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Today in History: Gary Ridgway pleads guilty to 48 murders

11/5/2025

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Summary

Story summary

On November 5, 2003, Gary Leon Ridgway, infamously known as the Green River Killer, pleaded guilty to 48 counts of first-degree murder. Ridgway, convicted of murdering 49 women between 1982 and 1998 in the northwestern United States, was recognized as one of the most prolific serial killers in American history at the time of his arrest in 2001.

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Story summary

On November 5, 2003, Gary Leon Ridgway, infamously known as the Green River Killer, pleaded guilty to 48 counts of first-degree murder. Ridgway, convicted of murdering 49 women between 1982 and 1998 in the northwestern United States, was recognized as one of the most prolific serial killers in American history at the time of his arrest in 2001.