Comments on: Comments on 12773

Post number 12773

crankydoodle — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 16:46:13 -0800

BREAKING NEWS: Police Make Arrest In Green River Murder Case The biggest unsolved serial killing spree in the NW now has a suspect in custody.

By: black8

black8 — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 16:50:09 -0800

Whoa...I went to jr. high school with one of his victims. I hope they finally got the bastard!

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 17:24:00 -0800

black8, which victim? I went to high school (Nathan Hale) with Cynthia Hinds. She was in my 9th grade gym class. I didn't know her well, but we knew each other enough to say hello. I have one strong memory of her -- one day in class, she was a little hyper, and she kept singing "Philadelphia Freedom," over and over. The gym teacher didn't seem to appreciate it. I never had any more classes with her, and next saw her in the newspaper, two years later, after they pulled her body out of the Green River. I can't believe that after all this time, they finally have a likely suspect. I hope this is the right guy, and I hope he gets convicted. Those women deserve justice.

By: Carol Anne

Carol Anne — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 17:25:02 -0800

Tomas Guillen, co-author of "The Search for the Green River Killer," just told KING-TV that he knows Ridgway well from his investigation, but that Ridgway was not named in the book because Ridgway was a "hot" suspect.

By: kokogiak

kokogiak — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 17:38:21 -0800

Amazing. I hope they are right and this is the bastard they're after. For those not native to the Northwestern US, the Green River Killer has been nearly legendary as an unsolved serial killer case (50 women victims) - the case has been open and in the local news off an on for nearly twenty years.

By: shinybeast

shinybeast — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 17:47:43 -0800

I'm amazed that it took them this long to identify matching DNA samples from three of the victims! If Ridgway was a "hot" suspect, why didn't they have his DNA on file years ago? Something doesn't quite add up here...

By: Carol Anne

Carol Anne — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 18:12:08 -0800

shinybeast: King County Sheriff Dave Reichert said that Ridgway's DNA was on file. When arrested for solicitation of prostitution in 1982, Ridgway consented to chew on a piece of gauze which was saved. But DNA testing procedures weren't sophisticated enough to identify Ridgway until very recently. At the time of the killings, DNA tests could only reveal blood type. Over the years, forensic DNA testing has developed considerably.

By: jennyb

jennyb — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 18:38:03 -0800

Here's some good background info on the Green River Killer for anyone interested. According to The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (© 2000 Michael Newton, p. 84) "the Green River Killer may have taken his show on the road, with authorities from neighboring Snohomish Country, Washington, to San Diego, California, and Kansas City hinting at possible 'Green River' involvement in their own greusome series of prostitute murders." The article said Ridgeway had a job at a trucking company so that could fit. I hope they got the right guy. It will be great to close this case.

By: black8

black8 — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 18:42:16 -0800

Kimi Kai Pitsor...we weren't great pals, but she sat next to me at our 9th grade graduation from McClure. I moved out of state for a couple of years after that. Hearing that she was murdered was really freaky.

By: shinybeast

shinybeast — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 19:20:03 -0800

Carol Anne, thanks for the forensics timeline. Interesting stuff!

By: youthbc1

youthbc1 — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 23:05:48 -0800

This is pretty crazy. Just last night, Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer was on KCTS Connects comparing this case to the murders and disappearances of several dozen women (many of them prostitutes) here in British Columbia.

By: jragon

jragon — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 23:08:15 -0800

So apparently his work buddies used to call him "GR Gary" -- Green River Gary. Source : komo4 news, in Seattle.

By: Carol Anne

Carol Anne — Sun, 02 Dec 2001 11:48:53 -0800

Sunday Seattle Times--THE GREEN RIVER KILLINGS--The King County Sheriff's Office reiterates that 'We have not caught the Green River killer,' but it does believe the suspect is responsible for some of the 49 deaths. Detectives have 10,000 pieces of evidence they must again wade through.

By: silusGROK

silusGROK — Mon, 03 Dec 2001 10:02:25 -0800

My sister is one of the 49... and I, for one, hope this is the guy. Our family has always suspected it was an associate of my sister (who's in prison for murder), but I'd be happy to be wrong. 19 years. Wow.

A couple of years ago, mtDNA testing was made more available, and I pushed the investigators to test my mother so we could identify remains... they said it was in the Fed's hands. Problem was, the Feds were sitting on it as their small labs were being taxed with demand. A letter to my senator (who was at the time part of the FBI oversight committee) didn't yield much, but after some waiting the tests were completed. It was a dead end, but it was good to close at least one of the myriad wounds."