Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway

Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway | Infamous Serial Killer

Gary Leon Ridgway became infamous as the Green River Killer on November 30, 2001. He was finally apprehended, after decades of murdering girls and young women, in the state of Washington during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Most of his victim’s bodies were dumped in wooded areas around the Green River.

It’s important first to understand the modus operandi of Gary Leon Ridgway. He was a serial rapist and serial killer who lived solely for the thrill of the kill. His victims included young runaways, prostitutes, women down on their luck and young girls who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when Gary Leon Ridgway crossed their path.

Gary would lure these women into his vehicle for the sole purpose of having sex with them and then finally murdering them. Once he had his victim, Gary would drive them to a secluded location, have sex with them and, before it was over, he would strangle them to death. In the beginning of his killing spree, Gary would strangle them from behind with simply his arm and brute force. Later he would adjust his method to include ligature strangulation using things like rope, the victim’s own clothing, fishing wire, extension cords and belts. He did this to spare himself any wounds he might get from his combating victim. He then disposed of his victims, oft times completely naked and posed, in the wilderness. His habit was to dump them in clusters, often returning to have sex with the corpses. Two, however, he took into Oregon to confuse the law and keep them off his trail. As his signature, Gary Leon Ridgway would insert stones or rocks into the intimate orifices of his victims. Ridgway confessed that he murdered as many as 75-80 women along Route 99 in south King County, Washington. He was convicted of 49.

Gary Leon Ridgeway was 32 years old when he murdered his first victim in July of 1982. He was 52 when he was finally arrested. He is now, in 2022, 73 years old and lives in Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla, Washington.

Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway

Pathology can be defined as the scientific study and characterization of an anomaly/ disease/ abnormality

Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway

Ephebophile: First and foremost, Gary Ridgway was an ephebophilic. This is a person who is attracted to children who have gone through puberty and have advanced signs of adult sexual maturation. This generally represents teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 years old. Gary’s victims were between the ages of 13 and 26, save but three.

Abductor: An abductor, is a person who makes someone go somewhere with them, especially using threats or violence. In Gary’s case, he used neither threats nor violence. He used trickery. Ridgway would prey upon his victim’s trust. He would use a picture of his son Matthew to gain the sympathy and trust of his desired victim. He would then lure the young females into his vehicle and whisk them away either to his home or the woods. Once in, they were never seen or heard from again. In effect, he abducted every one of them.

Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway

Necrophilia: Gary Leon Ridgway was a negrophilic. This is a person who is sexually excited by or attracted to dead bodies. Gary would dump his victims in clusters, meaning many in the same area or areas and then return to engage in sex or sex acts with the corpses. He confessed that he had sex with his victims’ bodies after he murdered them. He added that he later began burying his victims so that he could resist the urge to return to the corpses and commit necrophilia. This also lowered his chances of being captured by the law. Ironically, his own father introduced his young mind to necrophilia. Gary was just a boy when his father worked in a mortuary. He would often come home from work and share vivid tales of a coworker who enjoyed engaging in necrophilia at the mortuary. Gary would begin fantasizing about having sex dead women.

Serial Rapist: Gary Ridgway was a serial rapist. This is someone who commits multiple rapes, whether with multiple victims or a single victim, repeatedly over a period of time. Ridgway was obsessed with, and had an uncontrollable impulse for deviant sex, all the while not wanting to be viewed as a pervert. None the less, Gary was addicted to the risk-taking of rape and murder and returning to assault his victims dead bodies over and over again.

Serial Killer: A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. Gary Leon Ridgway murdered at least 49 women between 1982 – 1998 (perhaps as recent as 2001) adding his name to the infamous serial killers of America. Gary Leon Ridgway is famous for admitting to the most serial killings to date. He said he murdered over 80 young women and girls. To date, 49 have been confirmed.

Psychopath: A psychopath is someone without a conscience. Someone who cannot feel remorse. Gary Ridgway not only had no remorse but spoke of driving by his cluster dumps of dead bodies, fantasizing about the women he had put there. He also spoke of the satisfaction he gained from the killings.

Paraphilias: Paraphilic disorders are recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors that are distressing or disabling and that involve inanimate objects, children or nonconsenting adults, or suffering or humiliation of oneself or the partner with the potential to cause harm. According to women in his life, Gary Ridgway had an insatiable sexual appetite. His three ex-wives and several ex-girlfriends reported that he demanded sex from them several times a day. He wanted them to participate in sex in public and other inappropriate places, sometimes even in the wooded areas where his victims’ bodies were later discovered. Ridgway also admitted to having a fixation with prostitutes.

Pathology of Gary Leon Ridgway

Full Name: Gary Leon Ridgway
Criminal Status: Incarcerated
Born: 02-18-1949 / Salt Lake City, Utah
Height: 5’10”
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
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Parents:
- Father – Thomas Newton Ridgway
- Mother – Mary Rita Ridgway
Siblings: 2
- Gregory Ridgway
- Thomas Edward Ridgway
Education:
- Tyee High School
Occupation(s):
- Military – A two-year stint in the U.S. Navy
- Truck Painter for Renton, Washington Kenworth Truck Factory
Spouse(s):
- Claudia Kraig – Married August 15, 1970 / Divorced 1972
- Marcia Lorene Brown – Married 1973 / Divorced 1981
- Judith Lorraine Lynch – Married 1988 / Divorced 2002
Children: 1
- Mathew Ridgway
Crime(s):
- 49 Counts of Murder
Crime Spree: 1982 – 1998 (perhaps as recent as 2001)
Victim Number: 49 – 71+
Alias(s):
The Green River Killer
The Green River Strangler
The Riverman
The Green River Man
Pathology:
- Serial Killer
- Serial Rapist
- Necrophiliac
- Sociopath
- Abductor
Type: Mixed Mission – Lust and Power
Modus Operandi: Rape / Strangulation (Manual and Ligature)
Apprehension: November 30, 2001
Criminal Penalty: 48 consecutive life sentences w/o a chance for parole
Sentenced: December 18, 2003
Executed:
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Imprisoned: Washington State Penitentiary Walla Walla Washington
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