Gary Leon Ridgway
"The Green River Killer"
There is not much known about Gary Leon Ridgway's past. He was born on February 18, 1949 to Tom and Mary Ridgeway. Gary was the middle child, his brother Greg was one year older and his brother Thomas was two years younger. They lived in Utah at the time that Gary was born, in 1960 the family then moved to McMicken Heights, Washington. The family lived by a highway, "They called it the Night of the Living Dead, a procession of streetwalkers, drug dealers, johns and runaways." "This is where Gary Leon Ridgway grew up, and where he always returned." Gary's father, Tom Ridgway, was a Metro Transit bus driver. His parents and family were generally very reserved people. They kept to themselves and did not associate with their neighbors often. On one account it was said that Mary Ridgway, Gary's mother was, "continually yelling at his father.''
English: This car was owned (and heavily used) by ...
Steve Wright (serial killer)
How to Be a Serial KillerIt was also reported that Gary's mother once, "got so angry at his father she broke a dinner plate over her husband's head while he was sitting at the dinner table. Ridgway's father didn't retaliate; he simply got up from the table and left." Conspicuously enough, was the way that Gary's mother dressed, "She wore tight clothes and excessive makeup...She looked like a prostitute." (Gary's prime suspects in his killings were prostitutes) "It would be decades later that Ridgway would tell detectives of his real relationship with his mother, of his sexual attraction to her, of his feelings of lust and humiliation." After Gary got married his mother stayed an influence in his life. His wives often said that Gary's mother was very overbearing and far too controlling. His father died in 1998 and his mother died in 2001. (Horvitz)
In the early...