View source for Gary Ridgway

{{short description|American serial killer (born 1949)}}
{{redirect|Green River Killer|the 2005 film|Green River Killer (film){{!}}''Green River Killer'' (film)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Gary Ridgway
| image             = Gary Ridgway Mugshot 11302001.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Ridgway's [[mug shot]] in 2001
| birth_name        = Gary Leon Ridgway
| alias             = The Green River Killer<br />The Green River Strangler
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1949|02|18}}
| birth_place       = [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], U.S.
| death_date        = 
| death_place       = 
| death_cause       = 
| children          = 1<ref name="tacomanewstribune">{{cite news |last=Hucks |first=Karen |date=December 23, 2003 |title=Gary Ridgway's son holds memories of regular soccer dad |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25855129.html |work=[[The News Tribune]] |location=Tacoma, Washington}}</ref>
| victims           = 49 convicted<br />71–90+ confessed and suspected
| country           = United States
| states            = [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]]
| beginyear         = 1982
| endyear           = 1998 confirmed (possibly as recent as 2001)
| apprehended       = November 30, 2001
| conviction        = * [[Aggravated murder|Aggravated]] [[Murder in Washington state law|first degree murder]] (49 counts)
* [[Tampering with evidence]] (48 counts)
* [[Solicitation]]
| sentence          = 49 [[Life imprisonment in the United States|life sentences]] without the possibility of [[parole]]
| spouse            = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Claudia Kraig Barrows|August 15, 1970|January 14, 1972|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Marcia Lorene Brown|December 14, 1973|May 27, 1981|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Judith Lorraine Lynch|June 12, 1988|September 5, 2002|end=divorced}}
}}
| imprisoned        = [[Washington State Penitentiary]]
}}

'''Gary Leon Ridgway''' (born February 18, 1949), known as the '''Green River Killer''' or the '''Green River Strangler''', is an American [[serial killer]] who was convicted of [[murder]]ing forty-nine women between 1982 and 1998 in the [[northwestern United States]]. At the time of his arrest in 2001, he was believed to be the [[List of serial killers in the United States|most prolific serial killer]] in United States history, according to confirmed murders.{{refn|group=n|In addition to his confirmed murders, Ridgway has been linked to at least twenty-two other murders. Later, [[Samuel Little]] would claim to have murdered more than ninety people, with sixty of those cases being verified. Some people, most notably [[Ted Bundy]], are widely thought to have murdered more people than they were convicted of; Bundy was convicted of thirty murders but some believe he may have murdered more than a hundred people.}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Bell|first=Rachel|title=Green River Killer: River of Death|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/greenriver/bodies_6.html|publisher=Crime Library|access-date=May 30, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530033918/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/greenriver/bodies_6.html|archive-date=May 30, 2014}}</ref><ref>Kershaw, Sarah (November 6, 2003). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-standard-truck-painter-admits-h/172925515/ Truck painter admits he's the Green River strangler]. ''[[The Post-Standard]]''. Retrieved May 22, 2025.</ref>

Most of Ridgway's victims were alleged [[sex worker]]s or other women in vulnerable circumstances, including underage [[runaway (dependent)|runaways]]. Before his capture, media outlets nicknamed him the ''Green River Killer'' or ''Green River Strangler'' due to his first five victims being found at the [[Green River (Duwamish River tributary)|Green River]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington State]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Haglund|first1=WD|last2=Reichert| first2=DG|last3=Reay|first3=DT|title=Recovery of decomposed and skeletal human remains in the "Green River Murder" Investigation. Implications for medical examiner/coroner and police|journal=[[The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology]]|publisher=[[Lippincott Williams & Wilkins]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|volume=11|issue=1|pages=35–43|year=1990 |pmid=2305751|doi=10.1097/00000433-199003000-00004|s2cid=27268528}}</ref> Ridgway [[strangling|strangled]] his victims, usually by hand, but sometimes using [[Garrote|ligatures]]. After strangling them, he would [[Disposal of human corpses#Criminal disposal|dump their bodies]] in forested and overgrown areas, often returning to the bodies to engage in acts of [[necrophilia]].<ref name="Prothero 2006">{{cite book|title=Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer| url=https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark|url-access=registration|pages=264–265, [https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark/page/317 317]|last1=Prothero|first1=Mark|last2=Smith|first2=Carlton|year=2006|publisher=[[Jossey-Bass]]|location=San Francisco, California|isbn= 978-0-7879-9548-5}}</ref>

Ridgway had been a suspect in the Green River case since 1982; however, investigators were unable to link him to the murders at that time. Later advances in [[DNA profiling]] allowed investigators to definitively link Ridgway to the murders, and he was arrested on November 30, 2001, as he was leaving the [[Kenworth]] truck factory where he worked in [[Renton, Washington]].<ref name="Prothero 2006" /> As part of a [[plea bargain]] wherein he agreed to disclose the locations of still-missing women, he was spared the [[Capital punishment in Washington (state)|death penalty]] and received a sentence of [[life imprisonment in the United States|life imprisonment]] without the possibility of [[Parole#United States|parole]].

