Gary Ridgway: The Green River Killer

The story of America's most prolific serial murderer, told by the reporters who covered the case from the beginning.

Gary Ridgway got away with murder for more than two decades. When he was finally brought to justice, the Seattle-area truck painter pleaded guilty to strangling 48 girls and young women, while leading the double life of a married man with a steady job.

The true number of victims was probably 60 or even 70. "I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight," Ridgway told the court.

Here, for the first time, is the story of the longest and largest case of serial murder in American history, told by the newspaper reporters who covered the story from the day it began -- July 15, 1982 -- to the day Ridgway was convicted -- Nov. 5, 2003.