Gary Leon Ridgeway
“The Green River Killer”
By
Drew Morrison
About Gary Leon Ridgeway
 Born on February 18, 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah and
currently incarcerated at Washington State Penitentiary
 Moved and committed his crimes in the Seattle area
 Now 64 years old
 His known years of murdering range from 1982 to the
early 1990’s
Childhood Background
 An IQ test performed on him as a child found his IQ to
be a very low 82
 Had trouble in school and was held back one year in
high school
 At the age of 16, Ridgeway lured a 6 year old boy into
the woods and stabbed him in the liver. The boy
survived and mentioned that his attacker laughed as he
left
 Came from a family known for constantly arguing
Does the Green River Killer fit the
serial killer profile?...YES
 He often wet his bed and was humiliated for it by his parents
 Ridgeway was sexually attracted to his mother yet hated her
at the same time
 He committed his murders as a middle-aged, white male
 Ridgeway’s parents frequently fought violently in front of him
 There were multiple months where he killed four or more
women
Phases of The Green River
Killer
 Aura – Ridgeway became desperate to find women to have
sex with and later murder
 Trolling – Drove along Route 99 and other roads in the
Seattle area to pick up young women who were usually
prostitutes or runaways
 Wooing – He’d offer his victims rides to where they needed
to go or picked them up to use as prostitutes. He often
showed them pictures of his young son to make himself
appear harmless
 Capture – Victims were lured into his truck, his home, or
taken to secluded areas
Phases of the Green River Killer
continued
 Murder – Ridgeway strangled his victims with a
chokehold or ligature (rope, wire, etc.). Their bodies
were dumped in wooded areas, mostly close to the
Green River, hence his nickname
 Totem – He didn’t take things from his victims, but often
revisited the bodies to have sexual intercourse with
them
 Depression – Feeling sexually unsatisfied, Ridgeway
became depressed and triggered his sadistic cycle to
repeat itself
How many women did The Green
River Killer kill?
 Ridgeway was convicted of killing 49 young women
 He confessed to 71 murders, but lost count so there is
no definitive total
 Remains (skulls) of his victims have been found by
people as recently as 2010
 It’s possible and very likely that more of his victims will
be found in the next few decades
Stable or Transient?
 The Green River Killer was stable because he kept his
job with a trucking company for over 30 years and got
his victims from the same area on and around Route
99. He also disposed of the bodies in areas along the
Green River and the surrounding woods, and often
returned to the burial sites to have sex with his victim’s
bodies.
Organized or Disorganized
 The Green River Killer was disorganized because of
his low IQ, he picked up women at the last minute, only
murdered with his hands or cords, killed without
concern for evidence, and had sex with the bodies after
murdering them (necrophilia)
 The Green River Killer was organized because he had
a high victim count, personalized himself with the
victims, and was aware of the evidence he left at the
scene such as gum, semen, and cigarettes
Conviction
 Gary Leon Ridgeway faced the death penalty, but
instead he confessed to 48 murders and was
sentenced to 48 life sentences without the possibilty of
parole plus 480 years, 10 years per victim for
tampering with the evidence. He’s imprisoned in
Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla,
Washington.
(Not So) Fun Facts
 Ridgeway was married three times
 He preached the Bible and often got himself so worked up
that he cried
 He hated prostitutes and wanted to kill them all, yet regularly
hired them to satisfy his insatiable appetite. This shows how
he was torn between satisfying his cravings and sticking to
his religious beliefs.
 Ridgeway was in the Navy during the Vietnam War and saw
atrocities that may have further detached him from reality
and caused him to be immune from human pain.
Photograph Credits
 http://i.cdn.turner.com/trutv/trutv.com/graphics/photos/s
erial_killers/predators/robert_charles_browne/GaryLeon-Ridgway150.jpg
 http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2011101320434
0/criminalminds/images/2/2b/Ridgway's_Victims.jpg
 http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9817/siegel20110
218ridgway.jpg
Sources

" Gary Ridgway Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." Famous Biographies & TV
Shows - Biography.com. A+E Networks, n.d. Web. 7 May 2013.
<http://www.biography.com/people/gary-ridgway-10073409>.
"CNN.com - Green River Killer avoids
death in plea deal - Nov. 6, 2003." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment &
Video News. N.p., 12 Nov. 2003. Web. 7 May 2013.
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/05/green.river.killings/>.

country. "Gary Ridgway | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers." Murderpedia, the