==Early life==
Gary Ridgway was born on February 18, 1949, in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Janos |first=Adam |title=The Childhood of the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway |url=https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/green-river-killer-childhood |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=A&E |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anglis |first=Jaclyn |date=2024-02-11 |title=The Gruesome Story Of The Green River Killer — And How Ted Bundy Helped Catch Him |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/green-river-killer-gary-ridgway |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=All That's Interesting |language=en-US}}</ref> the second of three sons to Thomas and Mary Ridgway. His childhood was somewhat troubled; relatives later described his mother as a domineering woman who inflicted [[corporal punishment]] upon her sons for minor offenses.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Janos |first1=Adam |title=The Childhood of the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway |url=https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/green-river-killer-childhood |website=aetv |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref> Ridgway himself would later tell [[defense (law)|defense]] [[psychologist]]s that, as an [[adolescent]], he had conflicting feelings of anger and sexual attraction toward his mother, and fantasized about killing her.<ref name=Seattle>{{cite news|first=Ray|last=Rivers|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/greenriverkillings/2001784456_ridgway06m.html|title=Ridgway went from having sex with prostitutes 'to just plain killing 'em'|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=November 6, 2003|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924013006/http://old.seattletimes.com/html/greenriverkillings/2001784456_ridgway06m.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=banality>{{cite news|first=Blaine|last=Gary|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/11/16/the-banality-of-gary-a-green-river-chiller/2d9575c7-6843-4ec3-9517-72cd3ecdd9b0/|title=The Banality of Gary: A Green River Chiller|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 16, 2003|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> Ridgway's father, whose marriage to Ridgway's mother was volatile, worked as a bus driver and often complained about the presence of [[sex worker]]s on his route.<ref name=Time>{{cite news|first1=Terry|last1= McCarthy|first2=Nathan|last2=Thornburgh|title=River Of Death|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002555,00.html#ixzz21E1TjGvD|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018222703/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002555,00.html#ixzz21E1TjGvD|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2008|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|publisher=[[Time, Inc.]]|location=New York City|date=June 3, 2002|access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref>

Ridgway, who is [[dyslexia|dyslexic]], was held back a year in [[high school]] and exhibited an [[IQ]] recorded as being in the "low eighties."<ref name=banality /><ref name=Time/> When he was aged 16, Ridgway lured a six-year-old boy into woodland and stabbed him through the ribs into his [[liver]]; the boy managed to survive the attack.<ref name="about">{{cite web|first=Charles|last=Montaldo|url=http://crime.about.com/od/serial/a/Gary-Ridgway.htm|title=Gary Ridgway: The Green River Killer|website=[[About.com]]|date=February 14, 2011|access-date=July 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113060005/http://crime.about.com/od/serial/a/Gary-Ridgway.htm|archive-date=November 13, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Adult life==
[[File:Gary Ridgway 1982 Mugshot.jpg|thumb|230px|Ridgway in 1982]]
Ridgway graduated from [[Tyee High School]] in 1969 and married his 19-year-old high school sweetheart, Claudia Kraig. He joined the [[United States Navy]]<ref name= "about" /> and was deployed to [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], where he served on board a [[auxiliary ship|supply ship]]<ref>{{cite book|first1=Mark|last1=Prothero|first2=Carlton|last2=Smith|title=Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer|publisher=Jossey-Bass|location=San Francisco |date=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark/page/117 117] |isbn= 978-0-7879-8106-8|url=https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark/page/117}}</ref> and saw combat.<ref name=Time/> During his time in the military, Ridgway had frequent [[sexual intercourse]] with sex workers and contracted [[gonorrhea]]; although Kraig was angered by this, he continued this activity [[Safe sex|without protection]]. His marriage to Kraig ended within a year.<ref name="about" />

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 [[infidelity|infidelities]] by both partners. His second wife, Marcia Winslow, claimed that he had placed her in a [[chokehold]].<ref name= Time /> Ridgway became religious during his second marriage, proselytizing door-to-door, reading the [[Bible]] aloud at work and at home, and insisting that his wife follow the strict teachings of their pastor.<ref name="about" /> He would also frequently cry after reading the Bible or hearing sermons.<ref name=Time /> Despite his beliefs, Ridgway continued to solicit the services of sex workers and asked his wife to participate in sex in public or in inappropriate places, sometimes even in areas where his victims' bodies were later discovered.<ref name= "about" />

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.<ref>{{cite news| first= Rick| last= Anderson| url= http://archive.seattleweekly.com/2002-02-27/news/did-they-get-their-man| title= Did they get their man?| work= [[Seattle Weekly]]| publisher= [[Sound Publishing]]| location= Seattle| date= February 27, 2002| access-date= April 1, 2018| archive-date= April 2, 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180402101440/http://archive.seattleweekly.com/2002-02-27/news/did-they-get-their-man| url-status= dead}}</ref> Often, he would want to have sex in a public area or in the woods.<ref name="about" /> 

Ridgway admitted to having a fixation with sex workers,<ref name= "riverman">{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Keppel|first2=William J.|last2=Birnes|first3=Ann|last3= Rule| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QtrLm4J6A9gC&pg=PA444|title=The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]| location=New York City|date=2004|isbn= 978-0-7434-6395-9|page=444}}</ref> 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, Ridgway said he hated prostitutes and did not want to pay them for sex.<ref name="KIRO" /> Some have speculated that Ridgway was torn between his lusts and his staunch religious beliefs.<ref name=Time /> With his second wife Marcia, Ridgway had a son.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Jill McCabe |date=2021-06-16 |title=The Night Gary Drove Me Home |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/06/green-river-killer-gary-ridgway-encounter.html |access-date=2023-11-05 |issn=1091-2339}}</ref>

== Murders ==
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Ridgway is believed to have murdered at least 71 teenage girls and women near [[Seattle]] and [[Tacoma, Washington]]. 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 [[Runaway (dependent)|runaways]], whom he picked up along [[Washington State Route 99|Pacific Highway South]].<ref name="MalengOR"/> 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.<ref name="Prothero 2006"/> Most of their bodies were dumped in wooded areas around the [[Green River (Duwamish River)|Green River]], [[Seattle–Tacoma International Airport]], and other "dump sites" within South King County.<ref name="MalengOR"/>

There were also two confirmed and another two suspected victims found in the [[Portland, Oregon]], area. The bodies were often left in clusters, sometimes posed, usually nude. He would sometimes return to the victims' bodies and engage in necrophilia with their bodies. 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.<ref name=banality/> 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.<ref name="MalengOR">{{cite web|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/links/ridg_summary.pdf |title=Prosecutor's Summary of the Evidence, Case No. 01-1-10270-9 SEA; State of Washington vs. Gary Leon Ridgway; in the Superior Court of Washington for King County |date=November 2003 |via=[[The Seattle Times]] |publisher=King County Prosecutor's Office |access-date=November 11, 2014 |quote=Ridgway acknowledged that, in an effort to throw off the Task Force, he moved Denise's remains and those of Shirley Sherrill to Oregon in the spring of 1984. One weekend, he took his son on what he described as a "camping" trip to Oregon. He transported the remains, with son's clothes and bicycle, in the trunk of a [[Plymouth Satellite]]. Ridgway paid cash for his food and gas on this trip and was careful not to leave any record linking him to Oregon. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105145409/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/links/ridg_summary.pdf |archive-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref>

