Guy admits to killing 48 women

[Limeoutsider]

Gary Ridgway, the former truck painter suspected of being the Green River Killer, went into court Wednesday and admitted to 48 murders. "I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight," he said in a confession read aloud in court. "I wanted to kill as many women as I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could," Ridgway said in the statement. Some relatives of victims wept quietly in the courtroom. Ridgway struck a plea bargain that will spare him from execution and result in a sentence of life in prison without parole.



I had 2 reactions: Jesus Christ, and then, there go your tax dollars at work

 

[Traveler]

Well atleast they finally caught this guy.My question is how do you get away with killing 48 women and don't even get brought in for questioning;😕 😕

Go Bears

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Forty eight? I wonder if that tops Ted Bundy... 😕

 

[AphxA]

man all i ahve to say is there are alot of crazy MOFOS out there! aight later

 

[Moses25]

Is there some use of keeping this man alive?

Cheers.😀

P.M.S. Btw, I think we have that record beat out in Vancouver...or is it the same guy? Zoiks!!

 

[Ticklish Damsel]

Forty eight? I wonder if that tops Ted Bundy... 😕

Knox,
Unfortunately it does, with Bundy murders tallying 35 victims. Coincidentally both murderers operated primarily in the Seattle area... SCARY

Moses,
If you're referring to the pig-farmer/murderer, it's not the same guy. I lost track of where they were in that investigation - can you bring us up to speed?

 

[devilscabanaboy]

Actually, that beats out all the major, "well-known" killers. If memory serves, Wayne Gacy had the most with 41. Of course, there are a few people that have killed more, but I think Gacy had the highest number of confirmed victims, with those beating him out being tallied in some sort of range, like anywhere from 50-100, because they really just don't know. And I don't remember anyone above Gacy of any renown; at least, I didn't recognize any of them.

Oh, and if you're wondering how I know, I did some research when I was writing a story involving a serial killer, so relax, people - these guys aren't my role models or anything 🙂

DCB

 

[Ticklish Damsel]

What's even more jarring is that there has been an implication made that police aren't ruling out that there may be "many, many more victims."

I may not have the exact numbers, but apparently he confessed to murdering only 42 of the 49 alleged victims, but revealed six others that police didn't even know about.

Traveler, he actually was a suspect since the '80s but apparently there wasn't conclusive legal evidence. At some point he even passed a lie detector test.

Moses, I have a difficult time accepting his life in prison sentence vs. the death penalty. The only justification I can accept is that the mercy is not for the murderer, but for the families who got the closure they needed when he traded information for his life.

Ridgway complained, "finding new places to dispose of the bodies became a burden - it took time away from the killing"

Ridgway's most chilling quote, which I'm sure will be heard all across the country: "I killed so many women, I have a hard time keeping them straight" CHILLING

 

[TummyDragon]

Being in the seattle area, we get this story updated on the local news daily. So far Rigeway has confessed to 60 murders and has mentioned the possibility of many others that he just can remember. Forty-two can be verified with corroborating physical evidence so far, and the others are verifications in progress. They have removed several from the list and have added others. Although he has confessed, the new victims will not be added to his total until there is some connecting physical evidence, e.g., he leads them to a body, there is DNA present, something like that. And even with verification, no further charges will be filed.

Within another few months, the total verified could climb over fifty and up.

Gacey is credited with 33 according to the news account but according to those close to the case, his total could be much higher.

Bundy is at 35 on the list of confirmed victims, but, according to most experts, he is suspected in upwards of 200 slayings. He ceased to cooperate with authorities when they ceased to offer him perks or stays of execution for information.

The pacific northwest seems to have a disproportionate number of serial killers as well as suicides. Must be something in the rain water.

 

[TicklishSinner]

He needs to be sentenced to death he didnt just take 1 or 5 lives he took 48!!!! HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT TO PEOPLE???

 

[Marauder]

Death penalty? Great idea. It will

a) Return the victims to life

b) Make their families comfortable and help them deal with the trauma

c) Prevent future killings

Whoo! Killing the killer is the way to go! It obviously worked in the past, since otherwise we wouldn't have serial killers that top past perp's kill-counts today - oh wait...

You know what? I'll just forget about him and wait for the media to present me with some new attraction. Maybe some more soldiers get killed in Iraq, or perchance some new child-porn ring getting busted? Yep, that'd divert my righteous anger.

 

[qjakal]

Perhaps...

b) may indeed happen if he's executed...depends on each individual.

c) is a helluva lot more likely if he's executed rather than chance a prison escape or natural disaster of some sort freeing this loonie.

a) won't happen under your system either..(see (c))

Gotta disagree with ya on this one bud. I'll pull the switch 48 times if someone sets him back up in the chair for me. Perhaps a few of those grieving family members would oblige...

Q

 

[Marauder]

Under my system? What system? I didn't offer one. I merely took apart the one you have over in the States. Hell, if I had any idea as to how to prevent serial killers from spawning, I'd be in politics. The only approach I can offer is to reform society into some kind of Utopia, and that's not really helpful, as it can't be done.

Still, what good does killing him do? It doesn't accomplish anything. Better to lock him up and study him. Whenever a society starts killing its own people (and yes, he was one of society's people. He's one of YOUR people. If you don't believe it, read the definition of "society". He ceased belonging to it AFTER he started killing, which doesn't mean he wasn't in there BEFORE, and thus the reason for his behaviour is at least partially influenced by it), it admits defeat, since it can't deal with its own deviant members. A defeatist society is not able to thrive. Killing a deviant is similar to closing one's eyes to the problem. By killing him, the problem of serial killers won't go away. Neither will his death have any therapeutic effect on either individuals or society as a whole. The only effect his death will have is to deprive behavioral science of a specimen to be studied, and this study, id conducted, could shed light on his motivations and...

Umm. "An eye for an eye." "Biblical justice." Oh, I forgot, I'm preaching to the choir here. He killed the hookers for the same reason people want to see him fry now. Whoops, I guess he and those who want to see him dead are exactly the same when it comes to morals. Why do I always feel tempted to involve myself in those sibling rivalries? "Kill those who did wrong in your eyes" seems a perfectly logical statement. GooooOOOOO SOCIETY!!!

And to end this whole pile of crap I just forcibly ejected from my keyboard, I need to admit that I have had a VERY nasty time of late and thus am fairly short tempered. While the above actually Is my point of view, I fear it reads way too harsh. I accept any insults flying my way. Also, I realize that I'm as unfit to judge him as any human on this planet.

This doesn't make me want to whack the lot of you death-penalty defenders with a huge "STICK OF LOGIC" any less, though. Nyark. I'm really going polemic far too often lately.