(Gary Ridgeway-The Green River Killer)
By Nia Bender
DENVER – A victim of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway has finally been identified after decades of being a “Jane Doe,” and she has a Colorado connection. 14-year old Wendy Stephens was one of four victims who were unidentified when Ridgway pled guilty in 2003 to murdering 49 women.
Ridgway, who was not identified as the Green River Killer until 2001, started his killing spree at least as early as 1982. The King County Sheriff’s Office in Washington, worked with forensic anthropologist Dr. Katherine Taylor, the DNA Doe Project, and other scientists, to identify Stephens, who ran away from her Denver home in 1983. It’s believed she is the youngest victim of the Green River Killer.
Back in 2003, Gary Ridgway, who terrorized Seattle in the early 1980s, tearfully apologized for “killing all those young ladies” as a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the chance of release. He’s currently serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
