Green River Killer’s New Confession Meant To Bring Closure

The Green River Killer’s latest confession was supposedly meant to bring closure to the families of his victims.

The infamous serial killer, Gary Ridgway, was convicted of killing 49 women during the 1980s and 1990s near Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. However, his total number of victims during that time was thought to be at least 71.

The Inquisitr reported on Tuesday that Ridgway confessed in a phone interview to killing 75 to 80 women during that time period.

While speaking with KOMO News reporter Charlier Harger, the Green River Killer added that he wanted to come clean on the other murders to bring closure to the families of his victims.

ABC News reports that Ridgway was a suspect in the string of killings for years. However, he wasn’t arrested until 2001, when advancements in DNA testing helped identify the killer. In order to avoid the death penalty, Ridgway confessed to 48 murders in 2003. A 49th body was found along the Green River in 2011, resulting in one more life sentence.

While some people may believe Gary Ridgway’s confession is simply to help his victims’ families, others aren’t so sure. Harger explained that the convicted serial killer is manipulative. He suggested that Ridgway may be attempting to “up his count” to become more notorious.

Harger explained, “Gary Ridgway is absolutely playing me. He’s playing everybody when he talks.” The KOMO News journalist was the first member of the media to interview the Green River Killer since his incarceration.

The journalist explained that Ridgway’s true reason for upping his victim count could be to make people notice him more. He explained that he believes the serial killer hopes to tell the world, “Here I am, and I’m the best at something.” While Gary Ridgway’s motives for disclosing more victims may be questionable, the information he gave could be true.

Although Ridgway may not mean to, his actions could help his victims’ families get closure by bringing their missing loved ones home at last. Harger added, “Maybe if we listen to the clues and cut through his lies, we will find a nugget of truth, the clue investigators have waited for. It’s a chance we have to take.”

A decade after Ridgway’s original confession, a team of volunteers still searches the Green River every chance they have to look for more of the serial killer’s victims.