'I killed so many women'
Ridgway confesses to dozens of slayings in Green River case
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Flanked by his attorneys, Ridgway answers questions Wednesday from a prosecutor in front of a packed King County courtroom.
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Prosecutors say Gary Ridgway is expected to confess to dozens of slayings in a deal to escape death. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports (November 5)
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SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Gary Ridgway has admitted to killing dozens of women in the Pacific Northwest, a confession that gives him more murder convictions on his record than any other serial killer in U.S. history.
"I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight," he said in a confession read aloud in court. "I wanted to kill as many women as I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could," Ridgway said in the statement.
Some relatives of the victims were crying in the courtroom as Ridgway made the confessions.
Before the hearing, authorities would not confirm what many speculated, that Ridgway provided information in exchange for a plea deal that would save him from the death penalty and give him life without parole.
However, two of the bodies on the official list of Green River victims were found in Oregon, which has capital punishment, and it is still unclear whether Ridgway will plead guilty to those murders.
The Green River Killer's slaying spree began in 1982, targeting women in the Seattle area, mainly runaways and prostitutes. The first victims turned up in the Green River south of Seattle, giving the killer his name.
The remains of dozens of women turned up near Pacific Northwest ravines, rivers, airports and freeways in the 1980s. Of them, investigators officially listed 49 women as probable victims of the Green River Killer.
One of the victims of the Green River killing spree was Patricia Yellow Robe.
"I find it incredible that an individual was able to cause that many deaths, perpetrate that much suffering and misery on so many people," said Joe Yellow Robe, father of Patricia.
Investigators had hoped for a quick arrest, but were stumped for years. Nobody was arrested until 2001, when DNA evidence led to seven murder charges against the 54-year-old Ridgway.
Until recently, lawyers for Ridgway had said he was going to plead not guilty. The local prosecutor said there would be no deals.
"The policy of this office is not to bargain with the death penalty, period," said Norm Maleng, King County prosecutor
But this summer, four more bodies were located, the first time in years missing victims had been found, leading to speculation Ridgway was offering information for a deal.
Investigators also recently found human bones in two other locations near Seattle, which raised questions about how so many victims could be discovered at once. Investigators say six women are still missing from the Green River case.
Ridgway's pleas to 48 counts would give him more convictions -- though not necessarily more slayings -- than any other serial killer in the nation's history.
John Wayne Gacy, who preyed on men and boys in Chicago in the 1970s, was convicted of killing 33. Ted Bundy, whose killing started in Washington state, confessed to killing more than 30 women and girls, but was convicted only of killing three before he was executed.
CNN correspondent Gary Tuchman contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
