Why 48 life sentences followed a plea deal that spared Gary Ridgway the death penalty

The number stunned even seasoned court observers.

In 2003, Gary Ridgway, a truck painter from Auburn, Washington, pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated first-degree murder.

He stood accused of killing dozens of women and girls in the Seattle–Tacoma area, most of them runaways, sex workers, or vulnerable young women.

The plea agreement was negotiated with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

It traded the death penalty for Ridgway's cooperation in locating victims and providing details of his crimes.

Judge Richard Jones accepted the plea.

He sentenced Ridgway to 48 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Some victims' families expressed anger that Ridgway avoided execution.

That anger still circulates online as a claim of leniency.

The record shows the sentence was life without parole, not a reduced term.

It shows Ridgway remains incarcerated at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

How did this deal come to be?

Why 48 counts, when Ridgway was originally charged with seven?

Why did prosecutors agree to spare him?

The exact motivations of each party in the plea negotiations are not fully documented in the source.

The deal was controversial.

It was also binding.

It was a bargain for information, and the price was the death penalty.

He was ordered to pay restitution to victims' families.

He cooperated with investigators, leading to the recovery of additional remains.

He is still in prison.

The plea was not a soft option.

It was a trade, accepted by a judge, and measured in consecutive life terms.

The anger of the families was real.

So was the sentence.

THE INVESTIGATION

The first bodies were pulled from the Green River in 1982.

Two of them, found close together, gave the case its name.

The King County Sheriff's Office formed the Green River Task Force.

At its peak, the task force drew in dozens of investigators from multiple agencies.

The lead detective became the public face of the hunt.

Early suspects were investigated and cleared, including a man named Melvyn Foster.

For years, the case sat cold.

Critics said the investigation focused too heavily on the victims' lifestyles, and some argued that focus slowed progress.

Gary Ridgway was interviewed early in the investigation.

He was not charged.

The specific reasons he was not charged earlier are not detailed in the source.

He was not arrested until November 2001.

By then, DNA evidence had linked him to several victims.

Forensic work also turned up paint particles consistent with his work as a truck painter.