Introduction
Laws of their specific countries govern all native citizens; failure to abide by them may lead to punishment (Ruggiero, 2021). However, despite the strict measures against law-breaking, there are still natives partaking in a continuous law-breaking behavior. An example of these natives is the group of serial killers who know perfectly well that homicide is illegal but still go ahead with the act with reasons best known to them. Gary Leon Ridgway, the green river killer, murdered forty-eight women. Gary is suspected of having killed up to ninety more, making him one of the lethal serial murderers in the United States antiquity (Real Crime, 2020, 0:30). Gary started by smothering women using his bare hands and later moved to prostitutes and escapees whom he strangled after having sex with them. He had a high sex drive and would go to the brothel, pick one woman, drive them to an isolated area, engage in sexual intercourse, and kill the woman afterward. Something weird is that sometimes Gary would return to the crime area to engage in sex with the corpses. His killings went on for sixteen years, from the beginning of 1982 until he was discovered (Real Crime, 2020, 29:52). Although he had a dark side, he also had a good one to cover for his killings. He was a model native and an employee who lived well amongst people. He would assist in the community ceremonies, attend church, and read the bible to his colleagues at work. Gary was married three times, and none of his wives ever suspected that he was a criminal. Through this, it is clear that he was living two completely different lives.
Case Description and Background
Gary Ridgway is an infamous murderer from Seattle who was also referred to as the Green River Murderer due to the five victims’ bodies found at the array of Green River (Chan, 2019). He murdered seventy-one victims, all of whom were women. However, nobody knows the precise number of women that Gary killed since some bodies have never been found to date. The funny thing is that he does not remember them since they were many. His killings began in 1980, and in 2001 he was finally arrested. He mainly targeted sex workers and escapees, whom he killed in either his vehicle, home, or any other isolated area. He started by strangling the victims and then advanced to ligatures to avoid leaving behind any clues for the police. He avoided using guns or any sharp objects, as they would result in blood loss, so he opted for strangling, which was more rewarding. Detectives Keppel and Reichert were allocated to the case upon finding the bodies. At the start of the investigation in 1983, the police could not find any critical clue; however, in 2001, they found his semen, which matched the DNA of other lost bodies (Chan, 2019). The police arrested him but only managed to link him to forty-eight women regarding the evidence. Ridgway admitted to the killings and was penalized to life imprisonment with no liberation (Real Crime, 2020, 42:20).
Family History and Upbringing
As a child, Ridgway had an unpleasing childhood while growing up. His parents always fought and argued every time. His father continuously complained about prostitutes in their family, and when he was young, he participated in incineration and paid a young miss to entertain his genitals (Smith & Gullen, 2017). At the age of sixteen, he stabbed a six-year-old lad and plainly said that he wanted to know the sensation of killing someone. Immediately after his graduation, he joined the military and went to Vietnam; it was there that he began to implore prostitutes and slowly started having developments with any prostitute around. Although he liked sex operators, he frequently killed them the most. Chan (2019) states that Gary’s neighbors and allies claimed that he was a nice and friendly person, although he behaved weirdly sometimes, which did not raise any concerns. His ex-wife stated that sometimes Gary would place her in a chokehold whenever they had disagreements. During an interview, when in prison, he seemed very proud of his actions and had no remorse whatsoever (Chan, 2019).
General Strain Concept
One of the significant theories that best explain Ridgway’s criminal behaviors is the general strain concept (Agnew, 2017). The general strain concept contends that tensions increase the prospect of destructive emotions such as anger and obstruction. Such stressors tend to generate tensions for some counteractive actions, and criminality is one of them. The main explanation for this is that crime is one the best methods that individuals distressing from strains utilize to minimize their pain from a stressful life and eradicate their negative sentiments. Agnew has come up with three sources of pressure, and the most suiting one for this case is the failure to attain set goals. An Intelligence Quotient test conducted on Ridgway showed that his IQ was eighteen points less regular, which showed that he could not finish roles as his age mates would. At any time he would try to achieve them, he acquired nothing, causing him to be angry and frustrated always, and at this point, the need to break laws was generated from his heart. According to Agnew (2017), this explains why he participated in arsons to adjust to his failure to acquire his goals like the others. The same applies to his reason for stabbing the six-year-old boy to eradicate his negative sentiments. He started engaging in crimes as a child, and immediately he realized that he was different from the rest; therefore, he pursued something that no individual would attempt (Agnew, 2017).
Social Learning Concept
The social learning concept signifies that individuals learn through observation or encountering the characters of others, insolences, and the results obtained. Bandura and Hall (2018) highlight that the theory tries to explain how individuals study and copy other people’s behaviors and end up applying them to their lives. Most human behaviors today learn through observation; therefore, one can quickly formulate a notion and use it to guide their operations. Under this concept, it is clear that our behaviors, cognitions, and surroundings are all intertwined. Gary Ridgway did not intend to become a serial murderer; however, all the happenings summed up in his life molded him into the person he had become. Mainly because of observing disgusting behaviors from people in his surroundings, with the primary variable being his mother, who partook in a significant part of teaching him evil deeds? When his mother, Mary, shamed him out aloud because of his urinating habits, she coached him to become harsh (Bandura & Hall, 2018). Mary placed Ridgway through uncomfortable conversations that one should not have at such a young age. She had the habit of dressing proactively and narrating stories to Ridgway on how the men lusted after her and how she stirred them. Mary went to the extent of describing the smell of the clients’ genitals areas to her young son. These habits provoked his mind more than she could have known (Bandura & Hall, 2018).
