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 murdering 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 most prolific serial killer in United States history, according to confirmed murders.

Most of Ridgway's victims were alleged prostitutes or other women in vulnerable circumstances, including underage 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 in Washington State. Ridgway strangled his victims, usually by hand, but sometimes using ligatures. After strangling them, he would dump their bodies in forested and overgrown areas, often returning to the bodies to engage in acts of necrophilia.

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. 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. Ridgway would later tell defense psychologists that, as an adolescent, he had conflicting feelings of anger and sexual attraction toward his mother, and fantasized about killing her. Ridgway's father, whose marriage to Ridgway's mother was volatile, worked as a bus driver and often complained about the presence of prostitutes on his route.

Ridgway, who is dyslexic, was held back a year in high school and exhibited an IQ recorded as being in the "low eighties."

Adult life

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 and saw combat. He would often want to have sex in a public area or in the woods. with whom he had love/hate relationships. 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.

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 prostitutes or runaways, whom he picked up along Pacific Highway South.

1982–1984: First known victims

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. After four more victims were found, the King County Sheriff's Office formed the Green River Task Force to investigate the murders. Also contributing to the investigation was FBI Special Agent John E. Douglas, 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, 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. 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.

In April 1987, police took hair and saliva samples from Ridgway. The samples collected were later subjected to DNA profiling, providing the evidence for his arrest warrant.

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.

On November 5, 2003, Ridgway pleaded "guilty" to 48 charges of 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. On December 18, 2003, King County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Jones sentenced Ridgway to 48 life sentences without the possibility of parole to be served consecutively. 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.

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 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 on September 12, 1983, was found on November 20, 2005, by a man hiking in a wooded area near Highway 18 near Issaquah, southeast of Seattle. This was the find that led to Ridgway's 49th life sentence. 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.

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 confession. In one taped interview, he initially told investigators that he was responsible for the deaths of 65 women. 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. 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.

Incarceration

Ridgway was placed in solitary confinement at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla in January 2004. On May 14, 2015, he was transferred to the USP Florence High, a high-security federal prison east of Cañon City, Colorado. In September 2015, after a public outcry and discussions with Governor Jay Inslee, 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. In September 2024, Ridgway was briefly transferred from the Washington State Penitentiary to the King County jail for a few days before being transferred back to WSP. Authorities refused to give any explanation for the transfer. The transport order was unsealed in March 2025, revealing that Ridgway was temporarily transferred to help locate more victim remains.

In December 2025, Tacoma radio station KIRO-FM reported on five anonymous sources that Ridgway was receiving end-of-life care in prison. However, speaking to Fox 13 Seattle – KCPQ, a director of the Department of Corrections (DOC) said those allegations were inaccurate and said that nothing has changed in Ridgway's existing health conditions. Another official from the DOC refuted these claims too in a request for comment by Us Weekly, adding that "despite [Ridgway's] health issues", he is not under hospice care. Former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert said that speculations probably stemmed from a photograph showing Ridgway in a wheelchair in 2024.

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Victims

Before Ridgway's confession, authorities had attributed 49 murders to the Green River Killer. Ridgway confessed to murdering at least 71 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."

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! # || Name || Age || Disappeared || Body found

