The only reason Gary Ridgway aka the Green River Killer got caught was because of modern investigative technology.
According to Oxygen, officials arrested Gary in 2001 on charges of loitering. The reason for loitering was to solicit a sex worker. After apprehending him, officials examined his DNA sample. Furthermore, they compared this sample to the DNA discovered on three earlier victims of the Green River Killer. The police had this evidence since the year 1987.
One of the original investigators of the case, King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, soon realized that there was a clear match. The statement he gave to The Washington Post said, “And guess what? The charts were all the same.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, investigators eventually realized that Ridgway was involved in the 1982 murders of Opal Mills, Marcia Chapman, and Cynthia Hinds. They were even able to link him to the murder of Carol Christensen in 1983.
All these aforementioned evidence culminated in the arrest of the Green River Killer on Nov. 30, 2001. A few days later, he was charged with several counts of murder.
Is Gary Ridgway still alive?
Yes. The 74-year-old Gary Ridgway is serving a life sentence and is currently held in the Washington State Penitentiary.
A&E news reported that a former reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligence by the name of John McCoy visited Washington State Penitentiary in 2019. Unfortunately, the people in charge did not allow him to meet the Green River Killer.
John McCoy said, “I had a tour of the Washington State Penitentiary with the superintendent in March 2019. During the tour, I was told that Ridgway was in poor health and kept in close confinement. My recollection is that he declines media requests.”
According to FreshersLIVE, Ridgway spends most of his time in solitary confinement. However, he is allowed to leave his cell daily for an hour to exercise.
