Morbid Motivation to Murder Revealed in ID’s “The Green River Killer: Mind of a Monster”

Beginning in the early 1980s, Washington state was gripped with fear as the bodies of young women began appearing along the banks of the Green River. As the number of victims grew, investigators created a taskforce and enlisted the help of the FBI, but it took almost 20 years to finally catch their man. Through startling and chilling tapes and video archive of Gary Ridgway’s police interviews, THE GREEN RIVER KILLER: MIND OF A MONSTER reveals, in Ridgway’s own disturbing words, insight into his evil: from how his troubling behavior as a child morphed into his morbid motivation to murder as many women as possible. With in-depth interviews from investigators who worked tirelessly to solve the case and jaw-dropping footage, the two-hour special, THE GREEN RIVER KILLER: MIND OF A MONSTER, airs on Monday, February 17 from 9-11 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery, the #1 network for true-crime and mystery programming.

“The Green River Killer is, conceivably, one of the clearest examples that evil exists in our world,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America. “The confessions of this depraved serial killer revealed in this installment of MIND OF A MONSTER expose the truths behind a violent predator with complete disregard for human life.”

As one of America’s most prolific serial killers, Gary Ridgway earned his moniker from the area where he chose to dispose of his victims – along the banks of the Green River in Washington state. Ridgway was convicted of killing 49 women between 1982 and 2001, though he confessed to 71 murders and it is believed he committed more than 90. Ridgway utilized the Pacific Highway South to stalk vulnerable, transient young women, many in their teens. To his friends and neighbors, Ridgway came across as a “stand-up guy” and loving father and husband, a characteristic he often exploited in order to give his victims a false sense of security. A suspect from as early as 1983, Ridgway continued to evade investigators for close to two decades, as they struggled to conclusively link him to the crimes. Ridgway was eventually caught in 2001, after DNA linked him to some of his early victims. THE GREEN RIVER KILLER: MIND OF A MONSTER delves into every facet of Ridgway’s complicated psyche, exposing how he eventually transformed into a prolific serial killer.

THE GREEN RIVER KILLER: MIND OF A MONSTER is produced for Investigation Discovery by Arrow Media with Sam Starbuck as executive producer, John Owens as series producer and Tom Brisley as creative director. For Investigation Discovery, Eugenie Vink is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Kevin Bennett is general manager and Henry Schleiff is Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.