FactsBio Get all the facts!! He said things, like I feel bad for the victims, and even cried at times. Palenik, then a senior researcher at the Chicago-based McCrone Research Institute a leader in microanalysis taught workshops around the country. But due to insufficient DNA testing at the time, Ridgway remained a free man for more than a decade. Officer Survival Spotlight: Accidental Deaths Among Law Enforcement Officers, Leadership Spotlight: Your Leadership Is Your Life Story (Part 1 of 2), Officer Survival Spotlight: Arrest Situations - Understanding the Dangers, Leadership Spotlight: Your Leadership Is Your Life Story (Part 2 of 2), Officer Survival Spotlight: Preventing Assaults - Assessing Offender Perceptions. By 2001, improvements in DNA science allowed the crime lab to better analyze small and degraded genetic samples. Dubbed the 'Green River Killer," he targeted sex workers and young women in particular. It would have been nice if we couldve saved a life or two or all of them.. Bonding or emotionally connecting with psychopathic individuals does not work because they have a myopic view of a world that revolves solely around them. Unable to accept blame, these individuals quickly minimize their involvement in anything that negatively reflects on them. It would have been nice if we couldve saved a life or two or all of them.. But they still privately questioned how Trisha the family peacemaker who had aspired to be a seamstress, sang Supremes songs off-key and snorted when she laughed really died. With the new technology, scientists were finally able to match DNA from Ridgways saliva to sperm recovered from two victims found in the river in 1982 and another victim from a dumpsite in 1983. He didn't do it, you know." At the time of Gary's arrest, Matthew was 26 years old. Dr. OToole has served with the FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit and is a private forensic behavioral consultant and an instructor at the FBI Academy. A deputy discounted it at the time, telling Rona the bruise was most likely a byproduct of her sisters lifestyle, she said. I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight, Ridgway said in a statement, admitting he killed most of his victims in his house or truck before disposing of the bodies, adding that in most cases he did not even know his victims names. The killer kept preying on vulnerable women and girls, many of whom were runaways or had been involved in street prostitution, leaving the bodies in remote, wooded stretches. He was finally caught and convicted based largely on DNA evidence. Many law enforcement professionals consider themselves skilled interviewers because of their training and the volume of interviews they have conducted throughout their careers. Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 18, 1949, and raised in SeaTac, Washington. He often went patrolling for sex workers right after work, he said. The documentary delves deep into the life of . By the early 1990s, when a new wave of bodies and bones were found, the Green River Task Force had already disbanded. Patricia Yellow Robe, the eldest of nine siblings, was a protective big sister and a talented seamstress who struggled with addiction. Gary Ridgway left microscopic paint evidence on the clothing of several of his victims that went undetected for decades. The analysts assigned to the case actually did an amazing job of sorting, analyzing and comparing thousands of individual hairs, fibers and chunks of paint and other collected debris, she said. In July 1982, the body of Ridgways first known victim was pulled from the Green River in suburban Seattle, a pair of blue jeans knotted around her neck. Updated: 9:49 PM PST January 25, 2021 SEATTLE For 30 years, the remains of a teenage girl found in SeaTac were simply known as Jane Doe. But a smaller group of detectives who feared the killer was still at work quietly kept the probe alive. Monday, May 17, 2021 6:27pm News Nearly 20 years ago, King County deputies arrested Gary Ridgway, the man who would go on to receive 49 life sentences after confessing to killing dozens of women and girls in the Puget Sound area. When a detective questioned him, Ridgway claimed he choked the woman only after she bit him. Gary was socially awkward and had a difficult time learning in school. But the hair, fibers, clothing and other evidence that were seized didnt definitively tie Ridgway to any victims, and he slipped back into the slush pile of suspects as the decade ended. The psychopathic individuals grandiosity and arrogance offends investigators. Even though a massive team of investigators had been assembled to track him down, the killers identity remained a mystery during the 1980s and 90s, while dozens of girls and women disappeared from the streets around Seattle, only to turn up in wooded dumpsites months or years later as corpses or bones. YouTube has some excerpts from on (I don't know how many recorded interviews he has done.??) Their glib and charming style causes law enforcement officers to believe the suspects were not involved in the crime. (Ridgway, 74, didn't respond to an interview request sent in a letter to him in prison.) All Rights Reserved. Gary Ridgway told investigators this summer he sometimes showed his son's picture or the boy's room at his home to women to put them at ease. Gary Leon Ridgway is famous for admitting to the most serial killings. Community Outreach Spotlight: Team G.R.E.A.T. After Palenik informed Baird about his findings, prosecutors charged Ridgway with three more murders, catching his defense team off-guard. At right, members of the task force comb a hillside where Ridgway said he had left a body. The medical examiner ruled her death an accidental overdose. The identification brings up a largely unknown