Who was the American serial killer, nicknamed 'The Green River Killer', who, at his trial in 1983, confessed to the murders of 48 women in Washington State?
"based on David Reichert's book, ""Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer"". The film's biggest departure from the book is a fictional inclusion of two teenage girls, one of whom, Helen ""Hel"" Remus (Amy Davidson), is a young runaway who decides to turn to prostitution to escape her mother's abusive boyfriend, in a sympathetic storyline to honor Ridgway's victims. Detective Dave Reichert (Tom Cavanagh) works the murder cases and stays on the case from beginning to end, including extensive interviews with incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy (James Marsters). In the movie he and another officer"
"investigations. Ridgway was returned by chartered plane to Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla from the High Security Federal Prison in Florence, Colorado, on October 24, 2015. Before Ridgway's confession, authorities had attributed 49 murders to the Green River Killer. Ridgway confessed to murdering at least 71 victims. At the time of Ridgway's December 18, 2003 sentencing, authorities had been able to find at least 48 sets of remains, including victims not originally attributed to the Green River Killer. Ridgway was sentenced for the deaths of each of these 48 victims, with a plea agreement that he would ""plead guilty"
"law firm of Bogle & Gates in Seattle from 1983 to 1988, he became an Assistant United States Attorney of the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington. He served there from 1988 to 1994. Jones served as a judge on the King County Superior Court, Washington from 1994 to 2007. During this period, he presided over several high-profile cases, including the prosecution of Gary Ridgway, the notorious ""Green River Killer"" who was known to have killed 48 women. Jones is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Jones"
"public multiuse trail runs along the river through most of this valley. The Green River is infamous as the location where the first victims of serial killer Gary Ridgway were found in the early 1980s. Most of these victims were prostitutes that worked an active ""stroll"" along Pacific Highway South. Although only a few bodies were found in the river, the unidentified killer was known as the ""Green River Killer"". These murders went unsolved for over 20 years. For many years, Dave Reichert led the investigation as a detective of the King County Sheriff's Office. Ridgway made a plea agreement"
"Arthur Shawcross Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 – November 10, 2008), also known as the Genesee River Killer, was an American serial killer active in Rochester, New York. His first known murders were in 1972 when he killed a young boy and girl in his hometown of Watertown, New York. Under the terms of a plea bargain, Shawcross was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of manslaughter, for which he served 12 years of a 25-year sentence. He killed most of his victims in 1988 and 1989 after being paroled early which led to criticism of the justice"
"disappearances were attributed to the so-called ""Green River Killer,"" because the first five victims were found in or around the Green River. For almost twenty years, law enforcement officials were unable to identify the person who was responsible for the Green River murders. In the fall of 2001, however, science was able to do the job that law enforcement never could. DNA evidence which was found in or on four of the Green River victims was matched to a long-standing suspect in the case, Gary Leon Ridgway. Ridgway, a truck painter from Auburn, Washington with a measured I.Q. of 85,"
"Albert Fish Hamilton Howard ""Albert"" Fish (May 19, 1870 – January 16, 1936) was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he ""had children in every state"", and at one time stated the number was about 100. However, it is not known whether he was referring to rapes or cannibalization, nor is it known if the statement was truthful. He was a suspect in at least five murders during his lifetime. Fish confessed"
"of sex workers during the same time period due to the post-mortem mutilations that occurred, and it is for that reason that other murders of prostitutes are not usually attributed to the Ripper, or are disputed. Peter Sutcliffe (aka the Yorkshire Ripper) murdered 13 women, some of whom were sex workers, from 1975-1980 in Northern England. Gary Ridgway (aka the Green River Killer), confessed to killing 48 sex workers from 1982 to 1998, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. Robert Hansen murdered between 15 and 21 sex workers, near Anchorage, Alaska, between 1980 and"
