Ridgeway was convicted of killing 48 women, but confessed to killing 71 in the Washington state region. Ridgeway would strangle his victims from behind, transitioning from manual to ligature strangulation after he became worried that defensive wounds from his victims would raise suspicion. His victims were killed at his home, in his truck, or in a secluded area. Ridgeway is known to have contaminated his crime scenes in order to deter police and many times transported his victims across state lines. Though the exact dates of Ridgeway's criminal activities are unknown, he actively killed during the 1980s and 1990s, with most of his crimes occurring between 1982 and 1984 (Bell, 2011). Though Ridgeway was initially a suspect in the Green River killings in 1983, police were sidetracked by Charles Clinton Clark, a serial rapist in the area who made reference to the Green River Killer to his victims, and a taxi driver who knew five of the victims. Ridgeway continued to elude police throughout the investigation. He was arrested in 1982 and 2001 on prostitution related charges, was subjected to a polygraph test in 1984...

These hair and saliva samples would later be used to connect Ridgeway to four of the Green River Killer's victims. Ridgeway was apprehended on November 30, 2001 and sentenced to life in prison on November 5, 2003.
Though serial killings appear to be an American phenomenon, producing 76% of the world's serial killers, Europe has produced 17%. The glamorization and romanticization of serial killers by Hollywood and fiction writers will continue to capture audiences' imaginations regardless of the cruelty inflicted upon serial killers' victims in real life.

Reference List:

Arrigo, B. 2006. Criminal Behavior: A Systems Approach. Upper Saddle Creek: Pearson

Education.

Bell, R. 2011. "Green River Killer: River of Death." TruTV. Retrieved from

Douglas, J. & Mark Olshaker. 1999. The Anatomy of Motive. New York: A Lisa Drew

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Geberth, V. 1995. "Psychopathic Sexual Sadists: The Psychology…