The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer

by Robert Keppel; William J. Birnes; Ann Rule

  On two occasions, Girlfriend A said that Ridgway had tied her up prior to having sex with her, an idea, she explained, that emerged after they both watched a pornographic movie in which a woman was tied up. Ridgway’s second wife, Marcia, also told police that she had experienced being tied up by Ridgway on at least one occasion. Girlfriend A said that the first time Ridgway tied her up took place in the woods while they were camping outside of Cle Elum. Ridgway, without Girlfriend A’s knowledge, brought wooden stakes along on their date; he drove them into the ground and used nylon rope to bind her wrists and ankles to the stakes, an act that she allowed. However, she said, Ridgway then inserted grapes and bananas into her vagina. She told police that although she didn’t feel threatened by it, she realized she was tied tightly enough so that she couldn’t get loose. However, Ridgway untied her at her request.

  The second time she was tied down for sexual purposes, she said, took place at her residence while Ridgway lived with her. As happened the first time, she agreed with Ridgway’s request. Thereupon Ridgway went outside to his truck and got some rubber-coated wire to tie her arms and legs to the bed. And, as before, when she requested to be let loose, Ridgway untied her.

  Girlfriend A said that Ridgway was very withdrawn and seldom spoke of his personal life. Outside of his family, he had very few friends, and she felt that this was the contributing factor to their eventual separation. Ridgway had no friends, she said, and was basically dominated by women. He allowed her to make all of the decisions as to their life together and made no requests or demands of his own. She also said to police that ultimately she had to tell Ridgway to “back off” his constant lovemaking. She asked him to move out of her home prior to Christmas 1981, at which time he did so.

  During their relationship, Girlfriend A said, the only vehicle she observed Ridgway driving was the maroon Dodge pickup with primer spots on it. The truck didn’t have a canopy at first, but later Ridgway bought a black one, which he installed on the truck. It seemed to her that Ridgway did vehicle painting as a hobby.

  Girlfriend B

  Girlfriend B told Detectives Mullinax and Haney that she first met Ridgway in November or December 1981, just after he had broken off with Girlfriend A; again, they met through the organization Parents Without Partners. She began dating Ridgway and said they had sex at her apartment and at his residence located off Military Road South, but nowhere else. She told police she believed that while she was dating him, Ridgway was also having sexual relationships with other women. He had very low self-esteem, Girlfriend B believed, and she explained to police that she felt it was because of his relationship with his mother, a person Ridgway was never able to satisfy or please with his deeds.

  Ridgway told her, according to her interview, that he had been adopted. He also talked about his ex-wife, Marcia, and even though he sounded angry when he talked about her, Girlfriend B believed he still cared for her and would have returned to her if given the opportunity. Girlfriend B also described Ridgway as sexually “well mannered” and said that he never asked her to engage in any unusual sexual activities. She felt that Gary Ridgway was very smooth around women and that he was usually in control of his emotions. She said that while they were dating, they usually went either to the White Shutters Inn or the Sandstone Restaurant on Pacific Highway South. She said that Ridgway usually wore jeans, Western-type shirts, and football jerseys.

  On Christmas Eve 1981, Girlfriend B went to the White Shutters Restaurant at South 140th and Pacific Highway South with her sister to attend a Parents Without Partners social function. At approximately 11:00 or 11:30 P.M., Ridgway came into the lounge very upset, and while everyone else was on the dance floor, he sat down next to Girlfriend B and said that he had nearly killed a woman.

  Girlfriend B, who was taken aback by this statement, asked him to repeat what he had just said. Ridgway said that he couldn’t believe it himself, but that he’d almost killed a woman. Girlfriend B said he repeated this several times. Although he was visibly shaken, he had no apparent wounds and appeared as though his clothes were unruffled. Ridgway said he’d picked up the woman, or prostitute, Girlfriend B couldn’t remember which, but it was her impression that Ridgway was talking about a prostitute. Before Ridgway could elaborate on his comments, Girlfriend B said, other people sat down at the table, causing the conversation to cease. Ridgway never mentioned the incident again.