"Maleng explained his decision to make the deal: Ridgway led prosecutors to three bodies in 2003. On August 16 of that year, the remains of a 16-year-old girl found near Enumclaw, Washington, 40 feet from State Route 410, were pronounced as belonging to Pammy Annette Avent, who had been believed to be a victim of the Green River Killer. The remains of Marie Malvar and April Buttram were found in September 2003. On November 23, 2005, The Associated Press reported that a weekend hiker found the skull of one of the 48 women Ridgway admitted murdering in his 2003 plea"
"Green River Task Force for the investigation of a set of murders in Washington. By 1984, Ted Bundy began writing letters to Robert Keppel in hopes to help in the investigation of the Green River Killer. This correspondence led to interviews between the two, which resulted in Bundy confessing to his unidentified crimes days before his execution. Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations (1989) Signature Killers (with William Birnes) (1997) Murder: A Multidisciplinary Anthology of Readings (with Joseph Weis) (1999) The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations: The Grisly Business Unit (with William Birnes) (2003) The Riverman: Ted Bundy and"
"group of his fellow death row inmates. Though he denied having been assaulted, a number of inmates confessed to the crime, characterized by one source as a ""gang rape"". Shortly thereafter, he was charged with a disciplinary infraction for unauthorized correspondence with another high-profile criminal, John Hinckley, Jr. In October 1984, Bundy contacted Robert Keppel and offered to share his self-proclaimed expertise in serial killer psychology in the ongoing hunt for his successor in Washington, the Green River Killer. Keppel and Green River Task Force detective Dave Reichert interviewed Bundy, but Gary Leon Ridgway remained at large for a further"
"DNA evidence identified Gary Leon Ridgway as the Green River killer. In 2004, Reichert published the autobiography, ""Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer"". In 1997, he was appointed sheriff of King County, Washington, by King County executive Ron Sims. In 2001, he ran unopposed for a second four-year term. A widely rebroadcast event during the Seattle World Trade Organization conference and protests showed him chasing demonstrators down 3rd Avenue. He served as president of the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association. He was an executive board member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs."
"Robert Hansen Robert Christian Hansen (February 15, 1939 – August 21, 2014), known in the media as the ""Butcher Baker"", was an American serial killer. Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered at least 17 women in and around Anchorage, Alaska, hunting them down in the wilderness with a Ruger Mini-14 and a knife. He was arrested and convicted in 1983 and was sentenced to 461 years and a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Robert Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa, in 1939. He was the son of a Danish immigrant and followed in his father's"
"time frame when these victims were killed. Early in August 2003, Seattle television news reported that Ridgway had been moved from a maximum security cell at King County Jail to an Airway Heights Minimum-Medium Security Level Tank. Other news reports stated that his lawyers, led by Anthony Savage, were closing a plea bargain that would spare him the death penalty in return for his confession to a number of the Green River murders. On November 5, 2003, Ridgway entered a guilty plea to 48 charges of aggravated first degree murder as part of a plea bargain, agreed to in June,"
"further describes previous journalistic investigation of Browne's claims as ""surprisingly slipshod"" and uncritical of his story. Robert Charles Browne Robert Charles Browne (born October 31, 1952) is an American man convicted of two murders and serving a double-life sentence in the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility. Browne is also a self-professed serial killer, alleging that he killed 48 people, mostly women and one in South Vietnam during his time in the US Military. Though many claims made by Browne remain uncorroborated, if accurate his account would make him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Browne was born"
"Benjamin Atkins Benjamin ""Tony"" Atkins (August 26, 1968 – September 17, 1997), also known as the Woodward Corridor Killer, was an American serial killer and rapist who murdered, tortured, and raped 11 women in Highland Park and Detroit, Michigan, during a period of nine months between December 1991 and August 1992. All the victims were found in vacant buildings, all had been raped and strangled. Most of them had been murdered in the suburb of Highland Park. Many of the victims were working as prostitutes, and Atkins said he was motivated by a hatred of prostitution. During his trial, it"
