4 November 2021. It revolves around the decade-long hunt for the murderer of several women around the Green River area – which was finally solved after a huge breakthrough in crime scene science.


In print (non-fiction)

*''Search for the Green River Killer'' by Carlton Smith and Tom Guillen (March 5, 1991) *''The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer'' by
Robert D. Keppel Robert David Keppel (June 15, 1944 – June 14, 2021) was an American law enforcement officer and detective. He was also an associate professor at the University of New Haven and Sam Houston State University. Keppel was known for his contributi ...
(November 27, 1995) *''The Green River Killer'' by the ''King County Journal'' Staff (November 23, 2003) *''Chasing the Devil'' by Sheriff
David Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Washington (state), Washington's Washington's 8th congressiona ...
(July 28, 2004) *''Green River, Running Red'' by true-crime author and former police officer
Ann Rule Ann Rae Rule (''née'' Stackhouse; October 22, 1931 – July 26, 2015) was an American author of true crime books and articles. She is best known for ''The Stranger Beside Me'' (1980), about the serial killer Ted Bundy, with whom Rule worked an ...
(September 27, 2005) *''Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through Green River Murders'' by Tomas Guillen (January 14, 2006) *''Green River Serial Killer: Biography of an Unsuspecting Wife'' by Pennie Morehead, telling the story of his third wife and her struggles with the truth (April 1, 2007) *''Case of the Green River Killer'' by Diane Yancey (April 27, 2007) *''Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer'' by Mark Prothero with help from Carlton Smith (May 25, 2007) *''Green River Killer: A True Detective Story'', a 2011 graphic novel by
Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen (born 1970) is an American writer and journalist. Early life Jensen is a native of Seattle, Washington, and a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Career Jensen is a screenwriter, journalist and author based in ...
and Jonathan Case. Jensen's father was Tom Jensen, one of the detectives who worked on the case for 20 years. *''The Thirty-Ninth Victim'' by Arleen Williams, sister of Maureen Sue Feeney (April 6, 2008)


In print (fiction)

* The Green River murders are discussed in the
Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult () is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels, accompanying short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 ...
novel ''
House Rules House rules are unofficial modifications to official game rules adopted by individual groups of players. House rules may include the removal or alteration of existing rules, or the addition of new rules. Such modifications are common in board g ...
'' (). * The novel ''River'' by
Roderick Thorp Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedural/crime novels. His novel '' The Detective'' was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968. Thorp is also better ...
is subtitled "A Novel of the Green River Killings" (). * Discussed in Stephenie Meyer's third ''Twilight'' book, ''
Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
'', when there are murders in Seattle ().


In music

* The
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
band
Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
was named in reference to the murders. As well, the title track of their 1985 debut EP '' Come On Down'' discusses the murders from Ridgway's point of view. *In 1989, the UK EBM band M.D.M.A (featuring two future members of
Utah Saints Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...
) released the single "Green River Waves." The lyrics directly reference the murders. *The 1998 song "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by
Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band ...
references the murders through the broader lens of police brutality. *The 2002 song "Deep Red Bells" by
Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...
was inspired by her own life growing up as a teenager near the metropolis during the time of the murders. *The
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
/
power electronics Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. The first high-power electronic devices were made using mercury-arc valves. In modern systems, the conversion is performed with semiconducto ...
project called Deathpile made an album about the Green River Killer in 2003 titled "G.R.". *The 2001 album, "
Master of Brutality ''Master of Brutality'' is the debut studio album by the Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery, released in 2001 by Southern Lord Records. Five of the six tracks were based on and titled after infamous serial killers Edmund Kemper, Peter S ...
" by Japanese
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
band
Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1995. Church of Misery's musical style melds early Black Sabbath-style doom with psychedelic rock; most of the band's songs are about serial killers and mass murderers. Bassist Tatsu Mikami ...
also featured a song, "Green River" inspired by the murders.


In television (fiction)

* In a May 2013 interview,
Veena Sud Veena Cabreros-Sud (pronounced "Sood") is a Canadian-born American television writer, director, and producer. She is best known for developing the American television drama '' The Killing'', which is based on the Danish series '' Forbrydelsen (T ...
stated her inspiration for ''The Killing'' season 3 (2013) came from ''Streetwise'',
Mary Ellen Mark Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism, documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were "away from mainstream society and t ...
's book of photographs about teenaged runaways in Seattle that was made into an eponymous 1984 documentary. One of the street kids Mark documented in that and later books, 21-year-old Roberta Joseph Hayes, fell victim to the Green River Killer (Gary Ridgway). Sud said she was "very fascinated" with Ridgway, the serial killer of numerous women and girls near Seattle and Tacoma, Washington in the 1980s and 1990s.


See also

*
List of serial killers in the United States A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines serial murder a ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Keppel, Robert. ''The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer''. 2004, paperback (rev. ed.). 624 pages, , . Updated after the arrest and confession of Gary Ridgway. * Rule, Ann. ''Green River, Running Red''. Pocket, 2005, paperback. 704 pages, . *Guillen, Tomas. ''Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders''. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007, paperback. 186 pages.


External links


A copy of Ridgway's infamous letter to the press (PDF)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgway, Gary 1949 births 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American serial killers Crime in Washington (state) Crimes against sex workers in the United States Criminals from Utah Criminals from Washington (state) Fugitives Living people Male serial killers Military personnel from Salt Lake City Necrophiles People convicted of murder by Washington (state) People from Salt Lake City People from Seattle People with dyslexia Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Washington (state) United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War United States Navy sailors Violence against women in the United States