For years, the lab also had been using techniques to capture smaller fractions of trace evidence that could have helped to detect the paint spheres, she said. A black knit sweater. In November 1992, detectives formally requested that the crime lab compare hairs collected from Ridgway to those recovered from the new wave of victims, according to a detectives memo to the lab obtained through a public records request. Already a person of interest due to his known association with area prostitutes, Ridgway contacted police with the supposed intention of assistance. So Palenik decided to change tactics: vacuuming the dust from the suspect's and the victims clothing and analyzing the tiny particles under a microscope equipped with an infrared device used to detect colors and compositions of substances. Her boyfriend and pimp later spotted what he thought was the same truck in front of Ridgways house and reported it to police. Gary Ridgway is an infamous murderer from Seattle who was also referred to as the Green River Murderer due to the five victims' bodies found at the array of Green River (Chan, 2019). Psychopaths often appear at ease during interviews that most people would find stressful or overwhelming. He is known to be one of, if not the single, most prolific serial killer in the United States. That truth, LuAnna and Rona recently learned from an NBC News reporter, now includes another detail: about the tiny, overlooked evidence that could have tied a killer to his crimes long before he ever murdered their sister. Even some longtime investigators assigned to the case said in interviews that until now, they had been in the dark about the missed opportunity to catch the killer sooner. Psychopaths often exude charm and charisma, making them compelling, likeable, and believable during interviews. But theres been a lot of time and space and healing that I wouldnt want to give up to something that I cant control.. Leadership Spotlight: Feedback and Emotional Intelligence, Social Media Spotlight: A Small Act of Kindness Makes a Global Impact, Community Outreach Spotlight: Gaming with a Cop, Forensic Spotlight: Innovative Latent Print Processing, Officer Wellness Spotlight: Benefits of Mindfulness, Leadership Spotlight: Importance of Suicide Awareness, Community Outreach Spotlight: Lunch and Learn, Leadership Spotlight: Drawing Your Own Conclusions, Community Outreach Spotlight: Fresno Fight Girls, Leadership Spotlight: Patience in Development, Forensic Spotlight: Dowsing for Human Remains Considerations for Investigators. Leadership Spotlight: Hey, Did You Hear About? Along with the jeans used to strangle Coffield, the paint spheres were trapped in the weaves of fabric eventually found with seven other bodies and bones, records show. Leadership Spotlight: Should You Always Lead from the Front? He is in a high-security prison and is unlikely to be released. But it still would have needed an outside specialist, like Palenik, to identify and trace them back to their source, she said. Nothing matched. 1 He talked about his victims as mere objects, not human beings. Im appalled I didnt know that that was even possible, said Frank Adamson, a retired King County sheriffs commander who supervised the Green River Task Force in the mid-1980s. In their emotional interviews, they . They will lie about anything, even issues that are insignificant to the crime or investigation. She looked beat up, Rona Yellow Robe recalled, noting a bruise on her face. Ridgway is known to have killed at least four women after 1985, when Palenik visited Seattle. Seventeen years later, he said, I get a phone call saying they want us to look at this case. The Green River Killer has murdered 49. Embedded in the denim used to strangle 16-year-old runaway Wendy Lee Coffield were the tiny spheres of spray paint that would take more than two decades to detect. He said hed continued to routinely pick up girls working the street and had even encountered two of the killers presumed victims. Whether the suspect is dressed in a suit or in dirty, ragged street clothes, this mind-set carries over and impacts the interview. A purple shirt. It pressured Ridgway into confessing to 48 murders and leading detectives to four previously undiscovered bodies in exchange for sparing him the death penalty. Washington eliminated the death penalty in 2018 with the argument that you can sentence someone like Gary Ridgway to life in prison without parole. Dubbed the 'Green River Killer," he targeted sex workers and young women in particular. They were just rags to me, he told detectives. Lying is not a concern for them, and they do not feel anxious or guilty about doing it. Implications for Interviewing Psychopaths. Hare, and M.E. They matched. One of his lawyers, Mark Prothero, later wrote in a book that even though his team downplayed the paint spheres, the prosecutors couldnt have found anything much worse for our client, short of a Polaroid picture of him strangling a woman.. As the 90s wore on, Jensen was left to investigate the Green River murders on his own as leads dried up. They opted to focus on analyzing hairs and fibers, which usually would have been the most fruitful, Cwiklik said in a recent interview. The public has never seen a case quite like ted Bundys and he rose to fame. Its just common sense.. Before he left town, Palenik said, Ishii vowed to seek his help if a suspect emerged. Manson had just come out of solitary confinement, where he likely was bored. He is the subject of a new documentary called The Green . The same year, Palenik, the renowned trace evidence expert, learned about the case. They opted to focus on analyzing hairs and fibers, which usually would have been the most fruitful, Cwiklik said in a recent interview. But it still would have needed an outside specialist, like Palenik, to identify and trace them back to their source, she said. She looked beat up, Rona Yellow Robe recalled, noting a bruise on her face. Gary Ridgway after his sentencing in Seattle in 2003. By 1990, Cwiklik said, the crime lab was using an infrared microscope, capable of detecting finer details than an optical microscope. Its very conceivable that if those things had been more carefully examined at the time, the investigation would have taken an earlier, more productive turn that pointed directly to Ridgway, Baird