"1982. The case was covered by ""Casefile True Crime Podcast"" on 16 April 2016 and in an episode (""Seeing Red"") of ""Murder Calls"" on 15 January 2017. Paul Michael Stephani Paul Michael Stephani (September 8, 1944June 12, 1998) was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Weepy-Voiced Killer due to a series of telephone calls he made to police, anonymously reporting his crimes in a histrionic and high-pitched voice. Stephani killed three women in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. On December 31, 1980, Stephani beat Karen Potack in Saint Paul, Minnesota, inflicting severe wounds and brain injury. Stephani"
"with King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng to cooperate with police in order to escape execution. In November 2003, Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of Aggravated First Degree Murder. King County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Jones sentenced Ridgway to 48 consecutive life sentences. Ridgway will never be eligible for parole. Green River (Duwamish River tributary) The Green River is a long river in the state of Washington in the United States, arising on the western slopes of the Cascade Range south of Interstate 90. The upper Green River valley forms the western approach to Stampede Pass, and"
"Potomac River Rapist The Potomac River Rapist is an unidentified serial rapist and murderer who was active from 1991 to 1998. Ten sexual assaults and one murder in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area have been linked to the suspect by DNA. The perpetrator is known to be responsible for ten sexual assaults, one of which ended in murder. Each of the attacks have been linked by DNA: On August 1, 1998, at around 10:30 to 11pm EDT, Christine Mirzayan was walking home in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. when she was dragged into the woods. Mirzayan yelled out and"
"arm while trying to defend themselves, Ridgway began using ligatures. He killed most victims in his home, his truck, or a secluded area. In the early 1980s, the King County Sheriff's Office formed the Green River Task Force to investigate the murders. Task force members included Robert Keppel and Dave Reichert, who periodically interviewed incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy in 1984. Bundy offered his opinions on the psychology, motivations, and behavior of the killer; he suggested that the killer was revisiting the dump sites to have sex with his victims, which turned out to be true, and if police found"
"sentenced to life in prison in 1996. Spillman is serving his sentence at Washington State Penitentiary. His criminal record includes impending charges on rape in King County and burglary in Spokane County. According to court documents, ""Spillman would declare to Miller (his cellmate) that he wanted to be the world’s greatest serial killer."" Jack Owen Spillman Jack Owen Spillman III (born 30 August 1969) is a serial killer from Spokane, Washington. He is known as ""The Werewolf Butcher"". Spillman was convicted of the murders of a 48-year-old East Wenatchee, Washington woman and her 15-year-old daughter in April 1995, and the"
"to any and all future cases (in King County) where his confession could be corroborated by reliable evidence."" Ridgway is suspected of—but not charged with—murdering the remaining six victims of the original list attributed to the Green River Killer. In each case, either Ridgway did not confess to the victim's death, or authorities have not been able to corroborate their suspicion with reliable evidence. Ridgway has been considered a suspect in the disappearances/murders of five other women not attributed at the time to the Green River Killer. No charges have been filed. Gary Ridgway Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18,"
"guilty to the remaining six murder charges on September 8, 2017, he exclusively gave detailed confessions to Howard in letters and recorded phone calls. William Devin Howell William Devin Howell (born February 11, 1970) is an American serial killer who was convicted of murdering seven people in 2003. He is believed to have been the most prolific serial killer in Connecticut history. In November 2017, while already serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter, he was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences, which he is currently serving at Cheshire Correctional Institution. The victims were identified as 7 women, one of"
"the age of 75, at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage on August 21, 2014, due to undisclosed, lingering health conditions. Documentaries: TV series: Robert Hansen Robert Christian Hansen (February 15, 1939 – August 21, 2014), known in the media as the ""Butcher Baker"", was an American serial killer. Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered at least 17 women in and around Anchorage, Alaska, hunting them down in the wilderness with a Ruger Mini-14 and a knife. He was arrested and convicted in 1983 and was sentenced to 461 years and a life sentence without the possibility of"
