Green River Killer Gary Ridgway back in King County Jail

Serial killer Gary Ridgeway booked into King County Jail

Gary Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, was back in King County Jail Monday morning after being moved from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

SEATTLE - Gary Leon Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, has been booked into the King County Jail, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Ridgway, who pled guilty in 2003 to the murders of 48 women in King County between 1982 and 1998, was booked at 10:42 a.m. Monday on an institutional hold by the King County Sheriff’s Office.

gary ridgeway in court wearing jail clothing

Gary Ridgway prepares to leave the courtroom where he was sentenced in King County Washington Superior Court December 18, 2003, in Seattle, Wash. Ridgway received 48 life sentences, with out the possibility of parole, for killing 48 women over the pa (Josh Trujillo-Pool/Getty Images)

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Ridgway had been serving his sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, where he is serving 49 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His transfer back to King County has raised questions, but officials have not yet provided details on the reason for his return to the jail.

The notorious serial killer was initially arrested in 2001 after DNA evidence linked him to several victims. In 2003, King County prosecutors, led by then-Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng, opted to forgo the death penalty in exchange for Ridgway's full cooperation in locating the remains of his victims. This decision was made to provide closure for the families of the victims, many of whom were left wondering for years about the fate of their loved ones.

"Gary Ridgway does not deserve our mercy, and Gary Ridgway does not deserve to live," Maleng stated in November 2003. "The mercy provided by today's resolution is not directed toward Gary Ridgway, but toward the families who suffered so much and to the larger community."

Another ‘Green River Killer’ victim identified

Another victim of the so-called ‘Green River Killer’ has been identified, almost 40 years after her murder.

Ridgway’s crimes shocked the Seattle area and beyond, with his known victims predominantly being vulnerable women, including sex workers. The investigation, which began after the discovery of the first victim, Wendy Lee Coffield, in the Green River in 1982, spanned more than two decades and included the efforts of the Green River Task Force. The case was ultimately solved through advancements in DNA technology.

In January 2024, the King County Sheriff’s Office announced the identification of the last known remains of Ridgway’s victims, originally known as Bones 20, providing the final piece of resolution for one of the most prolonged and disturbing serial murder cases in U.S. history.

The Department of Corrections oversees Ridgway’s custody. Any new cases involving Ridgway outside of King County could still result in the death penalty if pursued separately from the 2003 agreement.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.