Truck Painter Had No Idea Police Kept His DNA For 14 Years

Police had his DNA for fourteen years. And he never knew. In 1982, young women began disappearing along Pacific Highway South near Seattle — and turning up in and around the Green River. The task force hunting the "Green River Killer" questioned a Renton truck painter named Gary Ridgway more than once. He passed a lie-detector test in 1984. In April 1987, detectives took samples of his hair and saliva — and then let him go. For fourteen years, that saliva sample sat in an evidence envelope while Ridgway painted trucks, went to church, and lived like an ordinary man. Then, in 2001, new DNA technology did what 1980s science could not — and the longest manhunt in King County's history ended in a factory parking lot. This is the full story: the hunt, the sample, the match, the arrest, and the plea deal that produced 48 guilty pleas in a single day. CHAPTERS 0:00 Police Had His DNA for 14 Years 0:13 The Green River — Summer 1982 0:47 The Strip: His Hunting Ground 1:33 The Man in Their Files (1980–1984) 2:46 The Lie-Detector Test He Passed 3:09 April 1987: The Sample 4:02 Fourteen Years of Ordinary Life 4:50 The Sheriff Who Never Let Go 5:54 DNA: MATCH 6:11 The Arrest — November 30, 2001 6:38 Charged With Four Murders 6:54 The Paint That Betrayed Him 7:35 Seven Charges — and the Death Penalty 7:54 The Deal 8:18 Five Months of Confession 9:11 Guilty, 48 Times 9:33 The Sentence 9:50 The 49th Victim 10:14 Walla Walla: Where He Is Now 11:16 The Piece of Gauze A note on how we tell these stories: Real Crime Files uses real photos, documents and newspaper front pages only. No graphic images — just the facts of the case. REAL CRIME FILES — The crime. The hunt. The arrest.