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Green River Killer case opens with discovery of murdered prostitute, Debra Lynn Bonner, on August 12, 1982.

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On August 12, 1982, Frank Linard discovers the body of a young woman floating in the Green River, yards from the Kent slaughterhouse where he worked. The remains are later identified as those of Debra Lynn Bonner, age 23, a convicted prostitute who had disappeared on July 25. Police quickly link her death to earlier victims, Wendy Coffield, 16, and Leann Wilcox, both known prostitutes. As more bodies are discovered in or near the Green River over the next few days, police conclude that a serial murderer -- dubbed the Green River Killer -- is on the loose. Over the next two years, a total of 49 victims, mostly prostitutes and dancers known to frequent the Highway 99/Pacific Avenue South "strip" near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, are attributed to the same killer. After a years-long, frustrating investigation, on November 30, 2001, police arrest suspect Gary Leon Ridgway, whose DNA is associated with the bodies of four of the victims. The names of the women killed are listed at the end of this file.

The Investigation

King County Police Major Bob Kraske and Detective David Reichert (later elected County Sheriff) led the initial investigation of Bonner's murder. In consultation with other police departments, they linked the Bonner killing with the earlier unsolved murders of Wendy Coffield and Leann Wilcox, and reached the conclusion that a serial killer might be stalking street prostitutes in the south King County area. As new victims turned up in or near the Green River, King County Executive Randy Revelle and new Sheriff Vernon Thomas organized a special Green River Task Force, first directed by Frank Adamson.

The list of suspected Green River victims rose to 49 over the next two years. Until the arrest of Ridgway, formal charges were never brought against any suspect despite the expenditure of $15 million and tens of thousands of staff hours, the assistance of famed profiler Bob Keppel and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and tips from psychics and citizens. The last victim, Cindy Smith, was found in March 1984. It was subsequently presumed that that the killer had left King County. County Executive Tim Hill disbanded the Green River Task Force in 1989, but the case remains open.

Gary Leon Ridgway, 52, a longtime resident of the area, was arrested on November 30, 2001. DNA evidence ties Ridgway to four of the cases, and circumstancial evidence to several others. Ridgway, a truck painter raised near SeaTac, is a Tyee High School graduate. He has been a suspect for a long time, but before now, detectives had not found adequate evidence to build a case against him.

The Victims: Young, Some More Girl Than Woman

The Seattle Times published this list of 49 victims, all young women, many as young as 15, 16, and 17. They were all killed between the summer of 1982 and March 1984. There were 42 bodies found, of which four remain unidentified.

They are listed in the order of their disappearance, from the summer of 1982 to March 1984. Listed are the dates they were last seen and the dates when their bodies or remains were found. Those whose bodies or remains were found are numbered 1 to 42. Of the 42 found, four remain unidentified. The women who are not numbered are missing and presumed to have been victims of the killer.

1. Amina Agisheff, 36, last seen July 7, 1982, leaving Seattle apartment. Remains found April 18, 1984, near Highway 18 and Interstate 90.

2. Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, July 8, 1982, at state receiving home, Tacoma. Body found in Green River July 15, 1982, near Kent.

3. Gisele Ann Lovvorn, 17, July 17, 1982, near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Went out to turn tricks. Found Sept. 25, 1982, south of airport.

4. Debra Lynn Bonner, 23, July 25, 1982, last seen south of Sea-Tac Airport. Found Aug. 12, 1982, in the Green River near Kent.

5. Marcia Faye Chapman, 31, Aug. 1, 1982, near 30th Avenue South and South 188th Street. Left home to work Sea-Tac strip. Found Aug. 15, 1982, Green River.

6. Cynthia Jean Hinds, 17, Aug. 11, 1982, near the Sea-Tac strip. Found Aug. 15, 1982, on bank of Green River near Kent.

7. Opal Charmaine Mills, 16, Aug. 12, 1982, at a public phone booth off Sea-Tac strip near 192nd Street. Found Aug. 15, 1982, Green River, Kent.