said. When Gary Ridgway was arrested, his wife Judith was completely and 100% stunned to discover Gary was a serial killer and never believed he was capable of violently murdering so many people. Investigators believe that, throughout his murderous spree, the seemingly mild-mannered Ridgway never spoke to anyone of his killings or kept trophies of the grisly crimes. In 1984, he agreed to take a lie detector test and passed. men i et andet interview fra 31. december 2003 hvdede Rigway, at han havde myrdet 71 ofre, og tilstod at have haft sex med dem, fr han drbte dem, en detalje, som han ikke havde afslret tidligere. On December 1, 2001, Matthew said in an interview that he recalled his father as a kind and relaxed man as he never ever yelled at him. And we ended up finding information that we could have found back then. Asked about the overlooked evidence, a spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab said in an email that with so much time having passed, we are reluctant to speculate on the mindsets and specific investigative strategies of past forensic leaders from so many years ago., Chesterene Cwiklik, the scientist who supervised the labs trace evidence work at the time, acknowledged in a recent interview, We never looked at those really fine particles that Skip did.. Sometimes, hed gone to lengths to evade detection, including clipping the fingernails of victims who had scratched him before he dumped their bodies. Its too bad they didnt do what they should have done. Nearly 20 years before Ridgway was arrested, the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory overlooked key microscopic evidence found on the clothing of his very first victim and of seven others. Leadership Spotlight: What Skills Can We Learn? But officials for the crime lab, which by then had spent years futilely analyzing hairs and fibers in the case, rejected the request as a pointless endeavor, retired King County sheriffs Detective Tom Jensen said. And we ended up finding information that we could have found back then. He didn't do it, you know." At the time of Gary's arrest, Matthew was 26 years old. Dr. Smith, a retired special agent with the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit, is a consultant on criminal and corporate psychopathy for intelligence- and security-related government and law enforcement agencies. Leadership Spotlight: Single Point of Failure, Leadership Spotlight: Communicating with Millennials - Using Brevity, Community Outreach Spotlight: Redefining School Resource Officers Roles. Leadership Spotlight: Self-Centered Leadership, Leadership Spotlight: Making Officers' Lives Better, Crimes Against Children Spotlight: Child Abductions - Known Relationships are the Greater Danger, Leadership Spotlight: Leadership Legacies - Reflections on Retiring, Leadership Spotlight: Tuesdays with Terry, Leadership Spotlight: Candor - A Risk You Can Afford to Take, Safeguard Spotlight: Ingesting Poison - Adapting to Exposure to Child Pornography, Leadership Spotlight: Learning from Failure, Crimes Against Children Spotlight: Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) Team, Leadership Spotlight: Leadership Tunnel Vision, Leadership Spotlight: Discovering Inspiration, Crimes Against Children Spotlight: The Neighborhood Canvass and Child Abduction Investigations, Leadership Spotlight: Count Your Blessings, Safeguard Spotlight: Mentoring and Support, Leadership Spotlight: Determined Leadership, Leadership Spotlight: Change Can Be a Slippery Slope, Leadership Spotlight: Falling Prey to Posturing. Generally, psychopaths are predators who view others around them as prey. In July 1982, Ridgway picked up a woman with his. Program, Leadership Spotlight: Helium vs. Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), also known as the Green River Killer, is an American serial killer and sex offender.He was initially convicted of 48 separate murders.As part of his plea bargain, another conviction was added, bringing the total number of convictions to 49, making him the second most prolific serial killer in United States history according to confirmed murders. Through their behavior, psychopaths convince interviewers that they have remorse when they have none and that they feel guilt when they do not. In early 1985, Ridgway drew suspicion again after another woman reported that a man who showed her his Kenworth employee identification card tried to strangle her after he had paid for sex in 1982. I should think we would have done the testing if we knew about it, Jensen said. Interviewers establish trust and bond with psychopaths by finding common ground. But he left behind some of his victims clothing, discarded at dumpsites or wrapped like ligatures around their necks. Ridgway is known to have killed at least four women after 1985, when Palenik visited Seattle. Challenging a psychopathic individuals statements will be counterproductive, especially if done too early in the interview. By the early 1990s, when a new wave of bodies and bones were found, the Green River Task Force had already disbanded. He said things, like I feel bad for the victims, and even cried at times. Leadership Spotlight: Doing More with Less? Patricia Yellow Robes sisters had mourned her loss back in 1998, when they were told shed overdosed. Ridgway first came to the task force's attention in 1983, when 18-year-old Maria Malvar disappeared after she got into a pickup truck with a man on Pacific Highway South. Throughout this interview I learned about what life was . Leadership Spotlight: Doing the Right Thing for the Wrong Reasons: Abuse of Police Discretion, Leadership Spotlight: Impacting Job Satisfaction Through Leadership, Leadership Spotlight: Values-Driven Leadership in Law Enforcement Organizations, Leadership Spotlight: Leadership Lessons from Home, Leadership Spotlight: Strategic Leadership During Crisis. (Ridgway, 74, didnt respond to an interview request sent in a letter to him in prison.). Gray's son Matthew was born in September 1975. . But a smaller group of detectives who feared the killer was still at work quietly kept the probe alive. . Just rags., In November 2003, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng announced the plea deal that sent Ridgway to the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, where he is serving 49 life sentences.