The person I chose to research was Gary Ridgway. He is also known as The Green River Killer. Gary was a serial killer in Washington. He has been convicted of murdering 49 women, he has confessed to around 60 killings, but is estimated to have killed closer to 80 women. All the women that he had killed were prostitutes that he had picked up, had sex with them, and then strangled them. He says that he never raped or tortured any of his victims, he just killed them. Gary started killing prostitutes in 1892 and is confirmed to have killed till 1998, but is thought that his last kill was around 2001. He was called the Green River Killer because his first victims’ bodies were found around the Green River.
Gary was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 18, 1949. His father was a bus driver, who, Gary remembered, would frequently complain about the prostitutes he would see along his route. This could be the root of why Gary decided to kill prostitutes. His mother was not a very charming. She was both mentally and physically abusive to Gary and his two brothers. Gary also states that he was sexually attracted to his mother at an early age. He also showed tendencies of a serial killer at a young age. He began torturing animals, such as cats when he was little. When he was 14, he says that he stabbed a six-year-old in a wooded area, but was never caught. Then a couple years later he committed his first murder when he held a young boy underwater till he drowned. When he was old enough Gary joined the Navy and was sent to Vietnam. He returned and attempted to become a police officer, but failed. He then found a job painting at a truck shop. Gary was also married three times and had a son during his second marriage. He would even use his ...
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...osed a plea bargain. The plea bargain stated that the prosecution could no longer seek the death penalty, and in return Gary would plead guilty to the seven original charges and to the 40 to 47 additional counts of murder. He also would have to provide truthful information about his murders and help find the remains of the rest of his victims. The prosecution decided to accept the plea deal. He plead guilty to 49 charges of aggravated first degree murder and was sentenced to 480 years in prison without the possibility of parole and is serving his time at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington. He has helped investigators find his most of victims, but some he could not remember because he would only remember his dumpsite locations and not who he killed. He also has done many interviews to help understand what drove him to become a serial killer.
In the story The Green Killer by ME Kerr Blaze Dunn was portrayed as perfect. Blaze reveals this trait in quite a few ways throughout the story, one way is that this trait is portrayed is that he is said to be a golden boy. In the story people talk about his golden personality, “Golden. He was golden. My own mother admitted it.” This is Alan Dunn’s thoughts about Blaze (Kerr 54). This goes to show that people thought Blaze was flawless or perfection. Other characters reveled this trait by praising or admiring him. In the text people talk about how remarkable Blaze was, “Special, unique, a winner-all of those things I heard about Blaze.” which adds to his angle of perfection (Kerr 54). This was just one of the thoughts of this
In February 1998, Watertown, SD, was not bursting with riveting activity. Watertown had a population of 20,127 people in 1998, which is not much less than the 22,000 residents it has today. Brenda Barger was mayor of Watertown, SD, during the years of some of the worst flooding ever in Watertown. Although the little town of Watertown seems like the perfect rural town to raise a family, it’s not all butterflies and rainbows. On February 1, it was reported that two teenage girls were accused of beating a 47 year-old man to death in his home. David Paul Bauman died of a head injury caused by the girls. Bauman was currently unemployed and mildly disabled due to a car accident a number of years earlier (“2 Teen-agers Arrested in Watertown Killing”
What would cause an individual to behave in this rather heinous and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this paper will explore the phenomenon of serial murder and apply research literature to help explain his behaviour and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorder, and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case. In addition, the paper will explore the sexually sadistic nature of Pickton’s murders. Finally, the paper will explore the reasoning behind Pickton’s selection of drug addicted prostitutes as victims that enabled him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ...
He was all alone taking a nap by a creek whenever the Devil walked up and started talking to him. They had a short conversation that ended up with the Devil saying that Gary’s mom had died and that the Devil should be able to eat Gary. As soon as the Devil opened his mouth to eat Gary he ran away and escaped from Lucifer. Gary’s experience with the Devil was a different one than most because of how he handled it. During and after his near death encounter, Gary feared the Devil, but he eventually took it as a learning experience and thought about it daily. Gary stated one time, “As I lay here In my nursing-home room, and in the ruined sand castle that is my body, I tell myself that I need not fear the Devil-that I have lived a good kindly life, and I need not fear the Devil. (King 839)” Gary lived eight long years after the horrifying attack and did not let it change his views all he did was learn from
What are the root causes of a person becoming a serial killer? There have been many different serial killers over the past years, but only one is the infamous “Green River Killer.” Gary Ridgway was dubbed the “Green River Killer” because many of his first victims were found near the Green River in Washington. There are many factors which contribute as to why a person turns and takes their anger out on other people. Some people have a normal childhood with a loving family, while some are not so lucky. A loving family is built around the parents, but if the parents choose violence over love, then that is what the child will grow up only knowing. Gary Ridgway is an American serial killer who killed over sixty women within a twenty year period.
