Posted on 11/30/2001 3:20:52 PM PST by grimalkin
KING COUNTY - There's been a major development in the Green River killings.
Sources tell KOMO 4 News there has been a major development. There will be a news conference at 4:30 p.m.
Police believe the string of killings began in 1982, at least that's when the first bodies were discovered in the Green River in Kent. The killer is thought to have dispatched at least 49 women between 1982 and 1984. Since the first bodies were found in the Green River, the name stuck.
Numerous leads were followed over the years but none ever panned out.
King County Sheriff Dave Reichert was a deputy when the first bodies were found and he eventually headed up the task force established to find the elusive killer. But nothing ever came of it and the task force was disbanded.
Reichert was appointed sheriff in 1997 when Sheriff Jim Montgomery quit to become Bellevue's police chief. Reichert subsequently was elected and re-elected.
But solving the biggest murder case the Northwest has ever seen has never left his thoughts. Earlier this year Reichert announced the investigation was starting up again utilizing modern technology.
Last summer Reichert announced that his officers and the FBI were looking at new evidence gathered from crime scene samples using modern forensics. KOMO 4 News learned then that detectives thought they had the killer's DNA picked up from samples of the victims' clothing. Further tests were being conducted trying to find a match.
Reichert said it was his belief the killer may have struck as many as 100 times over the years and that not all of his victims were prostitutes picked up along the Sea-Tac Strip, as many of the victims were.
Last summer Reichert contacted other law enforcement agencies asking that they search lists of missing women looking for any that may have fit the profile.
In 1997, as Reichert was about to become the new sheriff, he spoke with KOMO's Bryan Johnson. At the time Bryan asked Reichert if he thought the Green River case would ever be solved.
"One of the biggest energy drains of my career was the eight years of obsession trying to solve that case," Reichert said. "And every person who worked that case had the same obsessed desire. And I hope somehow during the time I am here, in whatever capacity, that case will be solved."
Share Your Thoughts
The Green River case is one of the most troubling the Northwest has ever faced. At its zenith, many women were afraid to even leave their homes. Police were stopping and questioning dozens of suspects. News headlines were filled with any and all developments as the public looked for answeres to the baffling mystery.
If you lived through those years share your memories with us. Send email to tips@komo4news.com with any memories, thoughts, feelings you'd care to share. We'll pass them along here on the Web and on KOMO 4 News.
For More Information:
www.apbnews.com/crimesolvers/unsolved/
They usually start behaving almost immediately - if not sooner...
BREAKING NEWS: Green River Killer mystery breakthrough
11/30/2001
KING5 News
SEATTLE - The mystery of the Green River Killer - thought to have killed 49 people in the early 80s - may have been solved.
King County Sheriff Dave Reichert was scheduled to give details at a press conference at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
King 5 News has learned that investigators may have used DNA evidence to solve the case.
Named for the river near Seattle where his early victims were found, the killer is believed to be responsible for the murder by strangulation of 49 people between 1982 and 1984.
Most were believed to be prostitutes, all from the Northwest.
Not all of the bodies have been recovered. Seven women thought to be victims of the Green River Killer have still not been found
And some of the victims are still turning up
Investigators two years ago identified the remains of Tracy Ann Winston, long believe to be another victim, 16 years after her initial disappearance. Winston was 19 when she vanished.
Like almost all the other victims, her body had been reduced to skeletal remains by the time it was found. in a park near the Green River.
She had been missing for three years.
In the immediate aftermath of the killings, the team investigating swelled to as many as 50 local police detectives and FBI investigators.
They considered 20,000 possible suspects, searched several homes and have even zeroed in on some suspects who turned out to be not connected to the case.
For the last several years, police have begun top believe that the killer has been in prison on an unrelated offense, dead or moved away.
After millions were spent on the case, all police had was a series composite drawings, any one of which could have been the killer and that he might have driven a primer paint-spotted pickup.
An FBI profiler suggested the killer was probably a white man in his 30s or 40s who had issues with women and spent a lot of time in the woods.
I really hope this is it, and not just another lead that goes nowhere...
KING COUNTY - A 52-year-old man was arrested Friday for investigation of homicide in the deaths of four women slain by the so-called Green River Killer, the King County sheriff said.
The arrested man, Gary Leon Ridgway, lives in Auburn and has worked for the same trucking firm for 30 years, Sheriff Dave Reichert said.
Reichert said that they believe Ridgway is responsible for the deaths of Cynthia Hinds, Opal Mills, and Marcia Chapman, all found in the Green River on Aug. 15, 1982. They also believe he is responsible for the death of Carol Chistiensen, who was found in a wooded area on May 8, 1983.
Police believe the string of killings began in 1982, at least that's when the first bodies were discovered in the Green River in Kent. The killer is thought to have dispatched at least 49 women between 1982 and 1984. Since the first bodies were found in the Green River, the name stuck.
Numerous leads were followed over the years but none ever panned out.
King County Sheriff Dave Reichert was a deputy when the first bodies were found and he eventually headed up the task force established to find the elusive killer. But nothing ever came of it and the task force was disbanded.
Reichert was appointed sheriff in 1997 when Sheriff Jim Montgomery quit to become Bellevue's police chief. Reichert subsequently was elected and re-elected.
But solving the biggest murder case the Northwest has ever seen has never left his thoughts. Earlier this year Reichert announced the investigation was starting up again utilizing modern technology.
Wow, well that sure narrows it down. No offense, but don't they need something a bit more specific for a profile to be at all useful?
-penny
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