Gary Ridgeway - 1299 Words

Male Serial Killers: Gary Ridgeway In the summer of 1982, one of the nation’s worst and deadliest serial killers would start a killing spree that would last for almost 2 decades. This killer was known as the â€Å"Green River Killer,† but his real name was Gary Leon Ridgway. Ridgeway would murder numerous women in and around the Seattle, Washington area during the 1980s and the 1990s. When he was captured in 2001, Ridgway had admitted to killing 48 plus women. (Rule, 2004) Though, it is still believed that there are other victims that have not been identified. In the following, I will describe who Ridgway is, how he committed his crimes, what makes him unique, and how he was finally caught. I will also describe the mistakes the†¦show more content†¦The task force would go on to interview several other suspects, including an unemployed cab driver named Melvin Wayne Foster. (Rule, 2004) Foster, just like Tackley, had no connection to the murders. All the suspects investigated during the fall of 1982 showed no connection to the Green River murders. The first real evidence came in February 1984. Mike Barber, a reporter for the Post-Intelligencer, received a letter that contained information about the Green River murders that was not released to the public. (Rule, 2004) The letter was written with no spaces between the words and was intended to help the investigators learn who the killer was. (Rule, 2004) The letter never did lead investigators in the right direction, but it did give them insight into how he thought. The investigators also spoke with Ted Bundy. (Rule, 2004) Though, the information given by Bundy did not help, nor did it have any real impact on the investigation at all. In the late 1980s, the Green River Task Force had no leads or suspects wanted in connection with the Green River murders. The investigation started to slow and many investigators started to lose interest into finding who the killer was. Though, the investigators did take one last look at suspects, which Ridgway caught their eye. Ridgway was someone who liked to have sex with prostitutes and the investigators searched his home, work locker, and three vehicles he owned at the time. (Rule, 2004) TheShow MoreRelatedGary Leon Ridgeway: the Green River Killer2656 Words   |  11 PagesCRMJ329: Criminal Profiling Gary Leon Ridgway By: Donna Jamison Born in Salt Lake City Utah in the year 1949, Gary Leon Ridgway was the middle child of three sons. Ridgway was raised in a chaotic and underprivileged household with a domineering mother and a father who reportedly despised prostitutes (Prothero, 2006). Ridgway wet the bed until his late teens. His mother reportedly bathed him until he was well into his teenage years, paying special attention to his genitals (Prothero, and SmithRead MoreGary Leon Ridgeway823 Words   |  4 PagesGary Leon Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and after a string of killings that extended roughly 20 years he was dubbed, by local police, as the Green River Killer. He had admitted to killing over 90 prostitutes and had â€Å"lost count because it was so many†. Despite his IQ of 82, he had this serial killing down to a science and evaded police for quite sometime before a DNA test eventually convicted him of a murder and tied him to the whole string of murders that he had committed over the pastRead MoreGary Ridgeway An American Serial Killer Who Has Made The Us2973 Words   |  12 PagesGary Ridgeway an American serial killer who has made the U.S. panic in the start of the mid 1980’s and was sentenced in the year 2001. Ridgeway had an infatuation with prostitutes but still tried to live the Godly life he was trying to portray as well. He was undergoing various tribulations by killing the prostitutes after he had sexual intercourse with them it was an excitement to him. He always wanted to know what it would feel like to â€Å"kill someone† he once said and then chuckled right after.Read MoreThe Green River Killer Essay959 Words   |  4 Pagesbring justice to a lot of family’s mourning for their sisters, mothers, and daughters. His story is intriguing and is one that I would like to tell. The green river killer was not always known by this title, before his capture in 2001 he was known as Gary Leon Ridgway. He was born in February 18 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Bio 2013) When he turned 11 years old his family moved to Washington, he was the middle of three boys and was brought up in a relatively poor household not too far from the stateRead MoreComparison Of H, H. Holmes, And Gary Ridgway And The Green River Killer1817 Words   |  8 PagesThe united states have had many violent, brutal, and deranged serial killers which have shaped what we know about murder today, some of the most twisted may have been Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H Holmes, as well as Gary Ridgway, AKA The Green River Killer. While both of them are similar in many aspects, in some ways they are worlds apart. H. H Holmes was born Herman Webster Mudgett in Gilmanton New Hampshire to parents Levi Horton Mudgett and Theodate Page Price. Holmes was the thirdRead MoreThe Green River Killer : Avoidable Or Inescapable?902 Words   |  4 PagesThe Green River Killer: Avoidable or Inescapable? Gary Leon Ridgway, better known to the general public as The Green River Killer, was a prolific serial killer whose chosen hunting grounds were Washington State during the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Ridgway’s victims of choice were prostitutes and underage runaways, which he strangled and whose bodies’ he dumped in wooded areas along the Green River, inciting the pseudonym the Green River Killer. Reportedly, he often returned to the dumbed bodiesRead MoreWhy Do Parents Behave? Essay1827 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway, and Ed Gein were all physically and verbally abused by a parent and most likely endured some type of trauma; John Wayne Gacy, Henry Lee Lucas, Ed Gein, and possibly Dennis Rader had childhood incidents of head injury; Ted Bundy grew up thinking his mother was his older sister and his grandparents were his parents; and Jeffrey Dahmer had a mentally ill mother who ingested numerous drugs while pregnant with Jeffrey. Ted Bundy, John Wa yne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway, Ed Gein, EdRead MoreSerial Killers And The United States1743 Words   |  7 Pagescharacteristic. Serial killers that will be discussed and used as examples to represent the content of this research paper will be, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Robert Berdella, Jeffery Dahmer, and lastly the most prolific serial killer in American history, Gary Ridgeway. Problems with studying serial killing, are that because of rarity and access. Most of what we think we know about serial killers is speculative for those reasons alone. This research paper will try to analyze serial murder crime and two majorRead MoreBiological Criminal Behavior1805 Words   |  8 PagesBiological Criminal Behavior The studies of biological behaviors have shown that criminals with a passion for their crime tend to have a genetic or physiological issue that plays a major part in their criminal activities. Gary Ridgway and John Hinckley Jr. portrayed significant degrees of physiological issues that may have contributed to the crimes they committed. Lack of education, moral support, love, and self-accomplishments may have also provided behaviors out of the norm. Criminal activitiesRead MoreJohn Wayne Gacy And Charles Manson Essay797 Words   |  4 Pages Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Gary Leon Ridgeway and Charles Manson. These are some of the most infamous names in the history of murder, but they hid in plain sight, and Manson did not even commit murder. He was so manipulative he could convince others to do his bidding for him. How is that even possible? Surely one would be able to recognize someone who is such a dangerous threat or would they? One of the reasons these killers can be so successful is their ability to blend into