Gary Ridgway

Gary Leon Ridgway, born on February 18, 1949, is infamously known as the Green River Killer, a title that reflects his heinous crimes in the northwestern United States. Convicted of murdering forty-nine women between 1982 and 1998, Ridgway's actions have marked him as one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. His victims, primarily vulnerable women, including alleged sex workers and underage runaways, were often found in secluded areas, leading to his chilling moniker.

Ridgway's modus operandi involved strangling his victims, typically using his hands, though he occasionally employed ligatures. After committing these brutal acts, he would dispose of the bodies in forested regions, sometimes returning to them to engage in acts of necrophilia. His criminal activities went undetected for years, despite being a suspect since 1982, as investigators struggled to establish a definitive link to the murders.

It wasn't until advancements in DNA profiling that law enforcement could connect Ridgway to the Green River murders. His arrest on November 30, 2001, occurred as he was leaving his workplace at the Kenworth truck factory in Renton, Washington. In a plea bargain that spared him the death penalty, Ridgway agreed to reveal the locations of still-missing women, ultimately receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.