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On July 15, 1982, the body of Wendy Lee Coffield was found in the Green River in a rural area of the City of Kent in King County, Washington. Another body was found in the river within a month and Detective Dave Reichert was assigned as the lead homicide investigator. However, within a few days Reichert was again at the banks of the river investigating more deaths. While surveying the riverbank near two bodies on August 15th, he and Detective Sue Peters discovered another body. With the murders of Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Cynthia Jean Hinds added to that of Coffield, it was clear that the community was not dealing with an isolated crime. Meeting in the homicide and robbery unit of the King County Sheriff's Office, a team was formed to investigate these series of seemingly linked crimes.

Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. Eventually, the deaths of at least 48 women would be linked to the Green River killer.

By mid-November of 1982, the investigators who had worked the initial Green River cases with Reichert were re-assigned back to their duties. Detective Reichert remained the lead and only detective on these cases until March of 1983 when he was joined by Detective Fae Brooks.

In August 1983, Larry Gross, Ben Colwell, Pat Ferguson and Liz Druin were brought together to assist Reichert and Brooks in the investigation. By this time, the investigation was spanning the country, following leads and actively pursuing suspects.

On January 16, 1984, the King County Sheriff’s Office formally created an enhanced Green River Task Force to investigate the deaths. Local law enforcement agencies including the Port of Seattle Police Department, Seattle Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, the FBI and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office all contributed detectives to assist. It was also at this time that Detective Tom Jensen was assigned to the case.

In addition to the traditional tasks of compiling a paper trail on suspects, detectives went to extraordinary lengths searching for any trace physical evidence. They collected birds’ nests and animal feces, searched on hands and knees with magnifying glasses and tweezers. They knew that the entire case might hinge on a microscopic fragment that could be easily overlooked.

In 1987, George Johnston of the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab gathered what would become a key piece of evidence. After receiving a search warrant to collect a saliva sample from the key suspect, Johnston had the suspect bite down on a piece of gauze. Even though DNA identification techniques were not yet fully developed for criminal justice purposes, this gauze would prove invaluable.

In 1988, detectives began looking more closely at the DNA evidence in the case. They submitted evidence to multiple labs. However, the quality and quantity of the samples made identification impossible without destroying the evidence. For the ensuing years, Detective Jensen closely monitored developments in DNA analysis.

By April of 1990, there were only five detectives left on the Task Force. Detective Reichert was promoted to Sergeant and was assigned to other duties in the King County Sheriff’s Office. By the end of 1990, only Detective Jensen was assigned full-time to the case with Detective Doyon assisting him in a part-time capacity. He then began a long-term process of correlating evidence and managing tips, as well as continuing the investigation.

In 1997, a key suspect’s saliva sample was submitted to the State Crime Lab. In February 1998, the Sheriff’s Office received a report that the sample was too degraded for the most sensitive (RFLP) profile.

In April of 2001, Dave Reichert, who was elected Sheriff of King County in 1997, brought together an evidence review team to jump-start the investigation.

In September of 2001, Detective Jensen informed Sheriff Dave Reichert that the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab had matched DNA evidence to suspect Gary Leon Ridgway. The patience of investigators succeeded in definitively tying the physical evidence to a single suspect. Had they tested and thereby destroyed the genetic samples any sooner, the case might never have reached its conclusion.

At the same time, King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng assigned Senior District Prosecutor Jeff Baird to the case. On November 30, 2001, Gary Leon Ridgway was arrested and subsequently charged with the murders of Cynthia Jean Hinds, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Carol Ann Christiansen.

In December of 2001, Sheriff Reichert directed the formation of the Green River Homicides Investigation Team, comprised of one Captain, one Sergeant, twelve detectives from the King County Sheriff's Office, one detective from the Port of Seattle Police Department, one detective from the Seattle Police Department and one detective from the Bainbridge Police Department. There are two Administrative Specialists, one Evidence Specialist and one Information Technology support person. In addition to working the charged cases, the remaining cases were assigned to detectives for review.

Prosecutor Norm Maleng formed his prosecution team comprised of five deputy prosecutors, one investigator and four support staff. The Green River Homicides Team and the prosecution team (also known as the Green River Task Force) moved into their shared office space in January of 2002.

Following the formation of the Green River Homicides Team, one of the largest projects was providing discovery to the Ridgway defense. This included:
• Approximately 400,000 pages of documents.
• Approximately 15,000 photographs.
• Approximately 500 audiotapes.
• Approximately 170 videotapes.

These numbers increased as the detectives began their reviews of each of the cases.

In April of 2003, many years of tenacious investigative and scientific work paid off when the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Gary Leon Ridgway with three additional murders (Wendy Lee Coffield, Debra Lynn Bonner and Debra Estes). These charges were possible because of advances in the ability of scientists to identify paint samples on the molecular level. Once again, science and determined investigative work advanced the case.

On June 13, 2003, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and Gary Leon Ridgway entered into an agreement. In exchange for the Prosecutor not seeking the death penalty, Ridgway agreed to plead guilty to all murders that he committed in King County. He agreed to provide complete, truthful and candid information concerning the crimes that he had committed in King County and answer all questions during interviews conducted by the detectives or the prosecuting attorney. Ridgway agreed to disclose the existence and precise location of all undiscovered remains of victims.

The agreement expressly required that the parties and all those working with them keep the terms of the agreement CONFIDENTIAL until the entry of a formal plea.

Over the next several months, detectives of the Green River Task Force interviewed Ridgway extensively. During each interview, members of the King County prosecution team and lawyers from the Ridgway defense team were present.

The Task Force transported Ridgway throughout King County for the purpose of identifying the key locations where he disposed of victims' remains. Ridgway directed investigators to numerous sites where he remembered placing a victim. On each of the excursions, members of the Green River Task Force, the Security Detail (comprised of King County Sheriff's Office Special Operations members and Criminal Intelligence Unit detectives) as well as representatives from the prosecution and defense teams accompanied Ridgway. Because of this investigative tactic, four sets of human remains were found and tied to three suspected victims.

On November 5, 2003 in King County Superior Court, Gary Leon Ridgway pled guilty to 48 counts of Aggravated Murder in the First Degree.

Send an e-mail to the detectives: Greenrivertips@metrokc.gov