fact about the historic serial killer case. Leadership Spotlight: You Cannot Lead from Behind Your Desk, Leadership Spotlight: Believe in Your Own Leadership, Leadership Spotlight: Build Bridges, Not Dams - Performance Evaluations, Officer Survival Spotlight: Lessons Learned from Critical Encounters, Leadership Spotlight: Emotional Triggers in Decision Making, Officer Survival Spotlight: Wide-Reaching Benefits of Law Enforcement Training, Officer Survival Spotlight: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Leadership Spotlight: Lunchtime Learning Seminars - Benefits and Steps to Get Started, Officer Survival Spotlight: Speed and Seatbelts, Leadership Spotlight: Humility - A Leadership Trait That Gets Results, Officer Survival Spotlight: Officer Perception and Assault Prevention, Leadership Spotlight: The Legacy of a Leader, Officer Survival Spotlight: By the Numbers - Turning LEOKA Data into Training Opportunities, Officer Survival Spotlight: Much More Than a Job - Creating a Lasting Tribute. He claims he wants to help the families of those unknown victims find closure. These terms have no meaning in the legal or mental health nomenclature. But he denied having harmed them. He works at a place where he sprays the very same unusual paint on trucks all day.. He voluntarily spoke with detectives and acknowledged hed been arrested before for soliciting a prostitute. 66K views 10 months ago Ridgway remains one of the most prolific murderers in US history who evaded capture for decades and integrated murder into his every day life, even killing prostitutes. Palenik soon determined the glossy acrylic urethane spheres were air-dried droplets of a distinct commercial automotive spray paint, made by DuPont and called Imron. Father of Marie Malvar, victim of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, led police detective to suspect's house more than 20 years ago, but when Ridgway denied involvement, detective left; family never . Paint samples were extracted from the victim's clothes and bodies as well, this paint matched the exact sample taken from Gary's work. For the next several months, Microtrace analyzed paint gathered from Ridgways home, workplace and vehicles to create a reference library and then compared it with paint fragments collected in or around the dumpsites where victims were found. Gary Leon Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 18, 1949 and raised in SeaTac, Washington. A black knit sweater. When her anger and shock wore off, her familys doubts about Trishas death finally made sense, LuAnna said. He found the spheres on Ridgways clothes and clothing from five of the victims. Leadership Spotlight: Doing the Right Thing for the Wrong Reasons: Abuse of Police Discretion, Leadership Spotlight: Impacting Job Satisfaction Through Leadership, Leadership Spotlight: Values-Driven Leadership in Law Enforcement Organizations, Leadership Spotlight: Leadership Lessons from Home, Leadership Spotlight: Strategic Leadership During Crisis. Invading anothers space and trying to take charge are behaviors that a psychopath will exhibit throughout an interview. Dr. Logan, a retired staff sergeant with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a psychologist, provides forensic behavioral consultation and training for the law enforcement and criminal justice communities. While incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison in California, infamous cult leader Charles Manson participated in an on-camera interview with a well-known national news correspondent. Jensens list of the killers suspected victims grew to nearly 90, including dozens of homeless or drug-addicted girls and women whod disappeared or were dumped in remote places across western Washington. Leadership Spotlight: Stuck in Autopilot? You Have 90 Percent More Learning to Do! Soon after the additional charges were filed, defense lawyers approached prosecutors with a proposal. Her boyfriend and pimp later spotted what he thought was the same truck in front of Ridgways house and reported it to police. He voluntarily spoke with detectives and acknowledged hed been arrested before for soliciting a prostitute. . Hare and M.H. He murdered seventy-one victims, all of whom were women. Its very conceivable that if those things had been more carefully examined at the time, the investigation would have taken an earlier, more productive turn that pointed directly to Ridgway, Baird said. Interviewers often are nervous or anxious. Psychopathic individuals arrogance makes them appear pseudointellectual or reflects a duping delightenjoyment at playing a cat-and-mouse game with the interrogator. It took nearly 20 years for Ridgway to be caught and brought to justice. During discussions, Bundy reportedly advised authorities that the killer may be revisiting his victims corpses and performing sexual acts on them, a hypothesis Ridgway later confirmed. If anyone can tell me where to find any full interviews with him i would be much appreciative 9 9 comments Best He couldnt recall lab officials ever having mentioned to detectives that smaller particles of trace evidence hadnt been analyzed, he said. He said hed continued to routinely pick up girls working the street and had even encountered two of the killers presumed victims. Palenik said Baird called and confided: You cant tell anyone about this, but what if I told you that based on your report, Ridgway confessed to being the Green River Killer?. Its just common sense.. Really, we were capable of finding these things, but we didnt because we didnt look at the small, small fractions, she said. Dr. Smith, a retired special agent with the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit, is a consultant on criminal and corporate psychopathy for intelligence- and security-related