=== 1982–1984: First known victims ===
[[File:GreenRiverSuspect.jpg|thumb|150px|left|1983 sketch of the suspected killer]]
The body of Ridgway's first known victim was found in July 1982. A unique kind of [[spray paint]] was found on clothing wrapped around the victim's neck, but the paint was not tested for 20 years. If it had been tested at the time, it would have been easier to link the murder to Ridgway.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=How missed evidence helped a serial killer evade capture for nearly two decades |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gary-ridgway-green-river-serial-killer-washington-rcna67794 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> After four more victims were found, the [[King County Sheriff's Office]] formed the Green River Task Force to investigate the murders.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="NewsTribune" /> Task force members included [[Robert Keppel]] and [[Dave Reichert]], who periodically interviewed incarcerated serial killer [[Ted Bundy]] 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 accurate, and if police found a fresh grave, they should stake it out and wait for him to come back.<ref name="NewsTribune">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/2003/11/16/366398/like-minds-bundy-figured-ridgway.html|title=Like minds: Bundy figured Ridgway out|work=The News Tribune|date=November 16, 2003|access-date=May 27, 2013|last=Robinson|first=Sean|url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193359/http://www.thenewstribune.com/2003/11/16/366398/like-minds-bundy-figured-ridgway.html|archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> Also contributing to the investigation was [[FBI]] [[Special Agent]] [[John E. Douglas]], who developed a profile of the suspect.<ref>{{cite web|first=Duff|last=Wilson|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060156/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2001801223_greenriver26m.html |archive-date=September 21, 2013|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2001801223_greenriver26m.html|title=Profiler can't recall why he said letter wasn't from Green River killer|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=November 26, 2003|access-date=May 27, 2013}}</ref>

Ridgway was arrested in 1982 and 2001 on charges related to prostitution.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Lynn|last1=Marshall|first2=Julie|last2=Cart| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-01-mn-10324-story.html|title=Arrest in Green River Murders|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|publisher=[[Tronc]]|date=December 1, 2001|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> He became a suspect in the Green River killings in 1983,<ref>{{cite news|first1=Vanessa|last1=Ho|first2=Hector|last2=Castro|first3=Tracy|last3=Johnson|url=https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/A-father-led-police-to-Ridgway-in-1983-1073920.php|title=A father led police to Ridgway in 1983|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=December 6, 2001|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> when 18-year-old Marie Malvar disappeared. Her boyfriend and her [[pimp]] later found a truck in front of Ridgway's house which they thought was the same one she had boarded the day she went missing. Ridgway was interviewed in conjunction with that event, and police received several other tips that mentioned him.<ref name=":0" /> In 1984, he passed a [[polygraph test]].<ref name=banality/>

=== 1985–2001: Marriage to Judith Mawson, arrest for murder ===
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.<ref name="IDDiscovery">{{Cite episode|title=Married to a Monster|url=http://investigation.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=141.15118.129750.39540.3|series=Who the (BLEEP) Did I Marry?|network=[[Investigation Discovery]]|airdate=October 13, 2010|season=1|number=9|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021003948/http://investigation.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=141.15118.129750.39540.3|archive-date=October 21, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="IDDiscovery" /> Ridgway said that while he was in a relationship with Mawson, his kill rate went down and that he truly loved her.<ref name="IDDiscovery" /> 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&nbsp;... by being his wife and making him happy."<ref name="KIRO">{{cite news|title=Wife of Nation's Worst Serial Killer Shares Her Story|work=[[KIRO-TV]]|url=http://www.kirotv.com/news/13362515/detail.html|date=May 22, 2007|access-date=October 14, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020195212/http://www.kirotv.com/news/13362515/detail.html|archive-date=October 20, 2010}}</ref>

In April 1987, police took hair and saliva samples from Ridgway.<ref>{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Michael |date=October 26, 2015 |title=Gary Ridgway, America's Most Prolific Serial Killer, Out of Colorado |url=http://www.westword.com/news/gary-ridgway-americas-most-prolific-serial-killer-out-of-colorado-6852432 |access-date=June 21, 2018 |work=[[Westword]] |publisher=[[New Times Media]] |location=Denver, Colorado}}</ref> The samples collected were later subjected to [[DNA profiling]], providing the evidence for his arrest warrant.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/12file-dna.html |title = Cold Case is Closed by DNA Match: Green River Killer|work = [[The New York Times]]|date = May 11, 2009|last1 = Svoboda|first1 = Elizabeth}}</ref>

On November 30, 2001, he was at the [[Kenworth]] truck factory where he worked as a spray painter when police arrived to arrest him. The four victims named in the original indictment 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 identified microscopic spray paint spheres as a specific brand and composition of paint used at the Kenworth factory during the time when these victims were killed.<ref name="IDDiscovery" />

==Plea bargain, confessions, sentencing==
Early in August 2003, Seattle television news reported that Ridgway had been moved from a 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]] that would spare him the [[death penalty]] in return for his confession to a number of the Green River murders.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://qctimes.com/news/national/with-guilty-pleas-killer-avoids-death-penalty/article_aa687bfb-4c55-555e-9e0b-df6246a0854f.html|title=With 48 Guilty Pleas, Killer avoids Death Penalty |access-date=February 25, 2017|work=[[Quad-City Times]]|publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]]|location=Davenport, Iowa|date=November 5, 2003}}</ref>

On November 5, 2003, Ridgway entered a [[guilty plea]] to 48 charges of [[first degree murder|aggravated first degree murder]] as part of a plea bargain 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.<ref name=MalengOR />

