By: Maddie Beck

Gary Ridgway“The Green River Killer”

“Green River Gary” “The River Man”

Background • Born on February 18, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah• Upraised near Seattle's Pacific Highway, a underprivileged neighborhood

near SeaTac airport• Was very bad in school• Went to Vietnam after high school• Started to paint trucks when he returned, he kept that job for 30 years• Also worked at a computer company • Obsessive about religion• Married 3 different women

1. Claudia Kraig Barrows (1970-1972)2. Marcia Lorene Brown (1973-1981)3. Judith Lorraine Lynch (1988-2002)

• Began murdering women in 1982• Killed and average of 75-80 women• Caught in 2001• Convicted and received multiple life sentences

Crimes#/Name/Age/Disappeared/Found

• 1 Wendy Lee Coffield 16 July 8, 1982 July 15, 1982 • 2 Gisele Ann Lovvorn 19 July 17, 1982 September 25, 1982 • 3 Debra Lynn Bonner 23 July 25, 1982 August 12, 1982 • 4 Marcia Fay Chapman 31 August 1, 1982 August 15, 1982 • 6 Opal Charmaine Mills 16 August 12, 1982 August 15, 1982 • 7 Terry Rene Milligan 16 August 29, 1982 April 1, 1984 • 8 Mary Bridget Meehan 18 September 15, 1982 November 13, 1983 • 9 Debra Lorraine Estes 15 September 20, 1982 May 30, 1988 • 10 Linda Jane Rule 16 September 26, 1982 January 31, 1983 • 11 Denise Darcel Bush 23 October 8, 1982 June 1985 • 12 Shawnda Leea Summers 16 October 9, 1982 August 11, 1983 • 13 Shirley Marie Sherrill 18 between October 22, 1982 June 1985 • 14 Colleen Renee Brockman 15 December 24, 1982 May 26, 1984 • 15 Alma Ann Smith 18 March 3, 1983 April 2, 1984 • 16 Delores LaVerne Williams 17 March 14, 1983 March 31, 1984 • 17 Gail Lynn Mathews 23 April 22, 1983 September 19, 1983 • 18 Andrea M. Childers 19 April 14, 1983 October 11, 1989 • 19 Sandra Kay Gabbert 17 April 17, 1983 April 1, 1984 • 20 Kimi-Kai Pitsor 16 April 16, 1983 December 14, 1983 • 21 Marie M. Malvar 18 April 30, 1983 September 29, 2003 • 22 Carol Ann Christensen 21 May 4, 1983 May 8, 1983 • 23 Martina Theresa Authorlee 18 May 22, 1983 November 14, 1984 • 24 Cheryl Lee Wims 18 May 23, 1983 March 22, 1984 • 25 Yvonne Shelly Antosh 19 May 31, 1983 October 15, 1983

• 26 Carrie A. Rois 15 June 2, 1983 March 10, 1985 • 27 Constance Elizabeth Naon 19 June 8, 1983 October 27, 1983 • 28 Kelly Marie Ware 22 July 18, 1983 October 29, 1983 • 29 Tina Marie Thompson 21 July 25, 1983 April 20, 1984 • 30 April Dawn Buttram 16 August 23, 1983 August 31, 2003 • 31 Debbie May Abernathy 26 September 5, 1983 March 31, 1984 • 32 Tracy Ann Winston 19 September 12, 1983 March 27, 1986 • 33 Maureen Sue Feeney 19 September 28, 1983 May 2, 1986 • 34 Mary Sue Bello 25 October 11, 1983 October 12, 1984 • 35 Pammy Avent 15 October 26, 1983 August 16, 2003 • 36 Delise Louise Plager 22 October 30, 1983 February 14, 1984 • 37 Kimberly L. Nelson 21 November 1, 1983 June 14, 1986 • 38 Lisa Yates 19 December 23, 1983 March 13, 1984 • 39 Mary Exzetta West 16 February 6, 1984 September 8, 1985 • 40 Cindy Anne Smith 17 March 21, 1984 June 27, 1987 • 41 Patricia Michelle Barczak 19 October 17, 1986 February 1993 • 42 Roberta Joseph Hayes 21 Last seen leaving a Portland, Oregon

jail on February 7, 1987 September 11, 1991 • 43 Marta Reeves 36 between March 5th and April 13, 1990

September 20, 1990 • 44 Patricia Yellowrobe 38 January 1998 August 6, 1998 • 45 Unidentified White Female 12-17 Died prior to May 1983

March 21, 1984 • 46 Unidentified White Female 17-19 Unknown April 22, 1985 • 47 Unidentified Black Female 18-27 Between 1982 and 1984

December 30, 1985 • 48 Unidentified White Female 14-18 From December 1980 to

January 1984 January 2, 1986 *All of these crimes ended with him being life sentenced in prison.

Evidence on Murders• Finger prints and DNA taken from the crime (linked him to

many of the murders)• Known for being around prostitutes• Prostitutes told on him• He named many places the dead bodies were found almost as

a puzzle• Investigators found the bodies where he told them where they

would be

Quotes from Gary

• “I hate most prostitutes. I didn’t want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away, and might never be reported missing.”• “I don't believe in man, God nor Devil. I hate the

whole damned human race, including myself... I preyed upon the weak, the harmless and the unsuspecting. This lesson I was taught by others: Might makes right.”

Labeling Theory Gary Ridgway falls under the Labeling Theory. Within this theory he

believed that he was better and more important than the people he killed. Even though he was a frequent customer of prostitutes, I think that he felt that they were a detriment to society due to his believing in the Christian faith. He was obviously a sex addict and after he engaged in sexual activity with the prostitutes he felt dirty and that he had broken the Christian faith that he was so in love with. To make it all better he would get rid of them by murdering the prostitutes. He would keep doing it over and over because each time he did it he felt disgusting. Within the labeling theory I think he falls under the primary deviance. He was engaging in activity with deviant people but he was never labeled as a deviant with them. They are the ones doing it, and he felt that he wasn’t the one committing the deviant acts until he after and then he had to kill them to erase that memory and try to make good again. Overall this man was a major deviant person in society, and he doesn’t deserve another chance. He had a option, to commit the deviant acts with them, or not even do it. Instead of turning his check to this type of life, he faced forward and went straight with it. This man is a major deviant and detriment to society.

Gary Ridgway

Movie (The Green River Killer)

• Slasher/Thriller • 2 hours • January 3, 2006• Documentary on Gary

Ridgway

Books

• Multiple books Gary Ridgway: The Green River Killer–

November 25, 2003 The Search for the Green River Killer –

June 1, 2004 Green River, Running Red: The Real Story

of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer– September 28, 2004