— Kase Ann Lee, 16, Aug. 28, 1982, at 11:30 a.m. at her South King County home by her husband.

8. Terry Rene Milligan, 16, Aug. 29, 1982, South 144th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found April 1, 1984, off Star Lake Road in South King County.

9. Mary Bridget Meehan, 18, Sept. 15, 1982, at South 165th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found Nov. 13, 1983, at South 192nd Street and 27th Avenue South.

10. Debra Lorraine Estes, 15, disappeared Sept. 20, 1982. Found May 30, 1988, at South 348th Street and First Avenue South.

11. Denise Darcel Bush, 22, Oct. 8, 1982, last seen noon, South 144th Street and Pacific Highway South. Left apartment to buy cigarettes. Body appears first to have been left in wooded area at South 137th Street and 44th Avenue South in Tukwila. Some skeletal remains found there Feb. 10, 1990. Her skull was found June 12, 1985, in Tigard, Ore. Investigators believe the killer returned to the Tukwila site and moved part of her remains.

12. Shawnda Leea Summers, 17, Oct. 9, 1982, near Yesler Way in Seattle. Found Aug. 11, 1983, near South 146th Street north of Sea-Tac airport.

— Patricia Anne Osborn, 19, last seen Oct. 20, 1983, as she left a motel at North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North.

13. Shirley Marie Sherril, 18, between Oct. 20 and Nov. 7, 1982, in Seattle's Chinatown International District. Remains found June 14, 1985, in Tigard, Ore., along with Denise Bush.

— Pammy Annette Avent, 16, last seen Oct. 26, 1983, as she left her home, possibly for the Rainier Valley strip.

— Rebecca T. Marrero, 20, Dec. 3, 1982, at Western Six Motel near South 168th Street and Pacific Highway South.

14. Colleen Renee Brockman, 15, about Dec. 24, 1982. Family last saw her Dec. 23, 1982. Found May 26, 1984, near Sumner, Pierce County.

15. Alma Ann Smith, 18, March 3, 1983, at South 188th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found April 2, 1984, in Star Lake area.

16. Delores LaVerne Williams, 17, March 8, 1983, at bus stop near South 188th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found March 31, 1984, near Star Lake.

17. Gail Lynn Mathews, 24, April 10, 1983, near South 216th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found Sept. 18, 1983, near Star Lake.

18. Andrea M. Childers, 19, April 16, 1983. Found Oct. 11, 1989, south of Sea-Tac airport in the 2700 block of South 192nd Street.

19. Sandra Kay Gabbert, 17, April 17, 1983, at South 142nd Street and Pacific Highway South. Found April 1, 1984, in Star Lake area.

20. Kimikai Pitsor, 16, April 17, 1983, in Seattle. Skull found Dec. 15, 1983, near Auburn cemetery. Other remains found there January 1986.

— Marie M. Malvar, 18, April 30, 1983, about 9:40 p.m. at a store at South 216th Street and Pacific Highway South.

21. Carol Christensen, 21, May 3, 1983, at South 148th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found May 8, 1983, in Maple Valley near Southeast 244th Street.

22. Martina Theresa Authorlee, 18, May 22, 1983, at hotel near South 188th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found Nov. 14, 1984, near Enumclaw.

23. Cheryl Lee Wims, 18, May 23, 1983, in Seattle. Found March 22, 1984, just north of Sea-Tac airport near Little League baseball field.

24. Yvonne Shelly Antosh, 19, May 31, 1983, near South 141st Street and Pacific Highway South. Found Oct. 15, 1983, near Lake Sawyer.

25. Carrie A. Rois, 15, May 31 to June 13, 1983, near 16900 block of 114th Avenue Southeast. Found March 10, 1985, in Star Lake area.

