This paper examines Gary Ridgway's life, brutal murders, and theories. Gary Ridgway also operated under another name. The Green River Killer. He was convicted of 49 murders but admitted to over 90. (Shenfeld, 2018) As a teenager, Gary's first victim was only a kindergartener. Mary Ridgway, Gary's mother, allegedly sexually molested him at a young age. Many professionals were convinced that this was the cause for his hatred towards women. As for theories, criminals all over the board fit into criminal theories. Gary’s being rational choice and developmental theory. These theories help researchers better understand criminal minds, especially serial killers. Ridgway took a plea deal of 48 life sentences without the possibility of parole. He is …show more content…
(GARY RIDGWAY, 2023) His first confirmed killing was of a young girl only 16 years old in Seattle, 1982. (Shenfeld, 2018) Since Gary lived in Washington, most of his killings took place in this region. Especially Green River, Washington, which was approximately a 43-minute drive from his residents. Thus giving him the infamous name the Green River Killer. Gary didn't want to be far from his victims' bodies. “His method of perpetrating these crimes involved him strangling the victim, dumping their body in Washington's Green River, and sometimes returning to the scene to perform sexual intercourse.” (Quinitchett, 2022) Mr. Ridgway wanted to be within the perfect proximity of his crimes. Not too close to being a suspect, but not too far from revisiting his victims' decaying bodies. Ridgway stated in a court hearing, “I liked to drive by the ‘clusters’ around the county and think about the women I placed there.” (Shenfeld, 2018) Gary loved to strangle his victims. As previously stated, he considered it his “career”. Although police didn’t find any evidence at Gary's home, he said he strangled dozens of women there. (Harden, 2003) He lived in fear of rejection from women. So instead of hiring a prostitute, he wanted to strangle them and have sex with their dead