After killing his grandparents, Kemper was sentenced through the juvenile court system and sent to Atascadero, a maximum-security hospital where he spent the remainder of his childhood. Per Ramsland (2006b) Kemper was released to his mother at age 21 regardless of his doctor’s wishes.
Throughout all of American history there have been those who are well known for committing what are classified as deviant or criminal acts. Most of those who are well known by the public for their actions have committed deeds seen as extremely controversial such as being cult leaders, gang or mafia members, terrorists, rapists, or killers. The lists of members for each topic is numerous, however, there are a certain few that are more prominent than others. One criminal that stands out when speaking of killers in particular is Gary Ridgway, or as he is better known, the Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway is the nation’s most abundant serial killer, with the highest murder rate in America’s history (Gibson).
American serial killer, Richard Ramirez was born on February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. Ramirez was known for being a satanic worshiper and for going on a two-year raped and torture rampage, harming more than 25 victims and murdering more than a dozen. Ramirez, also known as the "Night Stalker," turned to satanic worship at an early age by his cousin, a soldier who had recently returned from the war in Vietnam. Following a four-year trial, in 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 killings. Ramirez received the death penalty and was sent to San Quentin Prison in California. He later died on June 7, 2013, at the age 53.
After three and a half years he paroled, he committed a series of bank robberies for several years. Even though he vowed that he would never see the inside of another jail cell. He teamed up with Vernon Miller and Adam Richetti in Kansas city underworld. Also, where he got the nickname “Pretty Boy”.
Ted Bundy was one of the most vicious serial killers in American history. He confessed to 28 grotesque murders in the 1970’s but the actual number of his victims remains
Keeney, Belea T. and Kathleen M. Heide. 1995. “Serial Murder: A More Accurate and Inclusive
In Green River, Running Red, author Ann Rule describes a killer without remorse, who is the product of both personal and social influences, in effect forcing him to murder women and to continue to do so for over a decade as a fulfillment of his fantasies. When endeavoring to rationalize the causes of such a mind, theories of deviance, when separated into two distinct categories, positivist and constructionism. Positivist theories, such as the general theory of crime, allows for individual's to piece together events in the life of Gary Ridgway, the Green River killer which would undeniably lead him to a twisted sense of reality, combined with sexual fantasies and a tendency to justify perverted acts of murder. Constructionist theories, specifically conflict theory, are able to shed light on the lives and decisions made by the victims, who were all led to such lifestyles through outward sources. In determining the causes and motivations behind both the offender and the victims, theories of deviance leave little to be speculated on when placing blame on either psychological or social factors.
Scott Falater wasn’t one of them though. In January 1997, Scott Fillater stabbed his wife 44 times and drowned her in the family pool at their home in Arizona. He was as well known for his sleep walking but much of his actions seemed odd for a sleepwalker. Before he committed the crime, he put on his work jeans and a pair of gloves. At the time, he was sleepwalking as he worked on the pool his wife overheard sounds coming from outside as she watched TV. It is believed that she possibly walked out there and accidentally startled him and it caused him to attack. Or he purposely lured his wife out there. After he stabbed her he changed and put his bloody clothes in his trunk compartment where his spare tire was. It is believed he retired back to his wife’s body to find her still alive. He then proceeded to drown her. This is when a neighbor over seen the murder and called 911. To this day Scott Fallater is serving his life
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous
Serial killers have been around for decades but According To Jack Levin, 'seven of the ten largest mass killings in American history have taken place in the last decade (Douglas, p. 137). One of the most popular and well-known serial killers in history was Ted Bundy. He was convicted of killing three women but is suspected of killing thirty-six other women (Douglas, p. 137).