By August 15, 1982, a total of five bodies had been found on or along the Green River. It was suspected that they were all murdered by the same person and dumped from the same location near the 25000 block of Frager Road. Most of these and subsequent victims had a history of prostitution and of run-ins with the law. They were young, mostly teenagers or in their early 20s. Because the first victims were in or near the Green River, the killer became known as the Green River Killer.
The arrested suspect, Gary Leon Ridgway, was a longtime resident of the area. He was a truck painter raised near SeaTac, and a Tyee High School graduate. He has been a suspect for a long time, but before now, detectives had not found adequate evidence to build a case against him.
Sources:
“Green River Murder Victim Identified;P Probe Inches Along” The Seattle Times, August 18, 1982, p. A13; Carlton Smith, “Wendy Juvenile in Jeopardy. [Part 1]” The Seattle Times, August 1, 1984, p. B1; Carlton Smith, “Wendy Part 3” The Seattle Times, August 3, 1984, p. B1, B2; Don Duncan, Washington: the First One Hundred Years, 1889-1989; Ian Ith, Carlton Smith, and Tomas Guillen, “Ridgway Awaits Charges; Detectives Scour Homes,” The Seattle Times December 2, 2001 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com). (Seattle: The Seattle Times, 1989), 128.
Revised December 2, 2001