government and law enforcement agencies. As distasteful as it might be, investigators should be prepared to stroke psychopaths egos and provide them with a platform to brag and pontificate. Some interviewers would reprehend Manson on his behavior, order him to the other side of the room, and let him know who is in charge. He found the spheres on Ridgways clothes and clothing from five of the victims. Just rags., In November 2003, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng announced the plea deal that sent Ridgway to the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, where he is serving 49 life sentences. Gary Leon Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, is an American serial killer. Watch the special three-night event, Invisible Monsters: Serial Killers in America, beginning Sunday, August 15 at 9/8c on A&E. In this interview Gary Ridgway (Green River Killer) talks about his troublesome childhood, the relationship to his mother for which he had sexual fantasies and what eventually triggered him to. Forensic Spotlight: A New Investigative Biometric Service - The National Palm Print System, Leadership Spotlight: The Carver and the Planter, Officer Survival Spotlight: Foot Pursuits - Keeping Officers Safe, Leadership Spotlight: Value of Compassion. He pleaded not guilty, claiming through his lawyers that hed dated but hadnt killed the victims linked to him based on his DNA. But he left behind some of his victims clothing, discarded at dumpsites or wrapped like ligatures around their necks. But with the volumes of evidence, the staffing constraints and the workload of other cases statewide, crime lab officials had to choose what evidence to analyze, said Cwiklik, the labs trace evidence supervisor at the time. Psychopaths blame their victims for what happened and consider the victims fate irrelevant. Leadership Spotlight: A Look in the Mirror, Leadership Spotlight: Importance of Listening Skills, Leadership Spotlight: Setting the Example, Community Outreach Spotlight: Rape Aggression Defense Class, Leadership Spotlight: Rapport and Empathy, Leadership Spotlight: Spiritual Wellness in Law Enforcement, Leadership Spotlight: Development Is a Question Away, Leadership Spotlight: Lessons on Conflict, Leadership Spotlight: Choose to Take Action. The spray paint found on the victims clothing wasnt sold to the public, and it was used only in the Seattle area on a wide scale in the early 1980s by Kenworth Truck Co., where Ridgway worked. He is 73 years old and still alive as of 2023. Gary is an American serial killer who has been found guilty of 48 murders. But they hadnt. If they perceive that their charm is not working, it quickly will vanish, being replaced by a more aggressive or abrasive approach. When her anger and shock wore off, her familys doubts about Trishas death finally made sense, LuAnna said. They matched. After Palenik informed Baird about his findings, prosecutors charged Ridgway with three more murders, catching his defense team off-guard. Claiming to have murdered as many as 80 women, Gary Ridgway known as the Green River Killer for the Seattle, Washington, location where many of his victims were discovered was America's. While he pleaded guilty to killing 48 women between the early 1980s and 2001, Ridgway has told police about an. Near the end of the decade, the killings seemed to stop. Im appalled I didnt know that that was even possible, said Frank Adamson, a retired King County sheriffs commander who supervised the Green River Task Force in the mid-1980s. But he left behind some of his victims clothing, discarded at dumpsites or wrapped like ligatures around their necks. A black knit sweater. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. This can result in a loss of valuable time. Hed just finished teaching a basic forensic microscopy course at the crime lab in Seattle when George Ishii, then the director, told him about the Green River murders, Palenik said in a recent interview. Gary Ridgway interview? Sisters of Patricia Yellow Robe, Ridgways last known victim, said the revelations are upsetting but mean little now. Leadership Spotlight: Compassion in Law Enforcement. Baird recently described Paleniks findings as pivotal. The paint spheres were very, very powerful evidence that, to Baird, was in many ways better than DNA because it was not an arcane or highly technical forensic science but nevertheless very convincing on a gut level, he said. Gary Ridgway after his sentencing in Seattle in 2003. But it still would have needed an outside specialist, like Palenik, to identify and trace them back to their source, she said. A knowledgeable investigator can identify a multitude of psychopathic traits and characteristics by reviewing crime scene information, file data, prior interviews, mental health assessments, and relevant information provided by associates and family members. Law enforcement officers should be aware of the psychopaths early onset boredom and be prepared to incorporate strategies to keep the individual stimulated and interested. By then, the killer had left behind key microscopic evidence that could have helped unmask his identity, records and interviews show. Investigators compiled a list of hundreds of potential suspects and amassed a mountain of evidence from the dumpsites, turning much of the material over to state forensic scientists for analysis. Authorities hailed the discovery publicly as another scientific breakthrough. The spray paint found on the victims clothing wasnt sold to the public, and it was used only in the Seattle area on a wide scale in the early 1980s by Kenworth Truck Co., where Ridgway worked. LuAnna Yellow Robe, left, and her sister, Rona Yellow Robe, at the 2003 court hearing where Gary Ridgway admitted to murdering their sister, Patricia. The interviewers strategies may include using photographs or writings to supplement a question-and-answer format, letting suspects write down ideas and comments for discussion, or having the psychopath act as a teacher giving a course about criminal behavior and providing opinions about the crime. . 