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Gary Ridgway

Also known as: Green River Killer, Green River Strangler

Active
1982–1998
Region
King County, Washington, USA
Status
Pleaded guilty
Victims
49

Gary Ridgway killed at least 49 women and girls in King County, Washington, mostly between 1982 and 1984, many of whom he picked up along Pacific Highway South near Sea-Tac Airport. He was named a suspect in the 1980s but was not charged until 2001, when DNA from a 1987 saliva sample linked him to several victims; he was arrested at the Kenworth truck plant in Renton where he worked as a painter. In 2003 he pleaded guilty to 48 murders in a deal that spared him the death penalty in return for helping find victims' remains, and in 2011 he pleaded guilty to a 49th. He is serving consecutive life sentences without parole.

Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. 1969
    Kenworth truck plant, Renton (Workplace)

    Ridgway worked as a truck painter at the Kenworth plant in Renton for about 32 years.

  2. 1982
    Pacific Highway South ("Sea-Tac strip") (Abduction, approximate area)

    Many of the victims were last seen along Pacific Highway South near Sea-Tac Airport, where Ridgway picked them up. Others were last seen in Seattle or elsewhere in south King County.

  3. 1982
    Ridgway's home in SeaTac (Killer's residence, approximate area)

    During the killings Ridgway lived alone in a small house in what is now SeaTac, a few minutes from Pacific Highway South. Police searched it in 1987 and again after his 2001 arrest.

  4. July 15, 1982
    Green River, Kent (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Wendy Coffield was found in the Green River near Kent's Meeker Street Bridge on July 15, 1982. By August 15, four more women had been found in or along the river nearby, which gave the case its name.

  5. September 25, 1982
    Areas around Sea-Tac Airport (Recovery site, approximate area)

    The remains of several victims were found in wooded areas just north and just south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport between 1982 and 1989.

  6. December 3, 1982
    Motel at S. 168th Street and Pacific Highway South (Abduction, approximate area)

    Rebecca Marrero was last seen leaving a motel room near South 168th Street on Pacific Highway South.

  7. May 8, 1983
    Maple Valley (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Carol Christensen was found in a wooded area in Maple Valley five days after she disappeared.

  8. September 18, 1983
    Star Lake Road area, south of Kent (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Six victims were found in the Star Lake area of south King County between 1983 and 1985.

  9. February 14, 1984
    Off Interstate 90 near North Bend (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Four victims were found off Interstate 90 near North Bend between 1984 and 1986.

  10. March 31, 1984
    Near Enumclaw and Highway 410 (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Several victims were found in rural areas near Enumclaw, most of them east of town off Highway 410. Pammy Avent's remains were found there in 2003 after Ridgway led investigators to the site.

  11. April 23, 1985
    Tualatin, Oregon (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Remains of Tammie Liles were found near Tualatin, south of Portland, in April 1985.

  12. June 14, 1985
    Tigard, Oregon (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Remains of Shirley Sherrill and Denise Bush were found in Tigard, Oregon, in June 1985. Ridgway said he moved some remains to the Portland area to confuse police.

  13. September 8, 1985
    Seward Park, Seattle (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Mary West was found in Seattle's Seward Park in September 1985.

  14. March 27, 1986
    Cottonwood Grove Park, Kent (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Remains of Tracy Winston were found near the Green River in Kent's Cottonwood Grove Park in March 1986.

  15. May 30, 1988
    Federal Way (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Debra Estes was found in Federal Way in May 1988, more than five years after she disappeared.

  16. 1998
    Ridgway's home in Auburn (Killer's residence, approximate area)

    Ridgway and his third wife moved to a house in Auburn about three years before his arrest.

  17. November 30, 2001
    Arrest at the Kenworth plant (Arrest)

    Ridgway was arrested as he was leaving work at the Kenworth plant after DNA testing linked him to several victims. He was first charged with four murders.

  18. August 30, 2003
    Near Snoqualmie (Recovery site, approximate area)

    During the 2003 searches under the plea agreement, April Buttram's remains were found in a wooded area near Snoqualmie.

  19. September 2003
    Near Auburn (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Marie Malvar's remains were found near Auburn in September 2003 after Ridgway led investigators there. In December 2010 hikers found Rebecca Marrero's remains in a ravine in the same area.

  20. November 5, 2003
    King County Superior Court, Seattle (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated first-degree murder on November 5, 2003. On December 18, in a crowded Seattle courtroom, Judge Richard Jones sentenced him to 48 consecutive life terms without parole.

  21. January 2004
    Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla (Prison)

    Ridgway has been held at the Washington State Penitentiary since January 2004, apart from a few months in a federal prison in 2015.

  22. February 18, 2011
    Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center, Kent (Court / trial)

    Ridgway pleaded guilty to the murder of Rebecca Marrero here and received a 49th life sentence.

  23. May 14, 2015
    USP Florence High, Colorado (Prison)

    Ridgway was transferred to this federal high-security prison in 2015, then returned to Walla Walla in October after public objections.

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.