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Gary Leon Ridgway: The Green River Killer

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Gary Leon Ridgway was a serial killer known as the Green River killer that killed many victims in the Seattle, Washington area he was born February 18, 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was convicted of killing 48 separate murders. Gary grew up in a poor environment with parents that were very harsh. Gary married 3 times and during his third marriage starting his killings. He was abusive to his wives. He was not good in school and would wet his bed until the age of 14. At the age of 16 he stabbed a 6 year old in the wood and laughed while the boy was injured. The boy survived. His parents were strict and violent towards each other. His father hated prostitutes and made it known when he was growing up. This cause many different …show more content…

He didn’t feel any pain when he committed the murders. His mother ran the household and was very strict. “One of Ridgway's girlfriends said he was close to his mother but could never please her. Mary Ridgway "wore the pants in the family," according to a statement in court documents from Marcia Winslow, Ridgway's second wife”(Robinson 2001). The abusive parents were part of the equation that made him not emotional when he killed. Being used to seeing violence in the home made it normal. The signs of a serial killer were there about Gary since he abused his wives and was also abused as a child. He was not very good in school meaning there were mental issues going on. The mental issues added from the abusive parents and fantasy thoughts about his mom. Problems in school and abused animals were signs of a killer. “In one of the tapes Ridgway says, “To me, women are something to have sex with — kill and take the money back” as well as “Because they were prostitutes and I killed them because I wanted to kill them.” These statements are very honest; he almost seems to be proud of himself for it. This may come from Ridgway’s childhood; relatives described his mother as controlling and have said that as a young boy he witnessed more than one violent argument between his parents. She would belittle him and embarrass him in front of his family”(Greene

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Background: Gary Ridgway remains one of the most prolific serial killers in history. He haunted police for years, earning the nickname “The Green River Killer” when investigators uncovered five of his victims near Green River. As a child Ridgway was determined to have a low IQ and was the target of abuse at school and at home. At only 16 years old, Ridgway exhibited violent behavior, stabbing a 6-year-old boy. Sexual Depravities: Mary Ridgway, Gary’s mother, often told her son inappropriate stories about her work in the men’s section of a department store.

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Gary Ridgway went on a killing spree for about 19 years. He would strangle young female runaways and prostitutes after having

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Known as the Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgway is one of the United States’ most infamous criminals. Ridgway was born on February 18, 1949; he is currently 67 years old. He attended school in King County, Washington, where he was held back 2 grades. After he graduated high school at Tyee High, he briefly worked at Kenworth trucking and later enrolled in the military in 1969. Ridgway married his first wife that he had dated for several years during his military service.

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When he returned home it was obvious none of it worked as they hoped. He would start to cut class constantly and his grades dropped drastically. In the years 1978-1984 he was arrested multiple times for possession, breaking and entering, theft, and auto theft. On June 28th 1984 he committed his first homicide. He entered through a window that had been ajar and violently stabbed a woman named Jenny Vincow (age 79) while she had been sleeping.

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Gary Ridgway, aka the “Green River Killer” was born on February 18, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the second son of Mary and Thomas Ridgway and has two brothers, Thomas Jr, and Gregory Ridgway. As a young boy, Gary would witness violent arguments between his parents. When Gary was growing up, he had a bed-wetting problem and his mother would wash his genitals after every time. His problem didn't end until he was thirteen years old.

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He also passed a polygraph test while proclaiming his innocence. With evidence being circumstantial and no conclusive physical evidence it kept investigators from ever arresting Ridgway for the murders for fear he would be acquitted. Even though he was a prime suspect for the murders and questioned about them, he continued to murder for another 15 years (Hickey, p. 33,

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History (Montaldo, 2017). Who is this man and what would drive an individual to kill innocent woman and young girls who were for lack of better term prostitutes? Born in Utah and raised in Seattle Washington, he was not considered an intelligent man but someone with a low IQ and a person who tortured animals (Gary Ridgway, n.d.). Gary’s mother, who he was infatuated with was mentally and physically abusive causing him to wet the bed frequently (Gary Ridgway, n.d.). “In 1963, aged 14, Gary attempted to kill a six-year-old boy by stabbing him, but wasn’t caught” (Gary Ridgway, n.d.).

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