Auburn's Biggest Secret - Home of Gary Ridgeway the Green River Killer

Growing up in Auburn, WA was for the most part pretty uneventful. We were a quiet town that never saw a lot of newsworthy events until the stain of the Green River killer and the bodies found near the Green River (a major river that runs through Auburn, WA) became top priority for our local law enforcement. The Green River task force was born back when I was graduating from High School. I remember always being worried that the killer was out there. The only thing that was semi-comforting was the fact he mostly hunted prostitutes along Highway 99 which was not a hang out of mine. Nor did I fit the bill as a favorite for his victims.

When Gary Ridgway was caught in the early 2000's it was a huge day and an even bigger relief for those of us living in this area. He lived in Auburn very close to my home. In Gary's words below you'll see that out of the 48 women he admitted to killing, they were all buried very close together within blocks from our residential areas.

In a statement to the Court on Nov 5, 2003, Gary Ridgway said:

"I killed the forty-eight women listed in the State's second amended information.

In most cases, when I murdered these women, I did not know their names. Most of the time, I killed them the first time I met them and I do not have a good memory for their faces. I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight.

I killed them all in King County. I killed most of them in my house near Military Road, and I killed a lot of them in my truck, not far from where I picked them up. I killed some of them outside. I remember leaving each woman's body in the place where she was found.

I agree that each of the murders I committed was part of a "common scheme or plan." The plan was: I wanted to kill as many women I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could.

I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.

Another part of my plan was where I put the bodies of these women. Most of the time I took the women's jewelry and their clothes to get rid of any evidence and make them harder to identify. I placed most of the bodies in groups which I call "clusters." I did this because I wanted to keep track of all the women I killed. I liked to drive by the "clusters" around the county and think about the women I placed there. I usually used a landmark to remember a "cluster" and the women I placed there. Sometimes I killed and dumped a woman, intending to start a new "cluster," and never returned because I thought I might get caught putting more women there."

The bizarre fact to me was that Gary Ridgway was married and living in this home where he murdered so many victims with his wife. I cannot imagine the shock she must have felt. He actually admitted to killing women when his son was very young and waiting in the truck for him. My husband actually worked at Kenworth Trucking where the killer was also employed. He did not work with him directly but many stories circulated about Gary Ridgway keeping to himself (he worked in the painting booths) and those he did speak to he came across as a bible basher and religious fanatic.

I remember the day that they made the agreement to forego the death sentence as long as Gary Ridgway helped them recover the large amount of bodies and victims still missing. I drove by the dig site (again just a few minutes away from my home) and watched them scour the area and dig for bodies. I would never have guessed that wooded area would be the grave of so many from years before. I was just graduating from High School when the killing sprees were in full force. Now as a mother and wife watching the dig site buzzing with activity, I couldn't believe that all of this was around me for so many years and I had no idea.

When they arrested this killer on DNA testing he was actually quite proud that "they" (meaning the officers) had never figured out who he was. He had been questioned many times before and "almost" caught but never enough concrete evidence linked him to the victims. Years later with new technology available, he was finally able to be put away. According to his testimony he had actually given up killing for quite a few years but one never knows how true his statements were.

When you look at Gary Ridgway he looks just like the neighbor next door. I try not to focus on the negative in life or be freaked out by any person that looks suspicious, but after seeing the Virginia Tech shootings happen in one day which was the work of 10-15 years for Gary Ridgway I can't help but worry about the youth of today and what my son will have to witness in his own life time.