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". [[King County Prosecuting Attorney]] [[Norm Maleng]] explained his decision to make the deal:

{{blockquote|We could have gone forward with seven counts, but that is all we could have ever hoped to solve. At the end of that trial, whatever the outcome, there would have been lingering doubts about the rest of these crimes. This agreement was the avenue to the truth. And in the end, the search for the truth is still why we have a criminal justice system ... Gary Ridgway does not deserve our mercy. He does not deserve to live. The mercy provided by today's resolution is directed not at Ridgway, but toward the families who have suffered so much ...<ref>{{cite press release|first=Norm|last=Maleng|title=Statement of Norm Maleng on Ridgway Plea|url=http://www.metrokc.gov/proatty/news/2003/RidgwPR5.htm|publisher=King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office|location=Seattle, Washington|date=November 5, 2003|access-date=June 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040626001014/http://www.metrokc.gov/proatty/news/2003/RidgwPR5.htm|archive-date=June 26, 2004}}</ref>}} On December 18, 2003, [[King County Superior Court]] Judge [[Richard A. Jones]] sentenced Ridgway to 48 [[life imprisonment|life sentences]] without the possibility of [[parole]] to be served consecutively.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/12/19/green-river-killer-given-life-in-prison/aa16070f-502c-491f-9e7d-1591c5293ddb/|title=Green River Killer Given Life in Prison|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 19, 2003}}</ref> He was also sentenced to an additional 10 years for tampering with evidence for each of the 48 victims, adding 480 years to his 48 life sentences. Later he was given another life sentence after the remains of his 49th victim were found.<ref>{{cite news|first=Curtis|last=Cartier|url=http://archive.seattleweekly.com/home/934121-129/crimepunishment|title=Gary Ridgway, Green River Killer, Charged With Murder #49, but Still Won't Face Execution|work=[[Seattle Weekly]]|publisher=[[Sound Publishing]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=February 7, 2011|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622005352/http://archive.seattleweekly.com/home/934121-129/crimepunishment|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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]], 40 feet from [[Washington State Route 410|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]] reported that a weekend hiker found the skull of one of the 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 (Seattle)|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, Washington|Issaquah]], southeast of Seattle. This was the find that led to Ridgway's 49th life sentence.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sarah Jean| last=Green |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2002641105_greenriver23m.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218110707/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2002641105_greenriver23m.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 18, 2014|title=Remains of a Green River killer victim found near Issaquah|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=November 23, 2005|access-date=November 12, 2014}}</ref> In 2023, remains discovered in 1985 and known as Bones 17 were identified as belonging to 15-year-old Lori Anne Razpotnik, who was last seen by her family in [[Lewis County, Washington]], in November 1982.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elamroussi |first=Sara Smart, Aya |date=2023-12-21 |title=For decades, human remains tied to the 'Green River killer' were known only as Bones 17. Now, DNA testing has unveiled a name |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/21/us/green-river-killer-victim-lori-anne-razpotnik/index.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/green-river-killers-chilling-confession|title=State of Washington, Plaintiff, vs. Gary Leon Ridgway, Defendant, Statement of Defendant on Plea of Guilty|publisher=Superior Court of Washington for King County |date=2003|via=[[The Smoking Gun]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/green-river-killer-admits-to-murder-of-48-women-1.389701|title=Green River killer admits to murder of 48 women|work=[[The Irish Times]]|publisher=The Irish Times Trust|location=Dublin, Ireland|date=November 6, 2003|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> On February 9, 2004, county prosecutors began to release the videotaped records of Ridgway's confession. In one taped interview, he initially told investigators that he was responsible for the deaths of 65 women.<ref name="Cold Case Files 56">{{cite episode |title=Obsession: Dave Reichert and the Green River Killer |series=''[[Cold Case Files]]'' |network=[[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]] |date=December 15, 2005}}</ref> In another taped interview 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.<ref name="Cold Case Files 56" />

In his confession, he acknowledged that he targeted prostitutes because they were "easy to pick up" and that he "hated most of them."<ref>{{cite book|first=Eric|last=Hickey|title=Serial Murderers and Their Victims|url=https://archive.org/details/serialm_hic_2013_00_8483|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Cengage Group|Cengage Learning]]|location=Boston, Massachusetts|year=2013| page=[https://archive.org/details/serialm_hic_2013_00_8483/page/25 25]|isbn=978-1-305-26169-3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kirotv.com/video/2833871/detail.html| title=Ridgway Reveals Gruesome Details In Chilling Confession|work=[[KIRO-TV]]|access-date=September 27, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010142834/http://www.kirotv.com/video/2833871/detail.html|archive-date=October 10, 2010}}</ref>

