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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2003)
Nation & World News Gary Ridgway pleads guilty to 48 murders The confessed ‘Green River Killer' admitted to the murders, committing himself to life in prison By Ray Rivera and Ian Ith The Seattle Times (KRT) SEATTLE — Gary Leon Ridgway, who Wednesday pleaded guilty to the murders of 48 women, said he killed prostitutes because he hated them, did n't want to pay them for sex and be cause he knew he could kill as many as he wanted without getting caught. Methodically, he placed their stran gled bodies in what he called "clus ters," often near landmarks, to help him keep track of the women. But after so many, not even Ridg way, the confessed Green River Killer, could remember who was who. "1 killed so many women, I have a hard time keeping them straight," Ridgway wrote in a 16-page statement read by King County prosecutors Wednesday as part of an historic plea deal sparing Ridgway's life. He killed most of them in his home off Military Road in the Auburn, Wash., area, some in his truck, and took most of their jewelry and clothes to make it hard for any one to identify them, his statement said. He said he would sometimes drive his truck past the dump sites to remind himself of the murders. In the end, Ridgway pleaded guilty to 42 of the 49 killings investigators had originally attributed to the Green River Killer, and six additional mur ders that had not previously been at tributed to him. Ihe confession made him America's most prolific convicted serial killer. Ted Bundy was convicted of only three murders in Florida in the 1970s, but later admitted to as many as 36. John Wayne Gacy was convicted of killing 33 boys in Chicago in the 1980s. One by one, lead prosecutor Jeff Baird read names, dates and locations. To each name, Ridgway laconically acknowl edged the murder with a simple "Yes." "In most cases, when I murdered these women, I did not know their names," Baird read from Ridgway's statement. "Most of the time I killed them the first time I met them, and 1 do not remember their faces."' He faces life in prison without the possibility or parole or release. A sen tencing date is pending. Ridgway, the 54-year-old truck painter from Auburn who lived most of his life a relative nobody, stood with his head down. His almost-con genial expression never changed. Not when the first name was read, not when the 15th name was read, not when the 48th name was read. Twenty years of murders, beginning in 1982 with Wendy Coffield and ending in 1998 with the strangulation of Patricia Yellow Robe. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said he spent three weeks con sidering the plea deal before agreeing to spare Ridgway's life. But in the end, he decided that trying Ridgway for a few murders would leave too many questions unresolved and too many families wondering about the fate of their loved ones. "Gary Ridgway does not deserve mer cy, and Gary Ridgway does not deserve to live," Maleng said at an emotional news conference following the hearing. "Their families deserved to know the truth ... That is why we entered into this agreement." Ridgway first came to the attention of police in 1983 because his pickup resembled one connected with one of the disappearances. In 1984, he took and passed a polygraph test. In 1987, police searched his home but had in sufficient evidence to hold him. Ridgway bicyded, camped and picked blackberries with his then-wife in isolat ed areas where bodies were later found. He scrounged for garage-sale goods in illegal dump sites where bodies were later dumped. Bom in Utah and raised near SeaT ac, Ridgway is a Tyee High School graduate who served a short stint in the U.S. Navy and then went to work painting trucks. He was set in his ways, holding garage sales as his par ents had, taking rolls of $20 bills to pick up prostitutes, and keeping the same job for the past 32 years. At 24, he married a Seattle woman who bore him a son, then moved out for unspecified reasons just before the boy turned 5. By age 33, Ridgway was divorced, paying $275 a month in child support, seeing his son every other weekend — and picking up prostitutes. Since the Ridgway investigation started springing leaks last spring that Ridgway was cooperating with inves tigators and perhaps leading them to long-lost victims, attention has steadi ly escalated to the point that on Wednesday, Ridgway was a lead news item as far away as Europe. Leading to Wednesday's hearing, the public and the media had almost taken as fact that Ridgway had owned up to more than 40 slayings between 1982 and 1998 in exchange for being spared the death penalty. Until Wednesday morning, Ridg way had officially pleaded not guilty to seven of the Green River killings, including the deaths of the only women who were found in and along the Green River itself. (c) 2003, The Seattle Times. Distributed by Knight Ridder/ Tribune Information Services. NEWS BRIEF Neighborhood Association elects board members The West University Neighbor hood Association — after several years of dormancy — was given a jump-start Wednesday night when «gw,l,wl,ll'M'1 111 "■ ... " ■■■■ i,i ' residents of the neighborhood elect ed new board members. The new executive board includes a 1975 University graduate, a Eu gene city councilor and a University architecture student, among others. All of the board members are resi dents of the West University neigh borhood, which borders the Univer sity's western boundary. In a meeting held at the Central Presbyterian Church on East 15th Av enue, about 30 community members gathered to discuss issues concerning the neighborhood. Diedrich "Drix" Rixman was vot ed chairman and Wanda Jo Lang and Steven Baker were voted 1 st vice chairwoman and 2nd vice chair man, respectively. Rixman, a 1975 University gradu ate who received a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications is an eight-year resident of the neighbor hood who also lived in the area as a student. Rixman expressed an enthu siastic fondness for the neighborhood and was optimistic about the future of the area. "I love Eugene, and I love this neighborhood," he said. "We're on an Turn to BOARD, page 16 mmm UNIVE] UNIVERSITY OF OREGON PRESIDENTIAL