Green River - Red Sea

A Profile of The Green River Killer:
Religious Signature, Apocalyptic Rage

My involvement with the Green River saga began in around 1993, more than a decade after the first murder victims were found. A psychotherapy client of mine had been sexually assaulted. The description of the assailant led me to consult a colleague about the profile of the Green River killer. My suspicions about any relationship between my client's assailant and the Green River killer were quickly dissipated, but I became intrigued by what I saw as a "religious signature" in the Green River killer's murders. Could this be possible? If so, why hadn't law enforcement or any forensic team noticed this religious element?

As my research led me to the realization that the Green River killer was possibly still active, and had not stopped killing in 1984 as was generally assumed, I did what I could to share this information with law enforcement. Their reception was lukewarm at best. I also began to write the book Green River, Red Sea, excerpts of which are published here.

Please be aware that in the fall of 2001, a suspect in the Green River killings, Gary Leon Ridgway, was arrested for four of the Green River murders. The evidence for or against Gary Leon Ridgway does not have any bearing whatsoever on the material compiled here. I wrote this material long before the arrest of Mr. Ridgway.

I apologize to the families and friends of these many victims for possibly opening up old wounds. My goal is that Green River, Red Sea will contribute to the truth of what happened to the many victims. I realize that a particular type of arrogance may attach to anyone who makes claims on the truth. Unlike law enforcement, I have been willingly open – and remain so – to feedback and assistance from experts and others. I do believe that such openness to the truth is necessary as a precondition of any real closure for the families and friends of the victims.

The scores of murdered prostitutes and runaways in the state of Washington over the past two decades are stunning and appalling in numbers alone. To suggest that one serial murderer may account for many, and possibly even the majority of these criminal acts, may serve to rivet attention but does not change the total victim count. And what is horrifying as a possibility – a single serial murderer – should not diminish greater light being shed on the sheer dimension of this holocaust.

A subtext of serial murder is that the victims are often women of lowly status and little voice, and that the economics of any murder investigation is driven by status and voice. My hope is that Green River, Red Sea may lend some voice to the strangled cries of the many young women who perished.

Edward J. Schau, Ph.D.