Associated Press
SEATTLE — Gary Leon Ridgway pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges he murdered four women nearly two decades ago in the Green River serial killings.
Ridgway’s attorney, Tony Savage, entered the pleas during a brief arraignment in King County Superior Court.
Ridgway, 52, of suburban Auburn, did not speak to Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell during the 10-minute appearance.
He is charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of Marcia Chapman, Cynthia Hinds, Opal Mills and Carol Christensen. His next court appearance was set for Jan. 2 for lawyers to work out the schedule for the proceedings.
Prosecutors have not said whether they intend to seek the death penalty, but Ridgway’s attorneys say they’re preparing for a capital case.
The Green River case covers at least 49 women who were killed between 1982 and 1984. The first victims were found in or near the Green River in Kent.
Ridgway was arrested Nov. 30 as he left his job at Kenworth Truck Co. in Renton, where he had worked as a truck painter since 1969. Results from recent DNA tests linked him to three of the victims, and other circumstantial evidence linked him to a fourth, investigators said.
He is being held without bail at King County Jail.
Savage predicted it will take at least two years to prepare for trial.
"We’re gonna get this fella a fair trial, and that means we’re going to be prepared. We’re gonna take as much time as we need," he said.
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