Green River Serial Killer the Investigation Into

Green River Serial Killer

The investigation into the case of the Green River killer stretched from 1982 to 2001, before Gary Ridgway was finally arrested for murdering 48 women. Ridgway's case is distinguished by the length and expense of the homicide investigation. This paper examines the investigation into the case of the Green River killer.

Early years

The so-called Green River killings got their name in 1982, when the first victims were found. From July through to December of that year, 16 young women disappear from the areas around Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Six bodies are later found in the Green River in Kent, Washington, dead of strangulation. During this time, Gary Ridgway lived in just three miles from the Green River ("Gary Leon Ridgway timeline").

The Green River killings continue through 1983, including eight women who were later found near a cemetery in Auburn. Most of the missing women are in their late teens and early 20s, and many of the victims are also prostitutes. The number of victims continues to rise through 1984. The bodies of six more victims are found in various wooded areas around the Green River ("Gary Leon Ridgway timeline").

The Green River Task Force was convened in January 1984, with 36 investigators. On September 1982, Melvin Foster of Lacey, Washington raised suspicion when he offered to help the investigators. During this year, the task force also focused on 35-year-old John Norris Hanks. Both suspects, however, pass a polygraph test (Smolowe).

Ridgway was also a familiar figure to police during the early parts of the investigation. In 1982, he had been arrested after soliciting sex from an undercover officer. During this time, police noted his 1975 maroon Dodge pick-up truck, which was later observed around the maintenance building of Alaska Airlines in the Sea-Tac Airport, near where the remains of three victims were found in August 1982. In November, a prostitute accuses Ridgway of violent assault.

Also during this time, Ridgway was living in the Seattle-Tacoma area, with a series of girlfriends. He drove a maroon pick-up truck but also occasionally borrowed his brother's blue and white truck. A pimp recalled the maroon vehicle, leading Green River Task Force to interview Ridgway on May 1983.

Ridgway is interviewed again in November 1983, after being identified as the last man seen with a prostitute who later disappears. After the Green River Task Force is officially convened in January 1984, another prostitute contacts Detective Randy Mullinax to report Ridgway as a suspect. When Mullinax interviews Ridgway in April 1984, Ridgway admits to seeing numerous prostitutes but denies responsibility for their disappearance. In May, the Green River Task Force clears Ridgway as a possible Green River suspect, after Ridgway passes a polygraph examination ("Gary Leon Ridgway timeline").

Police Investigation: Mid-1985 to 1987

In June 1984, the Green River Task Force acquires a $200,000 computer to retrieve, file and index evidence gathered in the case. In November 1984, another prostitute contacts the task force to report a violent assault in 1982. The investigation into this old assault leads the detectives once again to Ridgway.

In 1985, two special FBI agents join the task force. In interviews, Ridgway admits to having sex with prostitutes, including some who have disappeared. However, despite another $1 million in federal funds, the Green River Task Force fails to make any headway into solving the killings.

Public pressure for an arrest mounted throughout 1986, as the task force had grown to 55 investigators. Ridgway, who admits to being "fixated with prostitutes," refuses a polygraph test on the advise of his lawyer.

The Ridgway investigation is re-opened for a third time on August 1986, after two witnesses provide the Task Force with important details. Paige Miley, a prostitute, positively identifies Ridgway as the last "date" of victim Kimberly Nelson. A few months later, Ridgway's ex-wife Marcia Winslow, takes members of the task force to several areas where she and Ridgway had sex. These areas include Highway 18, Interstate 90 and the Greenwater area where many victims' remains have been found ("Gary Leon Ridgway timeline").

For a two-week period in October 1986, the task force conducts a surveillance of Ridgway. He is observed going to the Rainer Avenue, where four Green River victims disappeared. Another young woman also disappeared during the period from a motel (Kershaw).

Forensic investigation

Armed with a warrant, investigators take hair and saliva samples from Ridgway, in addition to evidence from his car and his locker at work. However, the Washington State Crime Laboratory failed to link Ridgway to the Green River Killings. The investigation is further stalled when another victim's boyfriend cannot possibly identify Ridgway from a photo montage. Meanwhile, another prostitute disappears in February.

By 1988, the task force turns to national television, offering a $100,000 reward. By this time, the investigation had cost $13 million. Victims' remains would continue to be unearthed throughout the 1990s. However, with the lack of evidence, the investigation into the Green River killer grows cold. The Green River Task Force is officially disbanded in 1991.

In September 2001, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab conducts new DNA tests. This time, the results connect Ridgway to three victims -- Opal Mills, Marcia Chapman and Carol Christensen. Police place Ridgway under surveillance again. In December, Ridgway was arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of Chapman, Christensen, Mills and Charmaine Mills. Ridgway pleads not guilty and hires defense attorney Anthony Savage (Smolowe).