Let’s remember when the first body of a victim of the “Green River Killer” was found, on this day in 1982
Gary Ridgway is certainly one of the most monstrous ghouls to come from this part of the world, an his crime spree more or less began 37 years ago today.
HistoryLink’s Walt Crowley has the details:
On August 12, 1982, Frank Linard discovers the body of a young woman floating in the Green River, yards from the Kent slaughterhouse where he worked. The remains are later identified as those of Debra Lynn Bonner, age 23, a convicted prostitute who had disappeared on July 25. Police quickly link her death to those of earlier victims, Wendy Coffield, 16, and Leann Wilcox, both known prostitutes. As more bodies are discovered in or near the Green River over the next few days, police conclude that a serial murderer — dubbed the Green River Killer — is on the loose. Over the next two years, a total of 49 victims, mostly young prostitutes and dancers known to frequent the Highway 99/Pacific Avenue South “strip” near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, will be attributed to the same killer. After a years-long, frustrating investigation, on November 30, 2001, police will arrest suspect Gary Leon Ridgway, whose DNA is associated with the bodies of four of the victims.
What an absolute monster.
Read the whole thing here:
