Is "Killing Machine" Gary Ridgway America's Worst Killer? | Most Evil Killers | Absolute Crime

From 1982 to 1998, Gary Ridgway terrorized Washington State as the Green River Killer. He murdered at least 49 women, but the real number could be as high as 71. If true, this would make him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history - and one of the most brutal.
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[@kari2030]

I can’t believe he was on the radar for so many years and they couldn’t tie him to any of those murders until 20 years later?? Just doesn’t make any sense!

[@billyyank5807]

No witnesses. Plus, the technological side of forensics wasn't near what it is these days or even when he was finally caught. Knowing and being able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt are two different things.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@billyyank5807 Read Ann Rule's "Green River Running Red." Lack of forensics is less than an excuse for the number of times this man slipped under the radar. A victim's boyfriend was actually able to find his truck in his driveway just a few days after a murder and he still escaped. No, they were as incompetent as hell, just like the investigators of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

[@paranoidewok6772]

He was killing hookers. The police and general public couldnt care less, and it's sad.

[@Raztiana]

Ridgeway was simply very good at what he was doing, and until DNA became available, it wasn't possible to prove it was him. It's horrible, but it does make sense.

[@skymabile3989]

Russians were able to catch a killer by virtue of dedication and cleverness before DNA evidence. So, obviously the cops were incompetent. Needless to say, they weren't fully committed to catching the killer since the victims were sex workers, whom due to conservative/puritan values (if not jealous wives) suffer social stigma like racial minorities.

[@gaylegoodman9097]

Now being 66, I lived in Oregon and was in my early 20’s during this time. I feel so fortunate that I never encountered this killer. My condolences to the families of the victims, hoping someday they will find peace 😢.

[@urofseron]

Unless you were a hooker, you were safe. He killed hookers.

[@levisguy53]

are you a hooker or a nightwalker? that's really the only reason you would have chanced an encounter with him.

[@scottdavis1549]

So long as you don’t try to make this about you. What a piece of work you must be.

[@michaelbergsma6185]

Were you a prostitute?

[@mrcain1368]

So we're you prostituting then???

[@junkiexl86]

Gary Ridgway was definitely more prolific as a SK than Dahmer or Bundy, but he sadly doesn't take the crown, atleast as far as body count is concerned. That goes to Samuel Little aka "The Choke and Stroke Killer". He was operating around the same time as Ridgway and Bundy as well with a confirmed BC of 60+. I think he confessed to almost 100.

[@WhiteDragon110AC]

There was a doctor from Nottingham, England called Harold Shipman and he killed about 250 of his patients but they only charged him with 15 counts the authorities could have brought additional charges, but they decided that a fair hearing would be impossible because of the enormous publicity that surrounded the original trial plus they said that the 15 life sentences they had already imposed rendered further litigation unnecessary.

[@AustinD1993]

Gacy had Victim's in Several Other States that were never looked into. Chicago LE didn't look into His Travels even though He had kept meticulous Business Records documenting his travels & every moment he spent out of town. Bob Motta from Defense Diaries is just now starting to dig into the old records & uncover more of Gacy's Victim's. If he killed 34 boys in the span of 6 years just in Chicago... imagine how many other Victim's He could have had when he was out of town several weeks at a time for Business each & every month.

[@jcdova29]

Gary was a suspect early on and it’s a shame law enforcement couldn’t gather enough evidence on him.

[@Nikkyeshiva83]

I lost count of how many times they said " he looked so inoffensive and innocent". Gimme a fuckin break.

[@heathernikki5734]

Poor Debra 😢 RIP to all these women and girls

[@youknow95]

Yeah absolutely the worst killer in modern history by far.

[@jonathandoe2316]

In America yes unlike others they found the bodies. He wasn't just bragging like Samuel Little. Who is a piece of filth and killer loads of women. But not as many as they say.

[@Matt-xv2cp]

Samuel Little, is generally regarded as the serial killer with the most kills at 93. He's been confirmed to be involved in at least 60 of the 93 he's confessed to, which would give him the highest confirmed death toll.

[@YashkasBaZedChannel]

He was a victim of his timer and killed lots of innocents. May all the people involved rest in peace.

[@gamengoth937]

I remember driving by when they had the area blocked off. He was showing them where a body was buried. It was sad.

[@Hubcapdiamondstarhalo]

I'm sorry you had to even see that. All those women killed by Ridgeway and I wish just one time, someone would of seen him in the act and jumped and beaten him within an inch of his life.

[@stupidasso6183]

I remember going to work at Safeway in Kent, leaving Federal Way I used to go down Peasley Canyon and I remember right near the freeway on ramp they had it blocked off and pulling out of body/bones.

[@Raztiana]

A family got a loved one home. Even though it's in a coffin, it's better than not knowing. But it doesn't make it any less uncomfortable to be close to.

[@Juju-l3o]

@@stupidasso6183I lived up the hill from the green river and also drove to work past the airport on pac highway, I would think about those poor girls everytime I drove by where they were picked up last seen and dumped.

[@robotboy370]

It’s crazy how many times police had him on their radar and still dropped the ball. Incompetence at its finest.

[@skymabile3989]

Doesn't help that the cops held contempt for the victims just because they were sex workers (not publicly). Hell the most prolific killers owe half their success to racism and social discrimination against the victims and incompetent/handicapped law enforcement.

[@renatejaunbrale1843]

Meklēja tiešus (DNS) pierādījumus-tur tā vaina! Bet- tā nedrīkstēja rīkoties, jo, vēl nesen bija laiki, kad DNS profila ieguve, pat daktiloskopija nebija iespējami un tad? Vai slepkavas negūstīja, neaizturēja, netiesāja un nenotiesāja? Netīšām - nošaut vajadzēja Ridgway. Jā, "taisnās tiesas" tad nebūtu, bet-cik dzīvību tiktu glābtas, jau nerunājot par- tik daudzu ģimeņu ciešanām, policijas- 20 gadu, milzu darbu un milzu finansiālajām izmaksām, līdz šim, jo monstrs tiek uzturēts un apsargāts cietumā.

[@bradr2142]

What a red flag after awhile you think that guy keeps showing up.

[@morewithmandy1050]

I have grown up in western washington. My friends dad worked at Kenworth with him back in the day. I have seen company party pics with them in it. My aunt and mom also have a friend that has been suspected to be murdered by Bundy. Western WA has nasty killers!

[@Grrrfrend]

I lived there too, and I wonder if your recall Kenneth Bianci, who used to work at the Bellingham Fred Meyer just off I-5.

[@shawnesantana575]

Why does WASHINGTON STATE PRODUCE SO MANY SICK SICK KILLERS

[@haleyguthrie3113]

Ya, I had met him 2 times when I was a teen, he took a few odd jobs with my dad. I didn't even remember what he looked like. He was THAT unassuming and unnoticeable. 3 years later, he killed my maternal aunt, my mom's sister. I'm CONVINCED....he took some bodies to the rez that dot around everywhere in the PNW. At night, at that time, no one would notice, most reservations had no police (at the time), and we would never allow anyone access to dig up ANY body, no matter a murder victim or not. Its the original Vegas, "what happens here, stays here". Most of us and most of our leaders and COUNCIL also believe he left many victims on the many reservations around there. Sad

[@user-zx3kb4xc4h]

❤

[@alexmendez2989]

They say that about every serial killer

[@Marylsa]

I wonder, took it 20 years to get him because his victems were runaways/prostitutes.

[@heathernikki5734]

Yes and their lives aren’t priorities to police…not saying all of them didn’t care but a lot didn’t. He had an 80 IQ and he got away with it for 20 yts

[@Marylsa]

Yes i know, its just wrong people dont even care when homeless/runaways or prostitutes are found dead.

[@Raztiana]

That he only killed prostitutes no doubt made it easier for him to keep killing. Many of these girls and women simply weren't missed, and it's hard to look for someone, when they aren't repported missing. Ridgeway was also very good at what he was doing. He wasn't an intelligent man, but he was meticulous with both his work and his killing, and this made him able to kill until science caught up with him.

[@Adam-nk8li]

It still sends chills up my spine when I heard him say to the police..that he was doing what the cops wouldn't do and good riddance to them all..now that's sad

[@ThePunisher-si8ex]

Yes but yo mama 😂

[@luckycher2015]

49 women. Lord have mercy....

[@StardustCubing]

how isn't this channel verified

[@StarshipTrooper4231]

How's that "narrator" still doing this?

[@sonicninja3434]

How do they never mention Detective Dave Reichert in this whole thing???

[@lethalvibez1311]

It’s so hard to listen to crimes like this, but I think its so important that we watch, listen, feel and sympathize with these families but most importantly the victims. So sad we know more about Gary Ridgeway than all 49 of his beautiful victims, what a world we live in.

[@He4venlyBody]

It's not sad, it's imperative.

[@lethalvibez1311]

@@He4venlyBody uhhh no still very much sad but also important

[@discobikerAndRosie]

Ridgeway was an evil, nasty killer, but he wasn't the most prolific. Unfortunately, there are killers who've murderd over 100 people.

[@Jay3Mac]

It wasn't about the amount of victims it was the way in which it was done, and his temperament when it came to confessing

[@tomsteinhardt4722]

Pretty sure he did to

[@billyyank5807]

In the United States only one has more victims than Gary Ridgeway. Unsure what you're talking about.

[@deannashuemake2532]

They suspect he is responsible for over 100, he's said he can't remember all of them they could only tie him to so many and he showed them the rest to skip out on death row. I still think he's one of the most prolific of all time!

[@shaneomack5018]

He hunted near seatak south of Seattle

[@Hubcapdiamondstarhalo]

This documentary hit different. All these ladies were someone's loved one. Someone's daughters. Too bad nobody caught him in the act. What a disgusting piece of filth. This one made me angry. I'm no tough guy or anything but I would of loved to of gotten my hands on him. He would of gotten a taste of his own medicine! Rot in hell.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

would have loved to...

[@Raztiana]

I have to correct you. All these women and girls were someone. Their value as humans should never be linked to their relationship with others.

[@skymabile3989]

All of us would've loved to hand him his own intestines. Military training or not that guy's a wimp compared to real men. In the end most serial killers are parasitic pussies preying on the defenseless like a junkie desperate for a macabre fix. Against people who can fight back they beg for mercy and cry foul.

[@renatejaunbrale1843]

❤

[@KathleenMarkes-hv3pw]

I met st beard in the 80s from portland ore back then my e x beat me up pulled my horsehair out punched me in that my face bloody lips it me thrented to kill me he was high on meth they only put him in jail for two days ley him out he then threw a rock thru my wife now at my dad's house he called the cops so he got probation at college to cleanno jailcrazy system then I think he passed but his creepy brother is still alive that kidnapped me and beat me in Bellingham Washington and tried to strangle me in cops bay I had to stay in a shelter till my dad wired me a bus ticket to piportland ore he hitched to eyurecka Calif no time served I believe I wasucky a survivor think he should of gotten 10 to 20twenty years the bastard brothers by km

[@pluto-9047]

Your narration is all over the place, chill!

[@jusclocks]

Oh god...

[@laurenevans-white3868]

I remember going to junior high with someone who a year later was jailed for killing his boss. Crazy world!

[@colonelkurtz2269]

When you ask a serial killer for help to catch another serial killer...its bad.

[@Raztiana]

They actually didn't. Bundy contacted them, and while most of his information was technically useful, it was also information they already had.

[@colonelkurtz2269]

@camillarasmussen4386 Bundy assisted from a jail cell. Both he and Ridgeway were from the area. Bundy provided insights they didn't have and proved to be right. You should ask Detective Reichert if he thinks it was valuable.

[@Raztiana]

​@@colonelkurtz2269, but it was Bundy, who wanted to speak to them. They didn't ask for help. And in several interviews detectives have said that although he did have some insight, Bundy didn't give them anything they didn't already know. Bundy probably wanted to save himself by being "helpful" . It didn't work.

[@colonelkurtz2269]

@camillarasmussen4386 kinda hard to assist from a jail cell right? It was psychological. Yes he contacted them. Doesn't matter in the story.

[@CandyCoated7779]

me and my friends walked on sprague avenue in spokane,wa where he picked up many of prostitutes when i was a teenager.

[@metaldave1]

You are thinking of Robert Lee Yates hun... He is the Spokane serial killer... He is hangin' out with Gary tho, in Walla Walla Washington State Penitentiary... I heard thru the grapevine that they totally despise each other...;)

[@delilahhart4398]

Poor Debra Estes jumped from the frying pan and into the fire.

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

Amazing. I never knew about his mother. His sicko mother should have been convicted as a well.

[@chonqmonk]

This narrator is so over the top - I feel like I'm watching a "Natural Born Killers" style spoof of this show...

[@martygriffin1093]

Enough with that awful background music. It was so unnecessary. 😮

[@jdmbraceyourself695]

He was in Beast Mode

[@karenburke6298]

Washington State resident. Our governor Insley. Wanted to let him out During Covid. The thought was At 75 years old he was too old to cause any more damage. As of now hes still in jail.

[@wondergirl367]

Thank God.

[@anonymousanonymous4238]

Did his victims get freedom during covid too? Then neither should he..

[@stupidasso6183]

Ensley used to be champion of the people now he's just a jackass.

[@ameenm695]

they should let him out, hand him a list of the corrupt politicians 😂😂😂

[@wyodrifter5539]

Cause of covid LOL

[@drumteacher43]

Gary seems child like to me, with a mommy complex! Surprisingly he must have been able to shrug this off during the actual killings! Sad 😢 rip the victims.

[@scottduyser1222]

If this guy isn't on Death Row. Why even have one....

[@johnblackbird7523]

He was definitely one of the Greatest Serial killers

[@LordKoehler]

One of the GOAT:s.

[@wytemanfrmtwn9363]

The worst killer??? Probably the most efficient one. Dude did not get caught for a long time

[@heartlessfellon9406]

A true legend.

[@Colombianhulk]

Fr, they are only humans

[@Joemomma475]

🤨

[@alanwilson6367]

Boy friend pimp. And father how sad is that?😭

[@Grrrfrend]

I lived on the Green River for 29 years.

[@LaurentGuinness]

I'll never know if that documentary was interesting because I had to stop it after listening to the first 10 seconds. It's that narrator who thinks he's commenting a football match...

[@Cecil-hotel]

For the victims whom ever killed them is the worst.duh

[@jaydallastx622]

I'm pissed how this dude gonna come on here and say I don't cry I cry too dude!!!

[@done8140]

Idk about "most evil" I think that's in the eye of the beholder, but numbers wise he is #1 or #2 EASILY...

[@sweetrevenge3567]

Ted Bundy Killed More Women than Gary Ridgeway!

[@themonstersmummy]

Agreed. He said he lost count there was so many. What they have is what they found and what he remembered.

[@DavidBrown-bp4iq]

I don't care about "sanity" hearings. I care WHAT THE PERSON DID TO ANOTHER PERSON. Is that so wrong?

[@mr.riffian9507]

The question is; where's the justice ?!

[@joycebruhn1346]

drugs ...and desparation ... real real real ...danger

[@hammondj82]

Seems like every serial killer is “the most prolific”. Does anyone even know what “prolific” means? And why is it tossed around so much. 🙄

[@jdmbraceyourself695]

Did they strap him up to ol'sparky

[@joycebruhn1346]

its true so many ofthese type never caught why all street people feel they can trust a friend a husband a father a uncle a mom etc look at the world trust no one not a co worker etc .. its sad .. pray pray be cautious

[@gobeklipepe]

Even Teddy B tried helping 👮‍♀️ get the GRK.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

No. Samuel Little has dwarfed his body count.

[@10PcMcfuggit]

You should have to get a license to have a child

[@MUSICSTATIONBAND]

an armed woman or girl is not an easy victim for people like this demon.

[@daxmcanear]

That really complicates the "good guy" with a gun crap, doesn't it?

[@williamsmith1803]

@@daxmcanear People can wine, complain, and fantisize about how guns are bad and we need to outlaw them, but people with IQ's above your average californian know people who are willing to - I don't know - rape and murder someone - aren't too keen on obeying the laws. Gun violence was almost nonexistent back when you could get guns over the counter and in the mail with minimal ID, yet as they've gotten stricter and stricter, it's gotten worse and worse. Food for thought, for those who are capable of it.

[@skymabile3989]

Justl ike the girls of "Old Town" in Frank Miller's Sin City.

[@inkybluecompanionanimalres7795]

Elizabeth loves to call everybody Joe average yet. Have you taken a good look at her in this documentary

[@srpntnova]

Yeah one of the worst, but not The worst, not at the death toll, when you got a creature like Harold Fishman... No Geoffrey, I'm not implying Ridgway is anything short of Depraved (!)

[@eduardojoaquin3025]

Dam the one girl had bad luck , fucked up.

[@trineperstuen7011]

oh,no…another video with dramanarrator😢😢.makes the whole video ridicules .

[@tryharder75]

Geoffrey Wansell is a numpty opportunist

[@dannysee1]

The fruit cake with the bow tie.

[@suekantz9588]

During his reign in the 80s there were 5 serial killers operating at the same time. There was also another serial killer that operated from 70s to 90s, named Williams that admitted to killing 50 women. He not only admitted, he drew pictures of them and described where he dumped the bodies. He said there were more, but he died before he could give their names, pics, and locations. Ridgeway was a slap in the face to society and law enforcement because he was cool, calm, collected in his killing, and his admissions of his crimes. Williams killed prostitutes so even though he got away for almost 30 years law enforcement wasn't as diligent in their investigations.

[@RicheeBe]

williams’s who ?

[@suekantz9588]

@StonieeB Sorry, I had 3 serial killers on my mind. Wayne Williams-Atlanta Child murderer 17+ victims and Samuel Little-confessed to 93 with 50(ish) verified victims. All prostitutes. And Charles Williams 32 victims, all prostitute . They were all operating at the same time as the unholy 5 as they call them Bundy, Ridgeway, Dahmer, Gacy, and the Zodiac. Eep! Don't I sound creepy 😳 😆

[@skymabile3989]

Got that right about the cops. What were they doing, wanking off with their donuts.