  In approximately June or July 1982, Girlfriend B was approached by Girlfriend C and told that Ridgway was at that time dating her. Girlfriend B said that she already knew that Ridgway was dating Girlfriend C and that she had already begun to back off from the relationship. Girlfriend C told Girlfriend B that she believed Ridgway frequented prostitutes and that as a result he had contracted herpes and thus infected her.

  Girlfriend B said that during the time she knew Ridgway, he drove a maroon Dodge pickup truck that had a canopy over the bed. He was always doing bodywork to the truck, and she believed he eventually painted it black. She said she thought he did this bodywork in a friend’s garage or that he rented space to do the work.

  Girlfriend C

  Girlfriend C was also interviewed by Detectives Mullinax and Haney, and she told them that she met Gary Ridgway in January 1982, through Parents Without Partners, at a dance in Normandy Park. Ridgway was dating Girlfriend B at the time, and shortly after their meeting Girlfriend C began dating him. Shortly after they began dating, Girlfriend C contracted herpes and confronted Ridgway about it. Ridgway told her that he, too, had herpes, but that he believed she had given it to him. He would never admit that he had infected her. In May or June 1982, Girlfriend C told Girlfriend B at a Parents Without Partners dance that Ridgway had herpes and had given it to her. It was at this time, Girlfriend B said, that she broke off the relationship with Ridgway.

  After they began dating, Girlfriend C saw Ridgway almost every weekend and occasionally during the week. Ridgway would usually come to her house in Renton for the weekend. Girlfriend C said she would seldom spend the weekends at Ridgway’s house on Military Road South because she had two children and it was easier for them to stay at her house. They continued to attend Parents Without Partners’ dances for about one and a half years while they were dating. They seldom attended any other social events. Ridgway had very few friends outside of work, she said. He occasionally went to the Annex Tavern on East Marginal Way after work, where he would have a beer with his coworkers.

  Girlfriend C also said she saw other women on two separate occasions at Ridgway’s house. She believed both of these women were associated with Parents Without Partners. She quickly realized, she said, that Ridgway was a less-than-faithful boyfriend.

  Ridgway told Girlfriend C that he met his first wife sometime before, or while he was in the navy, and that he had contracted genital warts from his wife. He said that after returning from a cruise, he found that his wife was living with two black males and that she had turned into a prostitute. Girlfriend C believed this was the reason for Ridgway’s strong reaction whenever he saw a black male in the company of a white female. Ridgway would make a comment that that type of woman must “like licorice.” Ridgway said that he was very hurt by what his first wife had done to him but indicated that he still loved her after he found out what had happened.

  Girlfriend C also said that Ridgway’s second wife, Marcia, still lived somewhere in the area locally and that they had a son named Matthew. Ridgway told her that Marcia left him after she started singing in local bars. She also started hanging around with other men and began ignoring the welfare of their son. Girlfriend C said that although Ridgway was hurt by the divorce, she believed he still cared for Marcia at the time of the divorce. However, he now spoke of Marcia with contempt because he felt she was not a good mother.

  Girlfriend C once overheard a conversation between Ridgway and her sister in which Ridgway was angrily complaining about Marcia. Girlfriend C’s sister asked him if he could kill her, and he replied, “yes.” Nevertheless, other
than Ridgway’s hostility toward Marcia, Girlfriend C told police she never saw Ridgway become violent or angry and described him as an even-tempered man who usually talked his way out of his problems.

  Ridgway was a good lover, as she described him, who was always gentle and caring. They had sex on an average of twice a day while they were together. However, Girlfriend C believed Ridgway could have engaged in sex six or seven times a day. She said he never exhibited any abnormal tendencies while with her.

  She believed that Ridgway saw prostitutes as “things” to be used. He once told her, “It’s sure nice to make love to someone you like.” Girlfriend C believed this comment was in reference to his contacts with prostitutes. She said Ridgway especially disliked Filipino prostitutes because of his contacts during his cruise in the navy. She knew that Ridgway had previously been arrested for offering and agreeing to an act of prostitution.