==Incarceration==
Ridgway was placed in solitary confinement at [[Washington State Penitentiary]] in [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]] in January 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Find An Offender - Ridgway, Gary L.|url=http://www.doc.wa.gov/offenderinfo/default.aspx|publisher=Washington State Department of Corrections|access-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115225955/http://www.doc.wa.gov/offenderinfo/default.aspx|archive-date=January 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On May 14, 2015, he was transferred to the [[United States Penitentiary, Florence High|USP Florence High]], a high-security federal prison east of [[Cañon City, Colorado]]. In September 2015, after a public outcry and discussions with [[List of governors of Washington|Governor]] [[Jay Inslee]], Corrections Secretary Bernie Warner announced that Ridgway would be transferred back to Washington to be "easily accessible" for open murder investigations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/green-river-killers-return-to-washington-may-not-bring-closure-to-victims-families/|title=Green River killer's return to Washington may not bring closure to victims' families|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=September 22, 2015|access-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref> Ridgway was returned by chartered plane to Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla from USP Florence High, on October 24, 2015.<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=White|url=http://q13fox.com/2015/10/24/dept-of-corrections-gary-ridgway-returned-to-washington-state-penitentiary/|title=Department of Corrections: Gary Ridgway returned to Washington State Penitentiary|publisher=[[KCPQ]]|location=Tacoma, Washington|date=October 24, 2015|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> In September 2024, Ridgway was briefly transferred from the Washington State Penitentiary to the [[King County, Washington|King County]] jail for a few days before being transferred back to WSP. Authorities refused to give any explanation for the transfer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green River Killer Gary Ridgway returns to Washington State Penitentiary |url=https://komonews.com/news/local/green-river-killer-gary-ridgway-booked-king-county-jail-murder-life-sentences-dna-confessions-death-penalty-washington-state-penitentiary |website=KOMO News|date=September 13, 2024 }}</ref> The transport order was unsealed in March 2025, revealing that Ridgway was temporarily transferred to help locate more victim remains.<ref>{{cite web | last=Wixey | first=Will | title=Reason for Gary Ridgway's Seattle visit released | publisher=FOX 13 Seattle | date=March 7, 2025 | url=https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/reason-gary-ridgway-seattle-visit | access-date=March 8, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=KOMO News Staff |title='Green River Killer' Gary Ridgway returned to King County to locate more victim remains |url=https://komonews.com/news/local/green-river-killer-brought-back-to-king-county-to-locate-remains-of-more-victims-serial-killer-seattle-tacoma-victims-bodies-murderforensic-genetic-genealogyarrest-dna-evidence |access-date=28 September 2025 |work=[[KOMO-TV]] |date=March 8, 2025 |location=[[Seattle, Washington]]}}</ref>
<!-- NOTE: Please do not add information about Rebecca Marrero to this section. She is listed below. -->

{{anchor|Green River victims}}

==Victims==
Before Ridgway's confession, authorities had attributed 49 murders to the Green River Killer.<ref name ="Task Force List">{{cite news|first1=Tracy|last1=Johnson|first2=Hector|last2=Castro|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/146313_greenriverfolo31.html |title=Green River victims' list may grow by six |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=October 30, 2003|access-date=September 19, 2013}}</ref> Ridgway confessed to murdering at least 71 victims.<ref name="Cold Case Files 56"/>

