Case #5- The Green River Killer

Through 1982-1983 there were at least 48 to 90 killings along the green river in Washington state. The victims were almost all prostitutes. As investigators did some digging they found that a man named Gary Ridgway with a history of abusing prostitutes, so they automatically named him as the primary suspect. They collected some DNA samples from Ridgway but with how low of technology they had, it wasn't enough for them to connect him to any of the murders. Not until 2001, new DNA techniques brought back an examination of what they collected from Gary. Found guilty, he was arrested and it wasn't long until he confessed and plead guilty to the 48 murders. Later he confessed to more. If he confessed he'd be spared the death penalty so he took advantage of that opportunity. He was sentenced to 48 life sentences without the possibility of parole.






http://www.criminaljusticeschools.org/blog/10-famous-cases-cracked-by-forensics/