  Ridgway did not smoke, Girlfriend C said, and she’d never seen him use any narcotics. He especially drank Bud Lite in cans, usually wore blue jeans, plaid-type shirts, and a jeans jacket. He either wore tennis shoes or boots, and occasionally a baseball cap or a watch cap. She described him as a physically strong man whose only hobby that she was aware of was going to swap meets and flea markets. Ridgway had once told her that he had applied to become a police officer somewhere in the area after getting out of the navy. However, she believed that he had failed the exam.

  While she knew Ridgway, he drove a maroon Dodge pickup that had a silver-and-black canopy with smoked windows. After totaling the truck in an accident, he bought another pickup that was gold and had a white camper on it. During their relationship, she also knew that he used his dad’s brown-and-white pickup and also borrowed his brother Eddie’s older turquoise pickup.

  Ridgway once took her to a cabin by Ravensdale, Girlfriend C said, that belonged to his brother Greg. The cabin was on the banks of a river. In 1983, he also once took her to a river outside of Cle Elum, where they camped in a tent. Ridgway said he knew this place from camping there on other occasions.

  Ridgway and Girlfriend C were to be married in June 1984, but she called it off, she said, after she met someone else. She said Ridgway was not upset over this and quickly met another woman, who currently lived with him.

  The Rose Hahn Interview

  Detectives Mullinax and Haney interviewed Rose Hahn, who, with her husband, had moved into Gary Ridgway’s house about April 1982, during a time in which Ridgway had implied he was having financial difficulties, needed money, and rented out the main portion of his residence. While Rose Hahn and her husband lived in the house, Ridgway lived in the garage, which had been converted to living quarters. Hahn said she remembered the carpet in the house was either gold or brown in the living room and green in the bedrooms. She said Ridgway rarely ate at home, if ever. She had firsthand knowledge of his use of the kitchen and bathroom because he shared these facilities with her family.

  Hahn said Ridgway was usually not at home in the evenings, and that if he was, he stayed in his room or outside. She said Ridgway liked to wash his red truck, which had a white-and-silver canopy over the bed. He seemed to enjoy keeping it nice. She also said that Ridgway was very shy and kept to himself. He often wore blue jeans, cowboy boots, and red-and-blue plaid shirts and was usually not at home on weekends. Ridgway, she said, once spoke of his ex-wife, who, she felt, sounded like a “real witch.” During the time she and her husband lived in Ridgway’s house, Hahn remembered only one or two people calling at the house for Ridgway. The Hahns moved out about October 1982.

  Marcia Winslow (Ridgway)

  Detectives Doyon and Griffin interviewed Marcia Winslow, who married Gary Ridgway on December 14, 1973. They were separated from July 1980 until December 1980 and moved back together during the month of December 1980. At the end of that month, they separated permanently until their divorce May 27, 1981. During their marriage they lived in several residences, located in Renton, Federal Way, and West Seattle.

  Marcia Winslow first met Ridgway on the Renton loop when she, with her girlfriend, was pulled over by Ridgway in what she described as a “police-like stop.” Although Ridgway did not identify himself as a police officer, he had short hair at the time, and she believed he could have been a police officer. Shortly after they met, they lived together for a year prior to their marriage. Ridgway told her that because he had a venereal disease, he was afraid he would not be able to father children. During their sexual encounters, Ridgway used to call Marcia “Claudia,” the name of his first wife. Ridgway told Marcia that Claudia was living with several black men when he returned from his western Pacific cruise.

  During Ridgway and Marcia’s marriage, they used to ride bikes on Frager Road along the Green River past P. D. & J. Meats and the Meeker Street Bridge in Kent. She said they would have sex in the tall grass of the Green River as well as inside a fenced area (the landfill off Frager Road). She also said that on occasion they would get off their bikes and splash in the water at the riverbank. They used to have sex in a wooded area by Ken’s Truck Stop near North Bend and also while camping in the Greenwater area past Enumclaw. She described an incident while they were on their way to Spokane, when they pulled off onto the shoulder of the road prior to entering the city, climbed a fence, and had sex in a wooded area. They used to go to Swan Lake, where they swam and fished.

