Ridgway pleads innocent in four Green River killings

By Elizabeth Murtaugh

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Gary Leon Ridgway pleaded innocent today to charges he murdered four women nearly two decades ago in the Green River serial killings case.

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 if Ridgway is convicted.

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 that it will take about 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.

The courtroom was packed with friends and relatives of the victims. Court officers led them away quickly to avoid reporters.

Ridgway appeared relaxed during the proceedings. Savage said his client is in good spirits, despite what he is facing.

“He is not despondent,” Savage said. “We concur he is not in tears.”

On Monday, Ridgway’s defense team was granted nearly $300,000 by a judge for independent DNA testing and analysis.

King County Superior Court Judge Brian D. Gain also approved a defense request to assign three more lawyers to Ridgway’s team. They include the public defenders who initially were assigned, Mark Prothero and Todd Gruenhagen. One more will be chosen later, and a fourth could be assigned if prosecutors seek the death penalty.

Savage, Ridgway’s lead attorney, was hired by Ridgway’s family. The additional attorneys, plus two defense team investigators and two paralegals also approved by Gain, would be publicly funded.

“The fellow was a truck painter for 30 years, so what kind of an estate can you amass?” Savage said.

Ridgway has signed over all that he owns to contribute toward the defense, Savage said, adding that he cut his fees from his usual $200 an hour to $75 an hour, the same as if he had been appointed by the court

The latest costs boost the public expense for defending Ridgway to a record $950,000 a year before the case goes to trial, said Jim Crane, administrator for the county’s Office of Public Defense.

County officials estimate the total cost of the Ridgway case at $8 million to $12 million, including further investigation and prosecution.

Besides independent DNA testing and other analysis, the more than $290,000 awarded Monday will pay for a defense forensic pathologist and a computer specialist who will help lawyers navigate the thousands of computerized documents they will be given, Savage said.

Prothero said that even though his client is only charged in four cases in the Green River case, prosecutors will likely make the deaths of all 49 women an issue at trial.

“It’s apparent from their public posture we’re going to be trying 49 cases they’re going to try to link him to,” he said.