|-

| 1 || Wendy Lee Coffield || 16 || ||

|-

| 2 || Gisele Ann Lovvorn || 17 || ||

|-

| 3 || Debra Lynn Bonner || 23 || ||

|-

| 4 || Marcia Fay Chapman || 31 || ||

|-

| 5 || Cynthia Jean Hinds || 17 || ||

|-

| 6 || Opal Charmaine Mills || 16 || ||

|-

| 7 || Terry Rene Milligan || 16 || ||

|-

| 8 || Mary Bridget Meehan || 18 || ||

|-

| 9 || Debra Lorraine Estes || 15 || ||

|-

| 10 || Linda Jane Rule || 16 || ||

|-

| 11 || Denise Darcel Bush || 23 || ||

|-

| 12 || Shawnda Leea Summers || 16 || ||

|-

| 13 || Shirley Marie Sherrill || 18 || ||

|-

| 14 || Lori Anne Razpotnik|| 15 || ||

|-

| 15 || Rebecca "Becky" Marrero || 20 || ||

|-

| 16 || Colleen Renee Brockman || 15 || ||

|-

| 17 || Sandra Denise Major || 20 || ||

|-

| 18 || Wendy Marie Stephens|| 14 || March 1983 ||

|-

| 19 || Alma Ann Smith || 18 || ||

|-

| 20 || Delores LaVerne Williams || 17 || ||

|-

| 21 || Gail Lynn Mathews || 23 || ||

|-

| 22 || Andrea Marion Childers || 19 || ||

|-

| 23 || Sandra Kay Gabbert || 17 || ||

|-

| 24 || Kimi-Kai Ryks Pitsor || 16 || ||

|-

| 25 || Mary-Jane Malvar || 18 || ||

|-

| 26 || Carol Ann Christensen || 21 || ||

|-

| 27 || Martina Theresa Authorlee || 18 || ||

|-

| 28 || Cheryl Lee Wims || 18 || ||

|-

| 29 || Yvonne Antosh || 19 || ||

|-

| 30 || Carrie Ann Rois || 15 || ||

|-

| 31 || Constance Elizabeth Naon || 19 || ||

|-

| 32 || Tammie Charlene Liles || 16 || ||

|-

| 33 || Kelly Marie Ware || 22 || ||

|-

| 34 || Tina Marie Thompson || 21 || ||

|-

| 35 || April Dawn Buttram || 16 || ||

|-

| 36 || Debbie May Abernathy || 26 || ||

|-

| 37 || Tracy Ann Winston || 19 || ||

|-

| 38 || Maureen Sue Feeney || 19 || ||

|-

| 39 || Mary Sue Bello || 25 || ||

|-

| 40 || Pammy Annette Avent || 15 || ||

|-

| 41 || Delise Louise Plager || 22 || ||

|-

| 42 || Kimberly Nelson || 21 || ||

|-

| 43 || Lisa Lorraine Yates || 19 || ||

|-

| 44 || Mary Exzetta West || 16 || ||

|-

| 45 || Cindy Anne Smith || 17 || ||

|-

| 46 || Patricia Michelle Barczak || 19 || ||

|-

| 47 || Roberta Joseph Hayes || 21 || ||

|-

| 48 || Marta Reeves || 36 || ||

|-

| 49 || Patricia Ann Yellowrobe || 38 || ||

|}

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Footnotes

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  • 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.
  • The remains of Winston were found, without a skull, in Kent's Cottonwood Grove Park 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.
  • 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. 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 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. 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.
  • 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. 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.

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. || Undiscovered

|-

| Kelly Kay McGinniss || 18 || || Undiscovered

|-

| Angela Marie Girdner || 16 || ||

|-

| Patricia Osborn || 19 || || Undiscovered

|}

Footnotes

  • Ridgway denied killing Agisheff who does not fit the profile of any of the victims of the Green River Killer considering her age, and she was not a prostitute or a teenage runaway.
  • 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 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 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 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.

Suspected

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Name || Age || Disappeared || Body found

|-

|-

| Unidentified black female || Unknown|| December 1980|| Undiscovered

|-

| Kristi Lynn Vorak || 13 || October 31, 1982 || Undiscovered

|-

| Patricia Ann Leblanc || 15 || August 12, 1983 || Undiscovered

|-

| Rose Marie Kurran || 16 || August 26, 1987 || August 31, 1987

|-

| Cora Christmas McGuirk || 22 || July 12, 1991 || 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.
  • McGuirk was the mother of NBA player Martell Webster. 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.
  • Ridgway was long suspected for the 1987 murder of Kurran, a 16-year-old addict and prostitute, but was ruled out as a suspect.

See also

  • List of serial killers in the United States

Explanatory 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.
  • A copy of Ridgway's infamous letter to the press (PDF)