  Ridgway, she said, used to frequent the Ravensdale Tavern and the Playmore Tavern east of Kent. He told her about a place near Sea-Tac Airport, where there were blue lights that he used to go to. However, she never went there with him. She also said they used to travel Highway 18 to Highway I-90 and they’d stop at the intersection of the two roads. She mentioned a road that went off to the east of Highway 18, where they’d driven. Marcia said they had also driven toward Echo Glen on Highway 18.

  Marcia said she felt that Ridgway viewed her as a sex object and housekeeper, that he would often request anal sex, and that he had tied her up on one or two occasions. She said that he preferred sex either out in the woods or in the open. Also, she said that Ridgway would often ask her to perform oral sex while he drove down the road in their vehicle. Ridgway asked to use an ashtray that was shaped like a penis on her on several occasions, but she refused.

  The Ridgways had a son, Matthew, who was born on September 5, 1975. She said Ridgway spent the majority of his weekends at his parents’ residence. During their marriage they attended two churches, one Baptist and the other Pentecostal. Ridgway owned a motorcycle during this time, Marcia said, and he did all of his own auto-body work and owned a paint compressor, a tool frequently used to paint vehicles.

  Ridgway told Marcia that the garage area was his private place and for her to stay away from it. He once told her that he had considered becoming a military policeman while in the service so he could become a police officer upon his discharge. He also told her he had applied locally to be a police officer but had been turned down.

  Ridgway was often gone in the evenings for long periods of time, Marcia said, often returning to the house dirty or wet. He explained his condition by saying that his vehicle broke down while he was out driving. Marcia said that during the latter years of their marriage Ridgway began coming home later and later without a logical explanation. She also said that Ridgway did not have any personal friends during their marriage.

  Marcia related an incident in which she and Ridgway were returning home from a party where they’d been drinking. She got out of the van, stumbled, and then went to the front door. She started to reach for the door and the next thing she knew, Ridgway had his hands around her neck and was choking her from behind; his hands were getting tighter and tighter. She thought it was somebody else and started screaming. Then she realized it was Ridgway and started fighting him. He finally let go and kind of pushed her, and by the time she got her balance back, he had walked around to the other side of the van and tried to convince her that it was somebody else who had run off. She tried to get him to call the police, and he
wouldn’t do it. She knew then that it was Ridgway and thought maybe it was because they’d had too much to drink and that he was just playing around. She told the interviewers that it was a police-type hold, with his forearm and upper arm, and then he got his hands around her neck.

  She said he always liked to sneak up behind her and scare her. He liked to hide in corners to scare her as she walked around them, or he’d push her into an arm-type choke hold. He liked to see how softly he could walk so that he’d be totally noiseless, which, she said, he was able to do.

  It was Ridgway’s mother, Marcia said, who “wore the pants in the family.” Also, Ridgway’s younger brother, Eddie, had been in prison for attempting to murder someone while he was in the army, an incident that has been verified by military records.

  Key Locations Pointed Out by Marcia Winslow

  On September 14, 1986, Detectives Doyon and Haney of the King County Police Green River Task Force took Ridgway’s ex-wife, Marcia Winslow, to several locations she pointed out that she and Gary Ridgway had frequented during their relationship, the first of which was eastbound on Highway 18 from her residence.

  Marcia had already told police that there was a small dirt road off Highway 18 just prior to the I-90 junction where they had gone several times to have sex. She was unsure of the exact time period but believed it was around 1974. As they neared Kerriston Road, Marcia asked them to slow down, which they did on Highway 18. She looked at the turnoff for Kerriston Road and decided that this was not the road because it now looked different to her. There was a guardrail on Highway 18 that she did not remember.