"and allocuted to his crimes in exchange for a true life sentence instead of the death penalty. Dayton Leroy Rogers Dayton Leroy Rogers (born September 30, 1953) is a serial killer currently on Oregon's death row at the Oregon State Penitentiary for six murders. He has been tied to the murders of seven women. He preferred ""street"" women, usually addicts, prostitutes and runaways. The bodies of six of the women were found at a dump site located on privately owned forest lands outside Molalla, Oregon, and thus he was dubbed the ""Molalla Forest Murderer"". Rogers was convicted in 1988 for"
"the Mississippi State Penitentiary while in the shower. Donald Leroy Evans Donald Leroy Evans (July 5, 1957 – January 5, 1999) was an American serial killer who murdered at least three people from 1985 to 1991. He was known for confessing to killing victims at parks and rest areas across more than twenty U.S. states. Born in Michigan, Evans was convicted of his first crime in Galveston, Texas, for the rape of a local woman in 1986. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but served only five. After his parole in 1991, he returned to Galveston and took"
"Dayton Leroy Rogers Dayton Leroy Rogers (born September 30, 1953) is a serial killer currently on Oregon's death row at the Oregon State Penitentiary for six murders. He has been tied to the murders of seven women. He preferred ""street"" women, usually addicts, prostitutes and runaways. The bodies of six of the women were found at a dump site located on privately owned forest lands outside Molalla, Oregon, and thus he was dubbed the ""Molalla Forest Murderer"". Rogers was convicted in 1988 for the murder of his last victim, Jennifer Lisa Smith, whom he killed on August 7, 1987, and"
"Robert Charles Browne Robert Charles Browne (born October 31, 1952) is an American man convicted of two murders and serving a double-life sentence in the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility. Browne is also a self-professed serial killer, alleging that he killed 48 people, mostly women and one in South Vietnam during his time in the US Military. Though many claims made by Browne remain uncorroborated, if accurate his account would make him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Browne was born in Coushatta, Louisiana. According to a Red River Parrish Sheriff, Browne grew up as one of"
"Robert Lee Yates Robert Lee Yates Jr. (born May 27, 1952) is an American serial killer from Spokane, Washington. From 1996 to 1998, Yates is known to have murdered at least 13 women, all of whom were prostitutes working on E. Sprague Avenue, in Spokane. Yates also confessed to two murders committed in Walla Walla in 1975 and a 1988 murder committed in Skagit County. In 2002, Yates was convicted of killing two women in Pierce County and sentenced to death, but his death sentences were commuted to life without parole after Washington State outlawed the death penalty in 2018."
"Andrei Chikatilo Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (; ; 16 October 1936 – 14 February 1994) was a Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, the Red Ripper, and the Rostov Ripper, who sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR. Chikatilo confessed to 56 murders and was tried for 53 of these killings in April 1992. He was convicted and sentenced to death for 52 of these murders in October 1992 and executed in February 1994. Chikatilo was known by such titles"
"Connecticut River Valley Killer The ""Connecticut River Valley Killer"" refers to an American unidentified serial killer believed to be responsible for a series of stabbing murders mostly in and around Claremont, New Hampshire and the Connecticut River Valley, primarily in the 1980s. In the mid 1980s, three young women disappeared around Claremont. In 1985 and 1986, the skeletal remains of two of the women were recovered within a thousand feet of each other in a wooded area in Kelleyville, New Hampshire. The condition of the remains made the cause of death difficult to determine, but certain factors pointed to multiple"
"series ""A Crime to Remember"" in 2015 (""Lock Up Your Daughters""). Lee Roy Martin Lee Roy Martin, (April 25, 1937 — 31 May 1972) also known as the ""Gaffney Strangler,"" was an American serial killer from Gaffney, South Carolina. He murdered 4 females, 2 women and 2 girls between 1967 and 1968. When the killings began in 1967, Martin was employed at a textile mill in Cherokee County. He was married and had three children. On May 20, 1967, 32-year-old Annie Lucille Dedmond was murdered. She had been strangled and raped. Her husband, Roger Dedmond, was arrested and convicted of"
"not be precisely identified. Although he had at one stage denied having committed six of the murders for which he had been brought to trial, Chikatilo never specifically disputed Sarkisyan as being a victim of his. Four non-fiction books have been written about the case of Andrei Chikatilo: Andrei Chikatilo Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (; ; 16 October 1936 – 14 February 1994) was a Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, the Red Ripper, and the Rostov Ripper, who sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SFSR, the"