2 U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Serial Murder: Multidisciplinary Perspectives for Investigators (Washington, DC, 2005), http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/ publications/serial-murder (accessed January 18, 2012). Updated: Aug 13, 2021 (1949-) Synopsis Serial killer Gary Leon Ridgway was born on February 18, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Investigators search for the remains of one of Gary Ridgway's victims. Four days later, police questioned Ridgway at his home about his knowledge of Malvar, whom he denied knowing. It always bugged me that we didnt do that, but it would have been hard to argue that we should prioritize that., But later on, when nothing was fruitful, she said, we should have done it.. Chemists for the company later informed Palenik that DuPont had patented the high-end, specialty product and believed no one else in the world was making paint with Imrons unique composition or pigments. Gary is the definition of the stereotypical serial killer. Ed. After four more bodies were found dumped in and along the Green River within a month, the King County sheriff assembled a task force to track down a serial killer. And he almost had the chance, he said. Gary Ridgway took pride in a killing spree that terrorized Washington state during the 1980s and 1990s. H. Cleckley, The Mask of Sanity (St.Louis, MO: Mosby, 1982), R.D. Without the deal, more than 40 of Ridgway's murders most likely would have gone unsolved , Maleng said. This display of arrogance, dominance, and invasion of personal space, which took less than 1 minute, caught the reporter completely off guard. From top right, Virginia Graham, sister of Debra Estes; Jose Malvar Jr., brother of Marie Malvar; and Carol Estes, mother of Debra Estes. Its just much more instinctive and accessible to a juror to make that connection. For the second year in a row, Senate Democrats . A psychopath is someone with specific personality traits and characteristics. From 1982 to 1998, Gary Ridgway terrorized Washington State as the Green River Killer. The reporter asked Manson to talk about a routine day there at the prison. It is better to emphasize their unique ability to devise such an impressive crime, execute and narrate the act, evade capture, trump investigators, and generate media interest about themselves. By then, the killer had left behind key microscopic evidence that could have helped unmask his identity, records and interviews show. Soon after the additional charges were filed, defense lawyers approached prosecutors with a proposal. Jensens list of the killers suspected victims grew to nearly 90, including dozens of homeless or drug-addicted girls and women whod disappeared or were dumped in remote places across western Washington. But without that forensic testing, Ridgway slipped through investigators grasp and kept killing. Manson had just come out of solitary confinement, where he likely was bored. Jensen, who dedicated most of his career to the case, was stunned to learn recently from an NBC News reporter that the capability to detect the paint spheres that linked Ridgway to some of the victims had existed years earlier. A pair of jeans. Imagine in 85, after I was out there, if George sent this stuff back to us, wed find and identify the spheres as this unusual urethane paint, Palenik said. One of his lawyers, Mark Prothero, later wrote in a book that even though his team downplayed the paint spheres, the prosecutors couldnt have found anything much worse for our client, short of a Polaroid picture of him strangling a woman.. For the next several months, Microtrace analyzed paint gathered from Ridgways home, workplace and vehicles to create a reference library and then compared it with paint fragments collected in or around the dumpsites where victims were found. Hed just finished teaching a basic forensic microscopy course at the crime lab in Seattle when George Ishii, then the director, told him about the Green River murders, Palenik said in a recent interview. The killer kept preying on vulnerable women and girls, many of whom were runaways or had been involved in street prostitution, leaving the bodies in remote, wooded stretches. We rinsed all the fingernails to look for trace evidence and swabbed the ligatures for cellular material. In July 1982, Ridgway picked up a woman with his. And then when they bring in a suspect and its Gary Ridgway well, where does he work? 1 King County Sheriffs Office, Green River Homicides Investigation, http://www.kingcounty.gov/ safety/sheriff/Enforcement/Investigations/GreenRiver/aspx (accessed January 30, 2012). Seventeen years later, he said, I get a phone call saying they want us to look at this case. Investigation Discovery, with the help of a detailed investigation and analysis of the criminal's interviews, seeks to look at the matter in their show 'The Green River Killer: Mind of a Monster.' This Is What Gary Ridgway's Life Is Really Like In Prison. The Banality of Gary: A Green River Chiller. Leadership Spotlight: I Should Have Eaten More Ice Cream! A psychopathic individual is not necessarily evil nor a monster. Among them was the murder of Yellow Robe, the last woman Ridgway said he could remember having killed. "You can't go back and change the past; it's over with," Ridgway said in an . Tiny paint spheres helped snare serial killer Gary Ridgway after at least 49 murders in Washington. Reichert flew to Florida where Bundy was being held on death row.