New York Times Bestseller: From the journalists who covered the story, the shocking crimes of Gary Ridgway, America’s most prolific serial murderer. In the 1980s and 1990s, forty-nine women in the Seattle area were brutally murdered, their bodies dumped along the Green River and Pacific Highway South in Washington State. Despite an exhaustive investigation—even serial killer Ted Bundy was consulted to assist with psychological profiling—the sadistic killer continued to elude authorities for nearly twenty years. Then, in 2001, after mounting suspicion and with DNA evidence finally in hand, King County police charged a fifty-two-year-old truck painter, Gary Ridgway, with the murders. His confession and the horrific details of his crimes only added fuel to the notoriety of the Green River Killer. Journalists Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen covered the murders for the Seattle Times from day one, receiving a Pulitzer Prize nomination for their work. They wrote the first edition of this book before the police had their man. Revised after Ridgway’s conviction and featuring chilling photographs from the case, The Search for the Green River Killer is the ultimate authoritative account of the Pacific Northwest killing spree that held a nation spellbound—and continues to horrify and fascinate, spawning dramatizations and documentaries of a demented killer who seemed unstoppable for decades.

The Axman of New Orleans specialized in killing grocers of Italian descent in the 1910s, apparently to promote jazz music. Dorothea Puente was a little old landlady who murdered her tenants, but kept cashing their government checks. The Manson Family terrorized California in the 1960s, as did the Hillside Stranglers a decade later. Twelve serial murder cases, occurring in eight decades between the 1890s and 1990s, had one thing in common: significant presence of the mass media. This book examines these specific cases of serial murder, and the way the media became involved in the investigations and trials of each. Gibson argues that the American media plays a multidimensional and integral role in serial killings and their investigation—and that this role is not generally a positive one. Serial murder cases motivate the media in unfortunate ways, and the result is that even typically respectable media organizations can be involved in such things as document theft, or in interfering with the capture of serial murderers on the run. This link between multiple murderers and mass communication is not accidental or coincidental; rather, the relationship between the press and serial killers is one of extraordinary importance to both parties. Gibson examines the role of the media in serial murder cases; the body of knowledge on serial murder as seen through the lens of mass communication; the effectiveness of law enforcement responses to serial murderers and how they might be improved if the mass communication influence was better understood; the magnitude of the serial murder problem; and the interaction between the media, the killers, and serial murder investigations. Specific examples and numerous quotes are provided throughout to illustrate this strange and detrimental relationship between media and serial murderers.

This first book by Pennie Morehead chronicles the life of Judith, the wife of Gary Ridgway, the infamous serial killer of more than 48 women. It contains 112 original photographs and letters, many published here for the first time, and reveal the relationship between Gary and his unsuspecting wife, Judith, who was living some of the happiest years of her life while married to a killer. Ms. Morehead also gives an in depth analysis of Gary's handwritten letters from a professional graphologist point of view. As of this date, despite the diligence of many investigators on this case in locating the victims of the Green River Serial Killer, there remain several bodies of those victims that still need to be discovered.

The Green River Killer: Gary Ridgway And The Hunt For A Serial Predator tells the chilling story of one of America's most notorious serial killers, Gary Ridgway. This book explores the hunt for Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, who targeted vulnerable women in the Pacific Northwest during the 1980s and 1990s. With a carefully plotted outline, the book delves into the investigation, starting with the discovery of the first victim, Wendy Lee Coffield. As the body count rises, the community becomes gripped with shock and fear. The author examines the killer's signature, analyzing patterns in the victims' demographics and the dump sites. The book details the frustrations faced by law enforcement as they hunt for this elusive perpetrator, exploring the cat-and-mouse game between the predator and those trying to catch him. Breakthroughs in DNA technology, criminal profiling insights, and the uncovering of a key witness are explored as the case progresses. The final chapters cover the arrest, trial, and subsequent impact of the Green River Killer, highlighting the psychological profiling of the killer, the gruesome truth confronted by investigators, and the lasting legacy of this case on law enforcement procedures. With its focus on the investigation, the book provides a unique and insightful perspective into the Green River Killer case while offering a glimpse into the impact a serial predator has on the community and the lasting trauma experienced by the victims' families.

There are many myths about serial killers: that they are all dysfunctional loners; all white males; only motivated by sex; that they all travel and operate across a wide area; cannot stop killing; are all insane, or evil geniuses; and that they all want to get caught. Of course, there are some serial killers who fit into these categories, but the married Green River Killer was not a dysfunctional loner; there are plenty of female and non-Caucasian serial killers; Dr Harold Shipman was certainly not motivated by sex; many serial killings (such as the Ipswich prostitute murders carried out by Steve Wright) happen within a confined area; the 'BTK Killer', Dennis Rader, stopped killing in 1991, but wasn't caught until fourteen years later. Many serial killers may have a low animal cunning, or be 'street smart', but few of them are Mensa-level geniuses. Each of the thirty cases covered here is unusual in some respect, perhaps in the way in which the killer carried out their crimes, the choice of victims, the way in which they were apprehended, or the method of their execution. The cases are presented alphabetically by country - from Australia via Colombia, Great Britain, Indonesia, Iran, South Africa and elsewhere to the United States - and then chronologically. They come from across history and from all over the world. The author has gone back as far as possible to contemporary source material - newspaper accounts, trial evidence, interviews with perpetrators or survivors - rather than rely on the increasingly blurred truth to be found online and in far too many collections.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Pac HiWay was a highway that connected Seattle to Tacoma, and it has changed constantly over the years. It began as Highway 99, and then it was Old 99 when the I-5 Freeway opened. Some spots are called Pacific Highway South, except where it passes the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where it has become International Parkway. #2 The strip became a local roadway, full of businesses that catered to those who flew in or lived and worked nearby. The Little Church by the Side of the Road was still there, and so was The Pancake Chef and the Lewis and Clark Theater. #3 On August 12, 1982, another woman’s body was found in the Green River, south of Seattle. It was difficult to determine where she had gone into the river, but her corpse had been trapped in a net of tree branches and logs. #4 The woman in the river was identified as Debra Bonner, a prostitute who had recently made a precarious living on Pacific Highway South. She had been arrested twice for offering sex for money. She had told her friends that she was freelancing, working the circuit from Portland to Tacoma to Seattle to Yakima and Spokane.

