Green+River+Killer

Introduction • Green River Killer • A man by the name of Gary Leon Ridgeway confessed to be ‘the Green River Killer’ • He has pleaded guilty to 48 counts of ‘aggravated murder’, but estimated to have killed many more • Another man named William Stevens was a viable suspect in 1989 • Still today, there is no for sure answer as to who the Green River Killer is, but Gary Ridgeway confessed and was arrested when pleaded guilty • It is believed that there is a ‘group’ that makes up the Green River Killer/Killers • The Green River Killer/Killers are/were serial killers

Serial Killer • A serial killer has no emotional connections or remorse regarding their victims • They are usually rejected by society • Multiple victims o Sometimes these victims are chosen at random • A serial killer always has a pattern involving their killings Gary Ridgeway • Born February 18, 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah • He was then raised in McMicken Heights, Washington • Has been reported that his mother was extremely dominate and never satisfied with the actions of her son growing up • Ridgeway was described by family and friends as nice but strange • He was involved with his church but also obsessed with prostitutes • Constantly had dysfunctional relationships with women o First two marriages were broken up by infidelity by both him and his wives o Some women, including his second wife and a prostitute testified that he had placed them in choke-holds The Killings • Early 1980’s o The Green River Killer is believed to have killed 50 women • All within the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington o He always strangled his victims and disposed of them in or around the Green River in Washington o The victims were usually prostitutes • He was notorious for killing prostitutes • Ridgeway stated in court that he wanted to kill as many prostitutes as possible • He explained all of his motives in his statement (below)

I killed the forty-eight women listed in the State's second amended information. In most cases, when I murdered these women, I did not know their names. Most of the time, I killed them the first time I met them and I do not have a good memory for their faces. I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight. I killed them all in King County. I killed most of them in my house near Military Road, and I killed a lot of them in my truck, not far from where I picked them up. I killed some of them outside. I remember leaving each woman's body in the place where she was found. I agree that each of the murders I committed was part of a "common scheme or plan." The plan was: I wanted to kill as many women I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could. I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught. Another part of my plan was where I put the bodies of these women. Most of the time I took the women's jewelry and their clothes to get rid of any evidence and make them harder to identify. I placed most of the bodies in groups which I call "clusters." I did this because I wanted to keep track of all the women I killed. I liked to drive by the "clusters" around the county and think about the women I placed there. I usually used a landmark to remember a "cluster" and the women I placed there. Sometimes I killed and dumped a woman, intending to start a new "cluster," and never returned because I thought I might get caught putting more women there." http://www.greenriverkiller.com/Nav.htm

Gary Ridgeway, the confessed Green River Killer, has been sentence to 48 life sentences, no chances of parole with one consecutive life sentence.