LECTURE TOM Nonviolence, Peace, 1 - John The Honorable Lewis U.S. House of Social Change, and Justice As a civil rights leader in the 1960s, Cong. Lewis was responsible for much of the nonviolent civil disobedience that drew national attention to the movement. Author of “Walking with the Wind, A Memoir of the Civil Rights Movement," Lewis has served in Congress since 1987 and is a senior member of the house democratic leadership. Representatives Legendary Leader in the American Civil Rights Movement Monday, November 10 5:30 p.m. EMU Ballroom Sponsored by: Office of the President School of Architecture and Allied Arts Center on Diversity and Community Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics UNIVERSITY OF OREGON An equal-opportunity affirmative-action institution committed tc diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Thia publication will be made available in acceswbte formate upon request Accommodations for people with disabilities will be provided if n.ou«.l«j m Hwnc. LEAVES continued from page 1 But before Eugene residents start sweeping their leaves off the side walk, Public Works encourages lo cals to mulch or compost the foliage at home. Anne Donahue, compost specialist for the tit/s Solid Waste and Recy cling Program, said the process is easi er than most people think. Mulching, one of five main com posting methods, is a simple way to reduce weeds, conserve water and add organic matter back to garden beds, Donahue said. She added that all it takes is a one to two-inch layer of leaves on top of beds to help protea them from winter freezes or keep roots cool in the summer heat. She said composted leaves, when worked into soil, provide precious or ganic matter to heavy clay soil, which is common in Eugene. For informa tion on free compost workshops in Eugene, visit www.eugenerecycles.org. As an avid gardener, Donahue re quests leaves from the pickup pro gram each year. "To me, leaves are like gold," she said. "Why send away this incredible resource when it is easy to compost them at home and use them as mulch in your garden?" Those who want more compost material than they already have can apply to the leaf delivery program by filling out a request form at www.ci.eugene.or.us/pw/leaves/. For all-year-round leaf mainte nance, Eugene residents may also de posit leaves in the green yard debris container provided by most garbage companies, but residents should be careful not to confuse it with the stan dard black container. "Putting leaves in the regular garbage can would be the last thing you would want to do," environ mental studies Professor Galen Mar tin said. Although he currently lives on a property inhabited only by pine trees, Martin said he has been composting his garden and produce waste for as long as he can remember. "By mulching at home, you are tak ing some responsibility for your waste," he said. "Plus, you're returning it to your own land." Martin said he still remembers a time when discarded leaves polluted local landfills with carbon dioxide and methane build-up. Although a large number of Eugene residents put their leaves out for collection instead of composting at home, Martin said it's nice to know that the tons of fo liage collected never go to waste. "It's a good lesson on how a waste product, under the right conditions, can become a valuable resource," he said. Students and community mem bers can check their local collection week by calling the leaf collection hotline at 682-5383. The schedule is subject to change. Jobanek said participating residents should place leaf piles in the street the weekend prior to scheduled collec tion. Piles should be at least 15 feet from parked cars and at least a foot from the gutter line to prevent urban flooding, but Jobanek also said the fewer parked cars the better. "If at all possible, the more vehicles off the street, the more leaves we can reach," he said. Contact the business/ science/technology reporter at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com. Oregon Daily Emerald P.O. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Friday during the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.The Emerald operates inde pendently of the University with of fices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union The Emerald is private prop erty. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (541)346-5511 Editor in chief: Brad Schmidt Managing editor: Jan Tobias Montry Freelance editor: Aimee Rudin News editors: Jennifer Marie Bear, Ayisha Yahya Senior news re porters: A. Sho Ikeda, Ali Shaughnessy News reporters: Caron Alarab, Chelsea Duncan, Jared Paben, Chuck Slothower Pulse editor: Aaron Shakra Senior Pulse reporter: Ryan Nyburg Pulse reporter: Natasha Chilingerian Pulse columnists: Helen Schumacher, Carl Sundberg Sports editor: Hank Hager Senior sports reporter: Mindi Rice Sports reporters: Jon Roetman, Jesse Thomas Editorial editor: Travis Willse Columnists: Joseph Bechard, Jes sica Cole-Hodgkinson, Peter Hockaday, David Jagernauth Illustrators: Steve Baggs, Eric Layton Design editor: Adelle Lennox Senior designer: Sean Hanson Designers: Kimberly Premore, Kari Pinkerton Photo editor: Adam Amato Senior photographer: Danielle Hick ey Photographer: Lauren Wimer Part-time photographers: Tim Bobosky, Mark McCambridge Copy chiefs: Kim Chapman, Jennifer Sudick Copy editors: Gabri elle Barber, Rebekah Hearn, Ben Pepper, Brandi Smith, MacKen sey Thompson Online editor: Erik Bishoff Webmaster: Eric Layton BUSINESS — 346-5512 General manager: Judy Riedl Business manager: Kathy Carbone Receptionist: Sarah Go racke Distribution: Mike Chen, John Long, Matt O’Brien, Michael Sarnoff-Wood, Ben Swagerty ADVERTISING — DISPLAY 346-3712 CLASSIFIED 346-4343 Director: Melissa Gust Sales manager: Michelle Chan Special publications and classified manager: Hilary Mosher Sales representatives: Tim Bott, Army Feth, Patrick Gilligan, Megan Hamlin, Kim Humphries, Alex Hurliman, Tyler Mack, Shannon Rogers, Dan Sawaya, Katherine Vague Assistants: Liz Carson, Katy Cooney, Sabrina Gowette, Thomas Redditt, Keri Spangler, Kate Workman PRODUCTION — 346-4381 Manager: Michele Ross Production coordinator: Tara Sloan Designers: Jen Cramlett, Kristen Dicharry, Matt Graff, Andy Holland, Marissa Jones, Jonah Schrogin