At first, Mark Prothero, Defense Attorney for Gary Ridgway, thought: "This can't be the Green River Killer! He's too ordinary! He's too small. He's too calm. He's too polite! He can't possibly have murdered forty-nine women. They can't be serious! They must have screwed up! I didn't realize then, but I was right. Gary Ridgway hadn't killed forty-nine women. He'd killed even more than that." Soon, Mark Prothero faced the question: "How could you possibly defend the most prolific serial killer in United States history, the infamous Green River Killer? If anyone deserved to be executed for his crimes, didn't he?" Mark Prothero, co-lead defense attorney who helped save Gary Ridgway from the death sentence, has heard that question many times. Now he’s written a book that reveals the true, inside story of exactly how an idealistic public defender, high school swim coach, husband, and dad could bring himself to spend many months of close confinement with a man who brutally murdered at least 75 young women, often in the act of sex. Defending Gary shows how Prothero could reconcile these monstrous acts knowing the reality of this unassuming fellow Gary Ridgway, a mild-mannered, church-going, devoted husband, father, and former Navy man, with an IQ of around 82 and a longtime job as a truck painter from Auburn, Washington, near Seattle.

When Shanna Edward’s weird new neighbor moves in next door, things begin to go haywire, including her discovering her friend’s grisly, bloody head decorating a fireplace mantel. Meeting Dr. Stevens, San Diego’s acting medical examiner and chief forensic pathologist at the crime scene, the two begin piecing together the puzzle of fifty-three murders marked NHI (no human involved) on crime reports. The serial killer stalks prostitutes and runaways, believing he’s purifying the human race of an infestation, a sickly disease of street trash. Before he’s through, at least fifty-three women will be dead. Unlike previous serial killers, he finds creative new ways to murder, mutilate, and dump the bodies, aided and abetted by the indifference of the chauvinistic SDPD. Shanna, an ex-cop, and the ME open a Pandora’s box of intrigue as their investigations lead them to believe that San Diego’s killer is in reality Washington’s Green River Killer or his protégé. So many twists and turns in the investigation will keep a reader holding her breath for the next surprise revelation.

The chilling true story of romantic obsession and murder by cancer from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Search for the Green River Killer. Omaha, Nebraska, 1978. Sandy Johnson was in shock. Her husband, Duane, and young daughter, Sherrie, were violently ill when word arrived that her infant nephew just died of mysterious causes. Days earlier, the entire family was happy, healthy, and living the American dream. Now they were at the center of a terrifying medical crisis. Duane soon died in a condition unlike anything the doctors had ever seen. As they raced to discover what disease or toxin could have done so much damage so quickly, Lt. Foster Burchard of the Omaha police began to suspect foul play. Sandy herself became a primary suspect, as did her ex-boyfriend Steven Harper—a man prone to violence who never got over their breakup. In Toxic Love, investigative reporter and true crime author Tomás Guillén offers a detailed and vivid account of this baffling case from the day of the poisoning to the harrowing trial and the murderer’s eventual suicide on death row.

Praise for Crime Classification Manual "The very first book by and for criminal justice professionals in the major case fields. . . . The skills, techniques, and proactive approaches offered are creatively concrete and worthy of replication across the country. . . . Heartily recommended for those working in the 'front line' of major case investigation." —John B. Rabun Jr., ACSW, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children "[CCM] is an outstanding resource for students pursuing forensic science degrees. It provides critical information on major crimes, which improve the user's ability to assess and evaluate." —Paul Thomas Clements, PhD, APRN-BC, CGS, DF-IAFN Drexel University Forensic Healthcare Program The landmark book standardizing the language, terminology, and classifications used throughout the criminal justice system Arranged according to the primary intent of the criminal, the Crime Classification Manual, Third Edition features the language, terms, and classifications the criminal justice system and allied fields use as they work to protect society from criminal behavior. Coauthored by a pioneer of modern profiling and featuring new coverage of wrongful convictions and false confessions, the Third Edition: Tackles new areas affected by globalization and new technologies, including human trafficking and internationally coordinated cybercrimes Expands discussion of border control, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Homeland Security Addresses the effects of ever-evolving technology on the commission and detection of crime The definitive text in this field, Crime Classification Manual, Third Edition is written for law enforcement personnel, mental health professionals, forensic scientists, and those professionals whose work requires an understanding of criminal behavior and detection.