===Confirmed killings===
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,<ref>{{cite news|first=Stacey|last=Mulick| url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25855165.html|title=Ridgway's victims |work=[[The News Tribune]]|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]|location=Tacoma, Washington|date=November 6, 2003|access-date=January 14, 2017}}</ref> 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."<ref name="49th victim">{{cite news|first=Liza|last=Javier|title=Remains found in Auburn, Wash. possible Green River victim|url=http://www.kgw.com/news/Remains-found-in-Auburn-Wash-possible-Green-River-victim.html|work=[[KGW.com]]|location=Portland, Oregon|date=December 23, 2010|access-date=April 1, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073021/http://www.kgw.com/news/Remains-found-in-Auburn-Wash-possible-Green-River-victim.html|archive-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! # || Name || Age || Disappeared || Body found
|-
|  1 ||  Wendy Lee Coffield ||  16 ||  {{sort|1982-07-08|July 8, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-07-15|July 15, 1982}}
|-
|  2 ||  Gisele Ann Lovvorn ||  17 ||  {{sort|1982-07-17|July 17, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-09-25|September 25, 1982}}
|-
|  3 ||  Debra Lynn Bonner ||  23 ||  {{sort|1982-07-25|July 25, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-08-12|August 12, 1982}}
|-
|  4 ||  Marcia Fay Chapman ||  31 ||  {{sort|1982-08-01|August 1, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-08-15|August 15, 1982}}
|-
|  5 ||  Cynthia Jean Hinds ||  17 ||  {{sort|1982-08-11|August 11, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-08-15|August 15, 1982}}
|-
|  6 ||  Opal Charmaine Mills ||  16 ||  {{sort|1982-08-12|August 12, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1982-08-15|August 15, 1982}}
|-
|  7 ||  Terry Rene Milligan ||  16 ||  {{sort|1982-08-29|August 29, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1984-04-01|April 1, 1984}}
|-
|  8 ||  Mary Bridget Meehan ||  18 ||  {{sort|1982-09-15|September 15, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1983-11-13|November 13, 1983}}
|-
|  9 ||  Debra Lorraine Estes ||  15 ||  {{sort|1982-09-20|September 20, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1988-05-30|May 30, 1988}}
|-
|  10 ||  Linda Jane Rule ||  16 ||  {{sort|1982-09-26|September 26, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1983-01-31|January 31, 1983}}
|-
|  11 ||  Denise Darcel Bush ||  23 ||  {{sort|1982-10-08|October 8, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1985-06-12|June 12, 1985}}
|-
|  12 ||  Shawnda Leea Summers ||  16 ||  {{sort|1982-10-09|October 9, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1983-08-11|August 11, 1983}}
|-
|  13 ||  Shirley Marie Sherrill ||  18 ||  {{sort|1982-10-20|October 20–22, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1985-06-00|June 14, 1985}}
|-
|  14 ||  Lori Anne Razpotnik||  15 || {{circa}} {{sort|1982-11-20|November 26, 1982}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/dna-an-obituary-and-the-40-year-search-for-a-victim-of-the-green-river-killer/|title=How DNA and an Obituary Helped ID a Victim of the Green River Killer|first=Gutman|last=William|newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=January 2, 2024|access-date=November 24, 2024}}</ref> ||  {{sort|1985-01-12|December 1985}}
|-
|  15 ||  Rebecca "Becky" Marrero ||  20 ||  {{sort|1982-12-03|December 3, 1982}} ||  {{sort|2010-12-21|December 21, 2010}}
|-
|  16 ||  Colleen Renee Brockman ||  15 ||  {{sort|1982-12-24|December 24, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1984-05-26|May 26, 1984}}
|-
|  17 ||  Sandra Denise Major ||  20 ||  {{sort|1982-12-24|December 24, 1982}} ||  {{sort|1985-12-30|December 30, 1985}}
|-
|  18 ||  Wendy Marie Stephens||  14 ||  March 1983{{refn|group=n|Stephens was reported missing in 1983. Investigators believe her remains had lain undiscovered for one year or more prior to their March 1984 discovery.<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene |last=Johnson|url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/genetic-genealogy-helps-id-victim-of-green-river-killer/2512038/ |title=Genetic Genealogy Helps ID Victim of Green River Killer|publisher=[[KNBC]]|date=January 25, 2021|access-date=January 26, 2021}}</ref>}} ||  {{sort|1984-03-21|March 21, 1984}}
|-
|  19 ||  Alma Ann Smith ||  18 ||  {{sort|1983-03-03|March 3, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-04-02|April 2, 1984}}
|-
|  20 ||  Delores LaVerne Williams ||  17 ||  {{sort|1983-03-08|March 8–14, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-03-31|March 31, 1984}}
|-
|  21 ||  Gail Lynn Mathews ||  23 ||  {{sort|1983-04-10|April 10, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-09-18|September 18, 1983}}
|-
|  22 ||  Andrea Marion Childers ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-04-14|April 14, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1989-10-11|October 11, 1989}}
|-
|  23 ||  Sandra Kay Gabbert ||  17 ||  {{sort|1983-04-17|April 17, 1983}}  ||  {{sort|1984-04-01|April 1, 1984}}
|-
|  24 ||  Kimi-Kai Ryks Pitsor ||  16 ||  {{sort|1983-04-17|April 17, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-12-15|December 15, 1983}}
|-
|  25 ||  Mary-Jane Malvar ||  18 ||  {{sort|1983-04-30|April 30, 1983}} ||  {{sort|2003-09-26|September 26, 2003}}
|-
|  26 ||  Carol Ann Christensen ||  21 ||  {{sort|1983-05-03|May 3, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-05-08|May 8, 1983}}
|-
|  27 ||  Martina Theresa Authorlee ||  18 ||  {{sort|1983-05-22|May 22, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-11-14|November 14, 1984}}
|-
|  28 ||  Cheryl Lee Wims ||  18 ||  {{sort|1983-05-23|May 23, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-03-22|March 22, 1984}}
|-
|  29 ||  Yvonne Antosh ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-05-31|May 31, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-10-15|October 15, 1983}}
|-
|  30 ||  Carrie Ann Rois ||  15 ||  {{sort|1983-05-31|May 31 – June 13, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1985-03-10|March 10, 1985}}
|-
|  31 ||  Constance Elizabeth Naon ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-06-08|June 8, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-10-27|October 27, 1983}}
|-
|  32 || Tammie Charlene Liles ||  16 ||  {{sort|1983-06-09|June 9, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1985-04-23|April 23, 1985}}
|-
|  33 ||  Kelly Marie Ware ||  22 ||  {{sort|1983-07-18|July 18, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1983-10-29|October 29, 1983}}
|-
|  34 ||  Tina Marie Thompson ||  21 ||  {{sort|1983-07-25|July 25, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-04-20|April 20, 1984}}
|-
|  35 ||  April Dawn Buttram ||  16 ||  {{sort|1983-08-18|August 18, 1983}} ||  {{sort|2003-08-30|August 30, 2003}}
|-
|  36 ||  Debbie May Abernathy ||  26 ||  {{sort|1983-09-05|September 5, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-03-31|March 31, 1984}}
|-
|  37 ||  Tracy Ann Winston ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-09-12|September 12, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1986-03-27|March 27, 1986}}
|-
|  38 ||  Maureen Sue Feeney ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-09-28|September 28, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1986-05-2|May 2, 1986}}
|-
|  39 ||  Mary Sue Bello ||  25 ||  {{sort|1983-10-11|October 11, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-10-12|October 12, 1984}}
|-
|  40 ||  Pammy Annette Avent ||  15 ||  {{sort|1983-10-26|October 26, 1983}} ||  {{sort|2003-08-16|August 16, 2003}}
|-
|  41 ||  Delise Louise Plager ||  22 ||  {{sort|1983-10-30|October 30, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-02-14|February 14, 1984}}
|-
|  42 ||  Kimberly Nelson ||  21 ||  {{sort|1983-11-01|November 1, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1986-06-14|June 14, 1986}}
|-
|  43 ||  Lisa Lorraine Yates ||  19 ||  {{sort|1983-12-23|December 23, 1983}} ||  {{sort|1984-03-13|March 13, 1984}}
|-
|  44 ||  Mary Exzetta West ||  16 ||  {{sort|1984-02-06|February 6, 1984}} ||  {{sort|1985-09-08|September 8, 1985}}
|-
|  45 ||  Cindy Anne Smith ||  17 ||  {{sort|1984-03-21|March 21, 1984}} ||  {{sort|1987-06-27|June 27, 1987}}
|-
|  46 ||  Patricia Michelle Barczak ||  19 ||  {{sort|1986-10-17|October 17, 1986}} ||  {{sort|1993-02-00|February 3, 1993}}
|-
|  47 ||  Roberta Joseph Hayes ||  21 ||  {{sort|1987-02-07|February 7, 1987}} ||  {{sort|1991-09-11|September 11, 1991}}
|-
|  48 ||  Marta Reeves ||  36 ||  {{sort|1990-03-05|March 5, 1990}} ||  {{sort|1990-09-20|September 20, 1990}}
|-
|  49 ||  Patricia Ann Yellowrobe ||  38 ||  {{sort|1998-08-00|January 1998}} ||  {{sort|1998-08-06|August 6, 1998}}
|}

