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