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Subject: green river killer...finally caught? From: Amergin Date: 30 Nov 01 - 11:39 PM Suspect arrested in Seattle's 'Green River killer' case November 30, 2001 Posted: 10:53 PM EST (0353 GMT) Ridgeway --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- A man authorities believe may be the so-called Green River killer, possibly linked to the deaths of several women since 1982, was arrested Friday, King County Sheriff Dave Reichert said. Gary Leon Ridgeway, 52, of Auburn, was arrested as he left his job at the Kenworth Truck Co., the sheriff said. He said Ridgeway went with officers peacefully and was being interviewed Friday evening. Reichert said Ridgeway is expected to be charged early next week. The sheriff said DNA evidence from Ridgeway links him to at least three women whose bodies were found on the banks of the scenic Green River. The bodies of Opal Mills, Marcia Chapman and Cynthia Hinds were found in August 1982. RESOURCES Message board Ridgeway is also suspected in the death of another woman whose body was found in the same region in 1983, he said. "This has got to be one of the most exciting days in my entire career," Reichert said at a news conference. He has been working in the sheriff's department and on the case since the first body was found in 1982. In all, there are 42 unsolved murder cases involving women in western Washington since that time period, Reichert said. Seven other women are missing. "We have a lot of work to do to investigate these other cases to ensure we have the person who's responsible for those bodies," he said. "We may have some copycats." Reichert said Ridgeway, who is married, had been identified as one of the top five suspects in the case as far back as 1984. "We have watched him off and on, we have kept track of him off and on, and most recently we have kept track of his activities in a much closer way," he said. Authorities are now searching Ridgeway's current home and previous residences. Ridgeway was arrested in May 1982 on a charge of prostitution when he approached a law enforcement decoy in a sting operation. He was arrested again November 16 -- two weeks ago -- on a charge of loitering for the purpose of prostitution, Reichert said. Both charges resulted in guilty findings or guilty pleas, he said. Ridgeway was interviewed by authorities in connection with the Green River murders in 1984 and again in 1987. In the intervening years, authorities conducted an extensive background investigation but found no evidence to link him with the crimes. In the 1987 interview, Ridgeway was asked to chew on a piece of gauze, which investigators preserved. That gauze eventually turned up the DNA evidence linking him to some of the victims, Reichert said. "We don't know if Ridgeway is responsible for the deaths of any more women, however, we will continue to investigate all unsolved homicides that may be linked to him or to any other suspects," the sheriff said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Dec 01 - 12:18 AM Hope so. Is he a Mudcatter though? Just kididng. Long night. (Personal aside: Folkbaby is expecting a baby brother and we are on call for overnight duties for the occasion. She arrived unexpectedly on our doorstep, hysterical, about two hours ago... after being passed from one person to another to another then to us, completely confused and upset-- turned out to be a false alarm, so we took her back home and sat with the parents for a bit. That was AFTER Hardi's emergency trip to the 24-hour WalMart for didies....) Oy what a night, wacko all around. ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Deckman Date: 01 Dec 01 - 03:04 PM This is a HUGE STORY here in the Seattle area. I just hope that no one screws up and they are able to nail this guy. Some 50 plus murders have happened over the last almost 20 years. The evidence appears good ... DNA. This serial Killer has affected the Pacific Northwest greatly, remembering that he followed on the heels of Ted Bundy. So, if this suspect is the killer, he's now off the streets. Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Dec 01 - 04:06 PM It's huge to anyone who followed it too, though I am sure it can't be quite as compelling. I hope this is IT on this case for real-- I really do. Please keep us posted, will you? ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 01 - 07:15 PM Bob, A friend of mine who lived down in the Green River area told me one time many years ago that when he used to jog along a certain road and path in the area, and for a while at one spot in his run he could smell something dead beside the road. I advised him to contact the police about it, even though he was telling me a couple of years after the fact. That the smell was likely another victim. I don't know if he ever did call, but I hope so. I'll have to dig out his address and send this story along to him. If he can still remember where that smell was, it might lead to one more body. He supposed it to be a dog or something, and perhaps it was. But perhaps it wasn't. Maggie |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Deckman Date: 01 Dec 01 - 07:48 PM Hi Maggie ... this is a horrible story ... not fit for family fare. I do suggest that you contact that person. There are several missing bodies. (Sorry for the gross posting.) Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Amergin Date: 01 Dec 01 - 07:57 PM Bob...this whole topic is disgusting...don't be sorry... Maggie, he is right...try to contact him...and maybe another family can have closure... |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 01 - 07:58 PM To put faces on the many women murdered or missing, visit here. The story is at http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/48971_green01.shtml. I hope the blue clicky things work. They're to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Maggie |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Deckman Date: 01 Dec 01 - 08:58 PM I have decided NOT to post any more on this subject on MUDCAT. This is a family friendly web site. Contact me privatly and I'll answer you as best I can. Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Amergin Date: 01 Dec 01 - 09:15 PM good ness knows there is no violence in folk songs.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Benjamin Date: 01 Dec 01 - 09:32 PM 49 Deckman. And I don't think he's killed in a while. Another thing worth noting is that so far, he's only linked to 4 of the killings. They're working on the other 45. But there might be another Green River Killer out there. Still, I remeber constantly hearing the stories growing up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: leprechaun Date: 02 Dec 01 - 06:09 AM That detective cried on TV when he was talking about it. What an odyssey for him. I know some folks in persons crimes who get that way. They keep the photos of unsolved homicides on their desks. Let's hope the guy doesn't OJ his way out of it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Peg Date: 02 Dec 01 - 09:52 AM I just saw a bit on the news about this; an excellent example of how the new DNA testing technology may well lead to the solving of any number of crimes...not to mention helping exponerate wrongly-imprisoned people...it is frigtening to think this person may be responsible for so many killings... re: a family site? I sure as heck would not want kids reading some of the vitriolic, hateful crap posted about gays or gun control or abortion or the situations in Israel or Afghanistan, either...yet that sort of discussion goes on here all the time...in addition to "humorous" material about everything from PMS making women into psychobitches (now THERE's a lesson for the youth of America!) or the scintillating topic of large breasts...oh and those ever sointellectually stimulating fart jokes...once we start censoring topics it's all over, folks... I do understand this is a very disturbing subject...but kids are every bit as likely to have seen this on the news as their adult counterparts...
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Subject: RE: BS: green river killer...finally caught? From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jan 03 - 02:37 AM An update, more in the news. See this story for the latest on the Green River Task Force trying to re-contact women with information about the green river killer. SRS |
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Subject: BS: Green River Killer--reopen thread From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Nov 03 - 10:01 AM I did the power search and found this thread closed. Since we really don't need a whole new thread I hope Joe will simply append this to the old "Green River Killer--Finally Caught?" thread and let it remain open. This article contains substantial information on the topic that is of interest to a lot of Northwestern Mudcatters. This is an update on that discussion. The full article is here. It starts:
Guilty pleas in Green River killings would set grisly record By Gene Johnson Associated Press SEATTLE -- This week, a slight man with thick glasses, a man who has been married three times and is the father of one child, is to stand before a judge who will ask him at least 48 times how he pleads to separate charges of murder. Each time, Gary Leon Ridgway will respond "guilty," sources involved with the case have told The Associated Press. When it's over Wednesday, he will have more murders on his record than any other serial killer in the nation's history. And a mystery that confounded detectives for two decades will come to a close. Ridgway, 54, a longtime painter at Kenworth Truck Co., is expected to admit being the Green River Killer, named for the river south of Seattle where the first victims were found. The plea would spare him the death penalty in King County, instead assuring him life in prison without parole, the sources said. However, two of the bodies on the official list of Green River victims were found in Oregon, which has capital punishment, and it is still unclear whether Ridgway will plead to those. The rest is online. SRS (gotta remember to reset my cookie) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Green River Killer--reopen thread From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Nov 03 - 10:30 AM http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=41630 is the old thread. SRS |
