Gary Leon Ridgway, also called the Green River Killer, is a notorious American serial who was convicted of 49 murders. In the history of the US serial killers, he is the second-most prolific as per the confirmed murders.
It is believed that Gary Ridgway, in the 1980s and 1990s, killed a minimum of 71 teenage girls and women near Tacoma and Seattle. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
New Delhi: Gary Leon Ridgway, also called the Green River Killer, is a notorious American serial who was convicted of 48 murders between the early 1980s and late 1990s. After the addition of another conviction, the total rose to 49. In the history of the US serial killers, he is the second-most prolific as per the confirmed murders. In this article, we will take a look at his killings and psychology.
Sexual attraction towards his mother
Born on February 18, 1949, Gary Ridgway had a troubled home life with a dominating mother and as a child, he witnessed his parents arguing violently. His father was a bus driver often complaining about sex workers’ presence.
Till he was 13, Ridgway suffered from a problem of wetting the bed and every time, his mother would wash his genitals forcefully. Later, he told the defence psychologists that during adolescence, he was both sexually attracted and angry toward his mother, and had fantasies about murdering her. He is dyslexic and at the age of 16, he tried to kill a six-year-old boy who fortunately survived.
A sexual appetite which could not be curbed
Ridgway joined the US Navy and was sent to Vietnam, and saw combat. At that time, he was married, but he frequently indulged in sex with sex workers and contracted gonorrhoea. Even after that, he continued to have sex without protection. The women in his life have talked about his sexual appetite which was insatiable. He married thrice and all his wives and ex-girlfriends have confirmed this fact.
In his own words, Ridgway was fixated on sex workers whom he hated and loved. He disliked their presence in his neighbourhood but regularly sought their services. During his plea hearing, Ridgway talked about his hatred for prostitutes and that he never liked paying them for sex.
The murders of Gary Ridgway
It is believed that Gary Ridgway, in the 1980s and 1990s, killed a minimum of 71 teenage girls and women near Tacoma and Seattle. In his own words, he had lost count of killings for they were so many. Between 1982 and 1984, most of the murders took place. His victims were either sex workers or runaways, and the killings took place at his home, his truck, or an area that was secluded.
The media gave him the nickname Green River Killer since his first five victims were found in the Green River. He used to strangle his victims and then dump their bodies in forested and overgrown areas in King County. Often, he came back to the bodies to engage in necrophilia as he said it meant he did not need a living victim.
The arrest of Ridgway
Since 1982, Ridgway was suspected of murders but investigators could not link them to him. Later, thanks to advanced DNA profiling, Ridgway was linked to the murders, and he was arrested on November 30, 2001. As part of a plea bargain, he disclosed all the locations of still-missing women. As a result, he was not given the death penalty and received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
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