Gary Ridgway—the convicted serial killer known as the Green River Killer—may be nearing the end of his life behind bars, according to new reports out of Washington state.
The 76-year-old is serving multiple life sentences at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla for one of the deadliest killing sprees in U.S. history.
KIRO-FM in Tacoma reported this week that Ridgway is receiving end-of-life care, citing five anonymous sources with alleged knowledge of his condition. The Washington Department of Corrections pushed back on that claim, telling Fox 13 Seattle that there has been no change to Ridgway’s medical status and calling the reports inaccurate. Because inmate medical information is protected, officials declined to provide further details.
Ridgway pleaded guilty in 2003 to murdering 48 women and girls between the early 1980s and late 1990s, primarily in Washington state. He later received an additional life sentence after the remains of another victim were identified, bringing the total to 49 consecutive life terms without parole.
Investigators believe the real number of victims is higher. Ridgway himself claimed responsibility for as many as 71 killings, telling authorities he “lost count.”
The victims were overwhelmingly young and vulnerable—many were runaways or women living on the margins. Ridgway targeted them along Pacific Highway South near Seattle and Tacoma, strangling them by hand or with ligatures before dumping their bodies in wooded areas and near the Green River, which gave him his infamous nickname. Some remains were later found in Oregon, a move Ridgway admitted was meant to confuse investigators.
His youngest confirmed victim was 14-year-old Wendy Stephens, who had run away from home and was murdered in 1983. For decades, families waited for answers as bodies were found, identified, and, in some cases, reidentified using modern DNA technology. As recently as 2024, a victim long known only as “Bones 20” was identified as 16-year-old Tammie Lile.
Ridgway avoided arrest for years despite repeated contact with police and being considered a suspect early in the investigation. Advances in DNA testing finally linked him to the crimes in 2001, leading to his arrest as he left the Kenworth truck factory where he worked.