Seattle, Washington – Investigators have identified the last known remains connected to Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, as those of 16-year-old Tammie Charlene Liles. Previously known as “Bones #20,” the remains were found in 2003 near Kent-Des Moines Road in Seattle.
Liles disappeared in 1983 from downtown Seattle. She was first identified as a victim of the Green River Killer in 1988 after a partial set of remains found in 1985 were identified. At the time, her brother revealed that she was buried in a baby casket because so little of her remains had been recovered.
The first set of Liles’ remains were found near the Tualatin Golf Course in the area of Tigard, Oregon. They were found with the remains of another woman, Angela Girdner, who has not been conclusively linked to Ridgway. Girdner’s remains were not identified until 2009. Two confirmed victims, Shirley Shirell and Denise Bush, were found just a mile from Liles and Girdner’s remains. Ridgway later confirmed he moved Liles from the Tigard area to the location near Kent-Des Moines Road.
In 2023, authorities positively identified another victim as Lori Anne Razpotnik. With the confirmation of Liles’ identity, all known remains connected to the serial killer have now been identified.
Ridgway was convicted of killing 49 women and girls in the Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, areas in the 1980s and 1990s. He was termed the Green River Killer because several of his victims were found in the Seattle-area river. He confessed to as many as 71 murders, but he has not led officers to the remains or identified all of the remaining victims.
Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 of the crimes in 2003 and was sentenced to 48 life sentences without the possibility of parole to be served consecutively. He confessed to the 49th murder in 2011, and an additional life sentence was added. He is incarcerated at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington. Most of Ridgway’s victims were sex workers or underage runaways, with his victims ranging in age from 14 to 38. In one of his confessions, he said he chose sex workers as victims because he knew they were unlikely to be missed.
The known victims of Gary Ridgway were a devastating list of women from various walks of life, leaving a tragic mark on the community and sparking ongoing efforts to bring closure to the families of the victims.