- Authorities confirm that the last remains linked to the Green River serial killer belong to a teenage girl previously identified as a victim, but suggest that there may be other unsolved cases connected to Gary Ridgway.
- The remains identified as those of 16-year-old Tammie Liles were previously determined to belong to her through dental records and additional remains discovered in 2003.
- The King County Sheriff’s Office confirms that all 49 victims of Ridgway have now been identified, providing closure to the families, but there are still unsolved cases and parents seeking answers.
Additional Coverage:
Authorities have confirmed that the last set of remains linked to the Green River serial killer in Washington state belong to a teenage girl who had previously been identified as a victim. However, officials said that there may be other unsolved cases that could be connected to Gary Ridgway, the serial killer. The remains have been identified as those of 16-year-old Tammie Liles, who was from Everett, Washington.
It was previously determined that another set of partial remains, known as the Bones 20 case, also belonged to Liles. The King County Sheriff’s Office has stated that there are no other unidentified remains believed to be connected to Ridgway. Ridgway targeted vulnerable girls and young women in the Seattle area, including sex workers and runaways, during the 1980s and 1990s. He became a suspect in the Green River killings due to the discovery of the first victims in a waterway that runs through suburbs south of Seattle. Detectives were able to link Ridgway to the killings in 2001 using DNA technology.
According to an official from the King County sheriff’s office, there is a sense of relief among law enforcement that they have been able to provide answers to the families of Ridgway’s victims. The spokesperson stated that they have been able to identify all 49 victims of Gary Ridgway. Liles was initially identified as a victim in 1988 when her dental records were matched to remains found in Oregon. Ridgway later led authorities to a second set of Liles’ remains in King County in 2003.
Back in 2003, investigators took a DNA sample from the second set of remains, but no matches were found in the national law enforcement database. In 2022, the King County Sheriff’s Office contracted with Othram, a genetic genealogy company, to work on the case. Othram developed a DNA profile for the unidentified victim and tentatively identified her as Liles. This was later confirmed by comparing her DNA to her mother’s.
King County Sheriff Patricia Cole-Tindall has stated that Liles’ family does not wish to speak to the media and asked for privacy. The identification of Liles comes about a month after another victim, 15-year-old Lori Anne Ratzpotnik, was identified as one of Ridgway’s victims. Ridgway was arrested in 2001 and he later pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder in the first degree to avoid the death penalty. He remains in prison without a chance of release.
Dave Reichert, from the King County Sheriff’s Office, mentioned that over 10,000 pieces of evidence were collected and prepared for trial when Ridgway was arrested. Although the last remains have now been identified, there are still more unsolved cases that may or may not be connected to Ridgway. There are parents who are still seeking answers about the death and murder of their daughters.