<!-- NOTE: Please do not add Rebecca Marrero to this section. She is listed above. -->
'''Footnotes'''
[[File:Jane Doe B-17.jpg|thumb|200px|[[forensic facial reconstruction|Facial approximation]] of Jane Doe B-17, who was identified as Razpotnik after DNA testing in 2023]]
* 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.<ref name ="Task Force List" />
* On 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 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.<ref name="49th victim" /> 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.<ref name="Green2011">{{cite news|first=Jennifer |last=Sullivan|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014154781_ridgway08m.html |title=Attorney: Ridgway will likely plead guilty to new murder charge |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]|location=Seattle, Washington|date=February 7, 2011|access-date=February 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073021/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014154781_ridgway08m.html |archive-date=February 9, 2011 }}</ref>
* The remains of Winston were found, without a skull, in [[Kent, Washington|Kent]]'s [[Cottonwood Grove Park]] in March 1986. Winston's skull was found in November, 2005 near [[Tiger Mountain (Washington)|Tiger Mountain]], miles away from the discovery site of the rest of her body. Police assume someone carried it to the location.<ref>{{cite news|last=Castro|first= Hector|title=Skull of Woman Killed by Ridgway Found but It Turned Up Miles from the Rest of Her Remains|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]| date=November 23, 2005|page=  B1|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Skull-of-woman-killed-by-Ridgway-found-1188155.php| access-date= August 10, 2010}}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Victim of Green River killer identified 30 years later after relative sees TV movie|date=June 19, 2012|work=[[Fox News]] |url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/19/victim-green-river-killer-identified-30-years-later-after-relative-sees-tv.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202122204/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/19/victim-green-river-killer-identified-30-years-later-after-relative-sees-tv.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2017|access-date=June 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/wash-officials-green-river-killer-victim-idd-094835086.html|title=Wash. officials say Green River Killer victim ID'd|publisher=[[Yahoo News|Yahoo! News]]|agency=Associated Press|date=June 19, 2012}}</ref>
* Wendy Stephens, previously known as Jane Doe B-10, was previously unidentified.<ref>{{Cite web|last=LaVoice|first=Olivia|date=January 24, 2021|title=Green River Killer: Youngest victim of serial killer identified|url=https://www.q13fox.com/news/green-river-killer-youngest-victim-of-serial-killer-identified|access-date=January 25, 2021|website=Q13 FOX|language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jane Doe B-10|url=http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b10|website=greenriverkillings.com|access-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227004031/http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b10/|archive-date=February 27, 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref> She was later confirmed to be 14. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=97UFWA |url=http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/97ufwa.html |publisher=[[The Doe Network]] |access-date=January 26, 2021 |date=December 16, 2016}}</ref>
* Jane Doe B-17 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jane Doe B-17|url=http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b-17/|website=greenriverkillings.com|access-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227004905/http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b-17/|archive-date=February 27, 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref> In December 2023, DNA testing at [[Parabon NanoLabs]] identified the victim as Lori Anne Razpotnik, who had run away from home in 1982 at age 15.<ref name="Girgis">{{cite web |last1=Girgis |first1=Lauren |title=Green River killer victim identified as teen girl from WA |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/green-river-killer-victim-identified-as-teen-girl-from-wa/ |website=The Seattle Times |date=December 19, 2023}}</ref>
* Jane Doe B-20 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 at the time of her death. She was estimated to have been murdered between 1970 and 1993, but she was believed to have been murdered during the first decade of Ridgway's murder spree.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jane Doe B-20|url=http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b20|website=greenriverkillings.com|access-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022080257/http://greenriverkillings.com/jane-doe-b20/|archive-date=October 22, 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bones 20 03-263862 Jane Doe 2003|work=[[DNA Doe Project]] |url=https://dnadoeproject.org/case/bones-20-03-263862-jane-doe-2003/ |access-date=January 26, 2021}}</ref> In January 2024, DNA testing identified the victim as Liles. A separate set of remains from Liles had been found in Oregon in 1985 and identified in 1988 from dental records.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cornwell |first1=Paige |last2=Gutman |first2=David |date=January 22, 2024 |title=Last known set of remains linked to Green River Killer identified as Everett teen |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/last-known-set-of-remains-linked-to-green-river-killer-identified-as-everett-teen/ |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tall |first=Jonathan |date=2024-01-22 |title=Final remains in Green River Killer case identified as Everett teen |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/everett-teen-identified-from-remains-linked-to-green-river-killer/ |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=[[The Everett Herald]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

===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.<ref name="Task Force List"/>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name || Age || Disappeared || Body found
|-
| Amina Agisheff || 35 || {{sort|1982-07-07|July 7, 1982}} || {{sort|1984-04-18|April 18, 1984}}
|-
| Kasee Ann Lee || 16 || {{sort|1982-08-28|August 28, 1982}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Kasee Ann Lee |url=https://charleyproject.org/case/kasee-ann-lee |work=The Charley Project |access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> || Undiscovered
|-
| Kelly Kay McGinniss{{refn|group=n|Various spellings exist of McGinniss's name, such as "Keli/Kelli" and "McGinness".<ref>{{cite web|title=NamUs MP # 14131|url=https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/14131/31|publisher=[[National Missing and Unidentified Persons System]]|access-date=October 1, 2015|archive-date=October 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002205859/https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/14131/31|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Keli Kay McGinness|work=The Charley Project |url=http://charleyproject.org/case/keli-kay-mcginness |access-date=November 13, 2019}}</ref>}} || 18 || {{sort|1983-06-28|June 28, 1983}} || Undiscovered
|-
| Angela Marie Girdner || 16 || {{sort|1983-07-00|July 1983}} || {{sort|1985-04-22|April 22, 1985}}
|-
| Patricia Osborn || 19 || {{sort|1983-10-20|October 20, 1983}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Patricia Anne Osborn |url=http://charleyproject.org/case/patricia-anne-osborn |work=The Charley Project |access-date=December 8, 2019 |date=March 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NamUs MP #14132: Patricia Anne Osborn |url=https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/14132 |work=[[National Missing and Unidentified Persons System]] |access-date=December 8, 2019 |date=March 5, 2012}}</ref> || Undiscovered
|}
'''Footnotes'''
* Ridgway denied killing Agisheff who does not fit the [[victimology|profile]] of any of the victims of the Green River Killer considering her age, and she was not a sex worker or a teenage runaway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/2003/11/16/366398/like-minds-bundy-figured-ridgway.html|title=Like minds: Bundy figured Ridgway out|work=[[The News Tribune]]|access-date=September 27, 2010|url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193359/http://www.thenewstribune.com/2003/11/16/366398/like-minds-bundy-figured-ridgway.html|archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>
* Although he has never been charged with her murder, during police interrogations in 2003, Ridgway did confess to killing Lee. He stated that he strangled Lee in 1982 and left her body near a drive-in theatre off of the [[Washington State Route 99|Sea-Tac Strip]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900411/1065957/cleaning-up-sea-tac-strip----officials-target-prostitution-dance-clubs|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date=June 17, 2010|title=Cleaning Up Sea-Tac Strip – Officials Target Prostitution, Dance Clubs|first=Linda W.Y.|last=Parrish|date=April 11, 1990}}</ref> Law enforcement officials have been unable to locate Lee's remains at the dumpsite that Ridgway indicated.<ref>{{cite book|last=Guillen|first=Tomas|title=Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders|location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey|publisher=[[Prentice Hall]]|date=January 14, 2006|page=145|isbn=978-0131529663}}</ref>
* Evidence exists to suggest that Ridgway murdered McGinniss. Shortly before her disappearance, McGinniss was questioned by a Port of Seattle police officer while "dating" Ridgway near the [[SeaTac, Washington|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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prothero|first1= M.|last2=Smith|first2=C.|title=Defending Gary: Unraveling the Mind of the Green River Killer|url=https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark|url-access=registration|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|publisher=Jossey-Bass|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/defendinggary000mark/page/376 376]}}</ref>
* Ridgway is a suspect in the death of Girdner whose remains were discovered within a mile of the bodies of known victims Sherrill, Bush, and Liles. Girdner remained unidentified until October 2009.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/16/green.river.killer/index.html|work=[[CNN]]|title=Police identify remains, look for link to 'Green River Killer'|access-date=May 3, 2010|date=December 16, 2009}}</ref>