26. Constance Elizabeth Naon, 21, June 8, 1983, at South 188th Street and Pacific Highway South. Found Oct. 27, 1983, just south of Sea-Tac Airport.

27. Tammie Charlene Liles, 16, June 9, 1983, downtown Seattle. Remains found April 23, 1985, in Tualatin, Ore., south of Portland.

— Keli K. McGinness, 18, June 28, 1983, at South 216th Street and Pacific Highway South standing by the street.

28. Kelly Marie Ware, 22, July 19, 1983, at a Seattle bus stop. Remains found Oct. 29, 1983, near South 190th Street and 24th Avenue South.

29. Tina Marie Thompson, 22, July 25, 1983, Sea-Tac strip motel. Found April 20, 1984, near Highway 18 and Interstate 90.

— April Dawn Buttram, 17, Aug. 18, 1983, when police spoke to her in the 7300 block of Rainer Avenue South.

30. Debbie May Abernathy, 26, Sept. 5, 1983, when she left her apartment to go to downtown Seattle. Found March 31, 1984, 12 miles east of Enumclaw.

31. Tracy Ann Winston, 19, Sept. 12, 1983, about 7 p.m. in the Northgate Mall near Northeast 105th Street and Fifth Avenue Northeast. Found March 27, 1986, near the Green River in Kent.

32. Maureen Sue Feeney, 19, Sept. 28, 1983, at Seattle bus stop. Found May 2, 1986, off Interstate 90 and near North Bend.

33. Mary Sue Bello, 25, Oct. 11, 1983, about 5 p.m. on the Sea-Tac strip. Found Oct. 12, 1984, eight miles east of Enumclaw.

— Patricia Osborn, 19, Oct. 20, 1983, as she left a motel at North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North. 34. Delise Louise Placer, 22, Oct. 30, 1983, at Beacon Hill bus stop. Found Feb. 14, 1984, near Interstate 90 east of North Bend.

— Pammy Avent, 16, Oct. 26, 1983, as she left her home, possibly for the Rainier Valley.35. Kim Nelson (Kimberly L.), 26, Nov. 1, 1983, at bus stop near South 141st Street and Pacific Highway South. Found June 14, 1986, off Interstate 90 near North Bend. She was also known as Tina Tomson and Linda Lee Barkey.

36. Lisa Yates, 26, Dec. 23, 1983, about 11 a.m. in Rainier Valley. Found March 13, 1984, off Interstate 90 east of North Bend.

37. Mary Exzetta West, 16, Feb. 6, 1984, about 2 p.m. in Rainier Valley. Found Sept. 8, 1985, in Seattle's Seward Park.

38. Cindy Anne Smith, 17, March 21, 1984, hitchhiking on Pacific Highway South. Found June 27, 1987, off Highway 18 near Green River Community College.

39. Remains 10, found March 21, 1984, at South 146th Street and 16th Avenue South north of Sea-Tac. Still unidentified.

40. Oregon 1, remains found April 23, 1985, near Tualatin, Ore., just south of Portland, along with Tammie Liles. Still unidentified.

41. Remains 16, found Dec. 31, 1985, just south of Auburn's Mountain View Cemetery. Still unidentified.

42. Remains 17, found Jan. 2, 1986, just south of Auburn's Mountain View Cemetery. Still unidentified.

Sources:
Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen, The Search for the Green River Killer (New York: Penguin Books, 1991); Ian Ith, Carlton Smith, and Tomas Guillen, "Ridgway Awaits Charges; Detectives Scour Homes," The Seattle Times December 2, 2001 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com); "The Green River Killer's Victims," Ibid..

By Walt Crowley, December 02, 2001

This file made possible by:
Rivers In Time Project
King County
Seattle Public Utilities
Seattle City Light

Green River with SeaTac, Des Moines, Kent, and Federal Way, 2001
Map by Chris Goodman

Wendy Coffield's body being pulled out of the Green River, 1982
Photo by Duane Hamamura