[@coffeechi1869]

Gary Ridgeway was not the worst. I think BTK was the worst.BTK went to peoples homes and murdered adults and children. BTK was definitely a monster.

[@trineperstuen7011]

The narrators voice is so over the topp DRAMATIC….😢😢ruins the video😢

[@indy_go_blue6048]

He sounds like he's trying to sound like Walter Winchell, an old reporter who's probably best known as narrator of "The Untouchables" w/ Robert Stack, also over the top but better and more pleasant than this guy.

[@stephaniemckenzie5697]

At 27 mark in video some dude thinks he has a great insite about ridgeway crying over a victem bull sh^t gary admitted in an interview admitted as he was crying how he had a relationship with this victem she insulted him during sex telling him to hurry up he lost it and killed her because she hurt his feelings !! He was crying for himself !

[@indy_go_blue6048]

The incompetence of the investigators was overwhelming. Ridgway would still be a free man today had it not been for DNA because "Dave" couldn't catch a cold.

[@billyyank5807]

Knowing and being able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt are two different things.

[@renatejaunbrale1843]

​​@@billyyank5807Tieši tā. Deivs Reinhards un izmeklētāju gruppa neiespēja neko pret Ridžveju, ar to pierādījumu bāzi, kas tiem bija (tiesu sistēmas nepilnības!). Gaidīja uz DNS profila izdalīšanas tehnoloģijām. Sagaidīja, bet 20(!) gadu pagāja!

[@jdmbraceyourself695]

One of the great serial killers

[@sweetrevenge3567]

No, that would be Ted Bundy!

[@dangelofernandez3850]

This guy was a necorphile returning to the corpses after the murders...

[@dangelofernandez3850]

He was so good at concealing himself he could return to the same dumping grounds and relive his fantasy. Shows how sneaky and how good he was able to mask his identity

[@themonstersmummy]

​@DAngelo Fernandez so did bundy, for weeks until too much decomposition.

[@evangelene12]

What's with US crime documentaries and their cops? What's with pot bellied cops swaggering and "You messed with the wrong guy...ME!", " I knew it was him all the time". If they don't blow their own horn and sound like a tough guy, the documentary is not complete. Contrast with UK crime documentaries without dramatic music, and cops talk factually and calmly and credit the whole team and everyone involved, instead of ME, ME, ME, I am the tough cop crap.

[@truthbeyondthemind]

I am not condoning the Green River Killer when I ask : why did these girls run away from their families if they were loved like their parents say they were? Just asking.

[@marcvslicinivscrassvs7536]

Some women are just geared toward the streets

[@truthbeyondthemind]

@@marcvslicinivscrassvs7536 - I agree.

[@henrikabuchel9869]

​@@marcvslicinivscrassvs7536why does Prostitution exist? Due to the demand from men!

[@margretsims1322]

I have always found Seattle to be such an evil city.........won't even go down there.

[@John-xq4xb]

I blame the cops, if this would’ve been a priority, wouldn’t it taking these slugs 20 years to catch him. Just goes to show you they didn’t put any value on anyone’s life. These cops and the people in charge of this case we’re a bunch of lazy, slow, lazy slugs, probably sitting there eating donuts.!!!!!

[@delilahhart4398]

They set up a task force early on to find this guy. This was before computers were widely used, so they had to keep thousands of paper files on leads, so it was damned near impossible to access records efficiently. Not only that, but it was before DNA testing was done to find rapists and murderers. They did the best they could with what they had. Unfortunately, they had to wait for about 20 years before they could use DNA technology to get him, but they did get him!

[@shirleymarchand5800]

Thetes a lot to this that has been published. Look further and you will see.

[@wayasaunooke3424]

The first victim, just 16 years old and already a sex worker, then to be murdered... oh poor sweet GIRL (NOT WOMAN!! Many were children 😭😭) What a horrendous life she, and the others, will have had, and then for those lives to end so brutally... 💔😭

[@JimmyBmusic1]

What’s with the British narrator? Is it supposed to make this more sensational? It sounds really fake and annoying. Gaddy Ridgeway

[@sarahhadley7630]

It’s a British series

[@jozellewhitmire5081]

The euphemism 'sex worker' is such a blatant attempt to legitimize nasty (and illegal) behavior.

[@michaelmcgee2026]

Correct

[@Juju-l3o]

And yet everyone’s father’s boyfriend’s and husband’s use sex workers.

[@jussiniemi9560]

I confess to being the worst killer. I haven't killed a single person. This guy I would rank as one of the best, as far as killers go.