===Suspected===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name || Age || Disappeared || Body found
|-
|-
| Unidentified black female || Unknown|| December 1980|| Undiscovered
|-
| Kristi Lynn Vorak || 13 || October 31, 1982<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Kristi Lynn Vorak |url=https://charleyproject.org/case/kristi-lynn-vorak |work=The Charley Project |access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> || Undiscovered
|-
| Patricia Ann Leblanc || 15 || August 12, 1983<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Patricia Ann LeBlanc |url=https://charleyproject.org/case/patricia-ann-leblanc |work=The Charley Project |access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> || Undiscovered
|-
| Rose Marie Kurran{{refn|group=n|Kurran's name is alternatively spelled as "Curran" in the media.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/greenriver/1987/part6.html | work=[[The Seattle Times]] | title= Could killer strike again? Probably yes — despite 46 murders, little has changed | first1= Tomas |last1= Guillen |first2= Carlton | last2= Smith | date= September 18, 1987 |access-date=November 17, 2014 }}</ref>}} || 16 || August 26, 1987 || August 31, 1987
|-
| Cora Christmas McGuirk || 22 || July 12, 1991<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Meaghan |title=Cora Christmas McGuirk|url=https://charleyproject.org/case/cora-christmas-mcguirk |work=The Charley Project |access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref>  || Undiscovered
|}

'''Footnotes'''
* An unidentified black female, possibly bearing the first name Michelle, was a possible victim of Ridgway. She has never been located or identified.<ref>{{cite web|title=Case File 370UFWA|url=http://doenetwork.org/cases/370ufwa.html|website=doenetwork.org|publisher=[[The Doe Network]]|access-date=January 5, 2015|date=June 20, 2012|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305174929/http://doenetwork.org/cases/370ufwa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* McGuirk was the mother of [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] player [[Martell Webster]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/10/v-printerfriendly/1976551/plus-conti-plays-an-old-school.html |work= [[The News Tribune]] |title= PLU's Conti plays an old-school style |date= January 10, 2012 |access-date= July 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120306042119/http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/10/v-printerfriendly/1976551/plus-conti-plays-an-old-school.html |archive-date= March 6, 2012 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> She was last seen leaving her three children in the company of her aunt. Her vehicle was later found near Aurora Avenue North. Although her body was never found, Ridgway is thought to be responsible for killing her.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kogod|first=Sarah|date=2013-04-15|title=Martell Webster on learning to be a family man and team player|language=en-US|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/04/15/martell-webster-on-learning-to-be-a-family-man-and-team-player/|access-date=2022-02-07|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
* Ridgway was long suspected for the 1987 murder of Kurran, a 16-year-old addict and prostitute,<ref>{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Reichert|author-link=Dave Reichert|title=Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|location=New York City|date=2005|page= 192|isbn=978-1250092991}}</ref> but was ruled out as a suspect.<ref>{{cite web |title=Episode 5: Gary Ridgway "Green River Killer" Part 03 |url=https://www.obscuracrimepodcast.com/podcast/2018/5/16/episode-05-gary-ridgway-green-river-killer-part-03 |website=Obscura: A True Crime Podcast |date=May 16, 2018|access-date=August 30, 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of serial killers in the United States]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[Robert D. Keppel|Keppel, Robert]]. ''The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer''. 2004, paperback (rev. ed.). 624 pages, {{ISBN|0-7434-6395-1}}, {{OCLC|55110199}}. Updated after the arrest and confession of Gary Ridgway.
*[[Ann Rule|Rule, Ann]]. ''Green River, Running Red''. Pocket, 2005, paperback. 704 pages, {{ISBN|0-7434-6050-2}}.
*Guillen, Tomas. ''Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders''. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007, paperback. 186 pages.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{external media
|video1={{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuztGeLRkXc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/LuztGeLRkXc| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=This Interview Strategy Led a Serial Killer to Confess|publisher=[[Smithsonian Channel]]|date=May 13, 2013}}{{cbignore}}
}}
* [http://www.seattlepi.com/dayart/20031107/ridgwayletter.pdf A copy of Ridgway's infamous letter to the press (PDF)]
* {{NCMEC UID|1151977|Jane Doe B-10}}
* {{NCMEC UID|1151979|Jane Doe B-16}}
* {{NamUs|9930|Jane Doe B-20}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgway, Gary}}
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