Green River Killer's apology


"I'm sorry for killing these young ladies. They had their whole life ahead of them," Ridgway said slowly, nearly in monotone as if the words were a struggle. "I am sorry I caused so much pain to so many families."

In writing, he misspelled ladies as "ladys" several times and signed the statement Gary L Ridgway. In court, he occasionally wiped his eyes, sometimes appearing upset and other times gazing straight ahead.

Garrett Mills, whose sister Opal was killed, wanted to believe Ridgway's apology. He said he wanted to hear remorse as he listened in court, but he didn't.

"It sounded like a recording," Mills said. "He sounded like a robot."

Ridgway's attorneys say he does feel badly for murdering so many women. They said that after he met his third wife in 1985, he wanted to stop killing -- though he only succeeded in killing less often.

"He feels horrible about what he had done back when he was a monster," said attorney Mark Prothero, who said that the man expresses his emotions subtly.

"Obviously, you're not normal if you do these things," attorney Tony Savage said. "You can't very well judge his remorse by ordinary standards."

The King County sheriff's detectives who have gotten to know Ridgway through hours of interviews say they've heard something else in his voice when he talked about the women he killed: pride.

They've heard him call the women garbage.

Detective Tom Jensen, who spent nearly 20 years investigating the case, said Ridgway's statement in court was nearly laughable. "Remorse is not something he understands," Jensen said. "He can cry on cue, and he can stop on cue."

Jensen said Ridgway's voice wasn't slow and halting because he was choked with emotion -- it was because he has an intellect that is far below average and has trouble reading.

He said investigators sometimes referred to Ridgway as a "serial killer savant" -- a man who was somewhat stunted intellectually but has an "innate, apparently inborn ability to hunt or kill."

"He tries to imitate people. When they cry, he cries," said Green River Task Force Detective Kevin O'Keefe. "I think he's got all the emotion of a reptile."

Detective Frank Spence wasn't so sure, noting that Ridgway "did have a religious side" and guessed that there "may have been that little bit kicking in."

Some of the relatives of Ridgway's victims didn't care what he had to say and remained unmoved by his words.

"He's a good actor," said Jodi Norman, the mother of Shawnda Summers. "There's no remorse."

Diane Soriano, who has been a friend of victim Patricia Barczak's family for more than 30 years, said simply, "Once again, I think it was all about himself."

From today's Seattle Post Intelligencer

Gary Leon Ridgway offered his first public words about the dozens of women he strangled, shedding tears in the courtroom yesterday and leaving many wondering whether the prolific Green River Killer is truly sorry.




"He feels horrible about what he had done back when he was a monster," said attorney Mark Prothero, who said that the man expresses his emotions subtly.

"Obviously, you're not normal if you do these things," attorney Tony Savage said

Posted: Fri - December 19, 2003 at 11:48 AM        

©