The Most Prolific Killer in History Confesses

"Choking is what I did and I was pretty good at it." This what the most prolific murderer in U.S. history said to the courts in October. Pleading guilty to 48 murders, Gary Leon Ridgeway claimed the name Seattle has given its plaguing serial homicidal maniac for twenty years - the Green River Killer.Since 1982, Ridgeway lured young women - mostly prostitutes and runaways - into his truck, forced sex upon them and strangled them to death. He then dumped their bodies in what he called "clusters."

"I did this," he told authorities, "because I wanted to keep track of the women I killed. I liked to drive by the clusters around the county and think about the women I placed there." Alongside railroad tracks, rivers, ravines, airports, and freeways, Ridgeway's victims laid for years and, in some cases, decades. In a statement to investigators, Ridgeway admitted to returning to these sites not only to view the corpses but in some cases, to have sex with the expired bodies.

Like many serial killers, Gary Ridgeway seemed to be for the most part a normal man. He had a son, had been married, owned a home, and held the same job painting trucks for 32 years. While some suspected that he had a devious side, few knew how violent Ridgeway really was.

The majority of the Green River murders took place between the years of 1982 and 1984. Because Ridgeway's victims began to turn up in or around Green River in King County, south of Seattle, the name Green River Killer was used. In 1984, the killing subsided coinciding with Ridgeway being named as a suspect in the Marie Malvar case. Malvar's boyfriend witnessed the young woman getting into Ridgeway's truck. It was the last time that she was seen. Gary Ridgeway was questioned using a polygraph test. He passed the lie detector and was released. More killings occurred years later in 1986, 1990, 1998, and, by Ridgeway's own account, 2001.

"I picked prostitutes," the killer wrote, "because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught." Ridgeway considered killing his "career." Although Ridgeway confessed to 48 murders this month, he has made statements with numbers as high as 60.

In a controversial plea bargain, Gary Leon Ridgeway has escaped the death penalty in Washington. He agreed to help authorities locate his victims in exchange for 48 consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.

"The majority of the families were understanding," said King County Sheriff Dave Reicher, calling the plea bargain "the best decision given the circumstances." Even so, questions are being raised throughout the state of Washington. If this man does not deserve to die, who does?

Over the last six months, the Green River Killer has led authorities to 51 sites that turned up almost all of the 48 bodies. According to investigators, at least four sets of remains have yet to be identified. It is also possible that Ridgeway may claim more victims. In neighboring Oregon, authorities expect Ridgeway to confess to murders there as well. Because Oregon enforces capital punishment in extreme cases, it is possible that Ridgeway's life continues to hang in the balance.

By pleading guilty to these 48 cases of murder, the 54-year-old truck painter from Washington has become America's leading serial killer. John Wayne Gacy of Illinois previously held the nefarious record with 33 murders.