Gary learned about sexuality long before reaching the desired age though experiencing triggering conversations between his parents as he grew up (Smith & Gullen, 2017). His father, who operated at the morgue, would come home telling his mother how he walked in on his workmate having sex with a cadaver and explained the enjoyment experienced within the act. The conversation triggered interest in him, and he perceived that as normal behavior; Gary then decided to experience it. Additionally, Ridgway’s father was a coward who obeyed everything his wife said; he never had the guts to stand up to his wife and say no to anything. Everything to him was okay, leaving his wife in charge of everything in the house. Ridgway experienced all the bad events at home, and not once did his father try to utter a single word. As a result, his hatred for women only grew further, and he disrespected all women since he had no role model to show him how a good woman behaved. Smith and Gullen (2017) state that the main significant woman in his life mistreated him and cruelly treated him, hence the best explanations for his actions against prostitutes. Even when married, he still had extra-marital affairs with prostitutes and never remained faithful to any of his wives. He would have turned out different, and only if his mother had been kind, then he would remain respectful to all women. Additionally, the domestic violence experienced at home made him believe that brutality is something normal. All this, combined with his anger towards his mother, escalated into the person he is now (Smith & Gullen, 2017).
Psychological Character
The interviews conducted after Ridgway’s arrest showed that he enjoyed killing those women. Gary dumped their bodies like garbage (Real Crime, 2020, 14:19). He found total satisfaction and meaning in doing it since it made him feel better. Gary stated that all the prostitutes he had chocked were trash, and he had homicidal and erotic imaginations concerning his mother (Chan, 2019). Through these interviews, it was clear that he lacked care towards anyone. The lack of compassion and dehumanizing behavior caused someone like Ridgway to continuously kill his victims without feeling guilt. He lacked the comprehension of what people underwent through his actions, and that is why he plainly said that they meant nothing to him at all. He rarely remembered their races, height, names, or even appearances in general. He once murdered a sixteen-year-old and hated the look on her face as she fought for her life. Because of this, he opted to kill them from behind since he did not want to have these images in his memory. Therefore, it is clear that murderers are fully aware of their targets’ suffering, which gives them the pleasure and satisfaction they need. An action that would make us human beings fidget is making someone else feel complete. Total self-fascination and insignificance to social behaviors are Ridgway’s most notable character. Although he did not care about his victims, he lamented the inconvenience encountered when dumping their bodies. His main concern lay on the bodies ruining his truck’s light and not on the actions that he had done. At first, he was reluctant to discuss having intercourse with the dead bodies, but immediately he opened up, he provided all the required details without concealing anything (Chan, 2019).
Interestingly, Gary enjoyed the company of other people and even made friends to the point that he married three times and conceived a son. Although he had the temptation to kill his second and third wives, he did not since the authorities would quickly catch up with him. Gary used his son’s pictures as the bait to lure in prostitutes to lower their guards down. Ridgway sustained his façade by mentally separating his life into categories; he operated well at work, went to family occasions, and sorted his bills while also planning his killings at the same time. Something that helped him succeed for the longest time with his killings (Chan, 2019).
Conclusion
All analytical aspects show that George Ridgway enjoyed his killings and had no remorse for his wrongdoings. He attained pleasure and satisfaction through killing that only he understood the sensation. His upbringing and surroundings played a significant role in shaping his current behavior. His mothers’ lack of respect for him, together with all the shaming, negatively affected him to the point that he needed an outlet for his negative emotions. In addition to the domestic violence he encountered while still at his parents’ house, his growing hatred and desire made him perceive his actions as the right ones. Something that led to the violation of acts against prostitute women whom he held no respect for at any point. All these events led to a serial killer who did more harm than good to the escapees of the United States.
References
Agnew, R. (2017). Building on the foundation of general strain theory. Recent Developments in Criminological Theory, 311-354.
Bandura, A., & Hall, P. (2018). Albert bandura and social learning theory. Learning theories for early years practice. SAGE.
Chan, H. C. (2019). Case 13—The Washington green river killer: The case of Gary Leon Ridgway (1982–2001; U.S.A.). A Global Casebook of Sexual Homicide, 211-231.
Real Crime. (2020). Gary Ridgway: The Green River Killer [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Ruggiero, V. (2021). The degrowth movement and crime prevention. Crime, Law and Social Change.
Smith, C., & Guillen, T. (2017). The search for the Green River Killer: The true story of America’s most prolific serial killer. Open Road Media.