Ridgway faces 3 new charges

STACEY MULICK; The News Tribune

 

Ridgway

Gary Leon Ridgway, already accused in four Green River serial killings, faced three new murder charges Thursday as prosecutors expanded their case against the former truck painter.

The additional aggravated first-degree murder counts stem, in part, from microscopic

paint particles found on the clothing of two victims. All three women were linked years ago to the Green River Killer case.

King County prosecutors contend the chemical composition of the paint is identical to that used at the Kenworth Truck Co. plant where Ridgway worked for 32 years.

"It is key evidence we look forward to presenting to a jury," said Prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Prosecutors filed the charges one day before a court-imposed deadline for bringing any more charges against Ridgway, 54.

It was unclear how the new charges will affect the March 16, 2004, trial date or the costs of the case, which has cost more than $4.9 million so far. The new charges caught Ridgway's defense team by surprise, said attorney Tony Savage.

"I thought they had their act together when they filed the original information, but apparently not," he said.

"We'll obviously be scrutinizing whatever quote, unquote new charges they've come up with," said defense attorney Mark Prothero.

Thursday's charges were in the deaths of:

• Wendy Lee Coffield, 16, of Tacoma. She was last seen July 8, 1982, when she told her foster family she was going to visit her grandfather in Tacoma.

Two boys on bicycles found Coffield's body July 15, 1982, in the Green River. She was the first victim found in the river.

• Debra Bonner, 23. She was last seen alive July 25, 1982, leaving a hotel in King County. Her body was discovered Aug. 12, 1982, in the Green River.

• Debra Estes, 15. Her remains were discovered on a construction lot at South 348th Street and First Avenue South in Federal Way on May 30, 1988, nearly six years after her disappearance.

Ridgway previously was charged with the 1980s deaths of Marcia Chapman, 31; Cynthia Hinds, 17; Opal Mills, 16; and Carol Ann Christensen, 21.

The Federal Way-area man pleaded not guilty to those charges in 2001. He will enter a plea on the new counts next week.

While DNA evidence plays a role in the case of the first four deaths, the new charges rely on forensic evidence from clothing found with the bodies of Coffield and Estes.

The new charging documents do not detail specific evidence concerning Bonner. Prosecutors and investigators declined to talk about the link between Bonner and Ridgway.

Prosecutors said the clothing were a pair of Coffield's jeans, which were used to strangle her, and Estes' knit shirt, which was buried with her.

The clothing and other items were sent to Microtrace, an Illinois laboratory that specializes in the analysis of trace evidence.

Scientists found tiny spheres of sprayed paint - invisible to the eye - in the clothing, court documents state. Spray paint forms into small spheres and, if they dry while airborne, can become embedded in the weave of clothing fabric, court documents state.

Scientists found that the paint spheres in the clothing matched a specialized coating Kenworth used in 1982. The paint was not in general use.

The families of Coffield and Estes could not be reached Thursday. Bonner's mother, Shirley Bonner, said she didn't want to talk about the case.

King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, a lead investigator in the Green River case in the 1980s, told the families about the new charges Thursday morning.

The sheriff's office's Green River Task Force will continue to investigate the 42 other deaths and disappearances attributed to the Green River Killer, Reichert said. However, he said, the size of the task force will be continually re-evaluated, based on the sheriff's office's resources.

"Those other families are seeking justice and seeking closure," Reichert said. "There is no way in the world we cannot investigate an unsolved murder."

Sheriff's investigators arrested Ridgway on Nov. 30, 2001, as he left his job at Kenworth. He's been held in King County Jail ever since.

Last September, he filed for separation from his wife, Judith. Savage said the decision did not reflect any estrangement and that Judith Ridgway has visited her husband in jail.

The separation and later sale of the couple's home near Federal Way were done to pay part of Ridgway's defense costs and to ensure that Judith Ridgway was not left destitute.

"The money was divided equitably between Judith and Gary," Savage said. "She got the bigger portion. Nobody wants her out in the streets with a tin cup in her hand."

Staff writer Sean Robinson contributed to this report.
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
stacey.mulick@mail.tribnet.com

Trial costs at a glance

The Gary Ridgway murder case cost more than the combined expenses of all other murder cases in the state last year. The state Office of Public Defense lowered the initial request by attorneys for $5.6 million to $4.9 million and sent it to the Legislature, which has yet to decide whether to fund it.

A breakdown of costs:

PROSECUTION:

Attorney salaries: $511,506

Discovery costs: $1,185,941

Sheriff's investigation costs: $2,732,101

DEFENSE:

Attorney salaries: $606,101

Investigation costs: $99,526

Expert witness costs: $488,592

OTHER:

Jail costs: $46,684

Other adjudication: $9,784

TOTAL: $5,680,235

Source: State Office of Public Defense