1
Hey, let me get those.
It's okay.
No, it's cool, I got it.
Thanks.
Yeah, thank you.
So, uh, you girls
at the University?
Yeah.
Most of the people in here are.
You're kinda outta the
usual age range, no?
Yeah, well, uh,
I'm not a student.
You don't say?
I did go to university,
in Washington, in the late '60s.
Washington? What are
you doing out here?
Traveling.
So, uh, you girls in a sorority?
Yeah.
Which one?
Why do you wanna know?
Just making conversation.
We're in Chi Omega.
Nice.
Listen, we were
just heading home.
We were?
Uh, it was nice to meet you.
You girls won't stick around?
I'm buying.
No, that's fine.
Thanks again.
Margaret?
Lisa?
So, what have we got?
Female.
I'd say she's about 16 or 17.
Christ.
Ligature marks
around the throat,
no defensive wounds
on the hands,
maybe she was taken by surprise.
Perhaps approached from behind.
She's been in the
water for a while.
Hey.
Hey, honey.
Oh.
Tough day, huh?
You could say that.
Deb home?
Yeah, she's upstairs.
Tell her dinner will
be ready in half hour.
Yeah?
Hey, Dad.
Hey, how was school today?
Ah, you know, the usual.
A main course of
government propaganda
with a side of condescension.
You don't say things like
that to your teachers, do you?
No.
I toe the line like a good girl.
Thank you.
You okay, Dad?
Um, yeah, yeah, I'm fine.
Your mother said dinner
will be ready in half hour.
Cool, thanks.
Mm, that's nice.
It's so good.
Water?
- Mm.
- Did you make this
from the box again?
- How did you know?
- 'Cause it's really good.
Cheeky.
And it's better than
your other one.
- Don't be so cheeky.
- Better than my other one?
Mm-hmm.
I don't know.
So...
Mm-hmm?
What's happened today?
Well, you've got a funny
story about Mrs. Appleby,
don't you?
I think she stole the
other neighbor's baby.
What?
Yeah, 'cause I heard crying
coming from her house.
Maybe it was her granddaughter.
Hello?
It's Tom, sorry
to bother you at home,
but you need to hear this.
What is it?
We found three more.
Three more?
Bodies.
In the Green River.
The ligature marks to the neck
are consistent with an
approach from behind.
All the victims share
the same features,
the ligature marks,
no defensive wounds
to the hands or arms,
all had recently had sex.
Both the missing women
worked as prostitutes.
They were last seen at the
SeaTac strip, near the airport.
Looks like we have a
serial killer on our hands.
This isn't random opportunism.
If all the victims share
the same profession,
the killer's
cruising prostitutes.
These women came
with him willingly.
He may well be a regular
down on the strip.
Considering the lack
of defensive marks
and recent sexual activity,
the women could've been
killed post-coitus,
or even mid-coitus.
Clear signs of
sexual motivation.
We've had calls from the press.
This is gonna be big news.
You wanna handle the briefing?
Sure.
Have you
put any surveillance
on the SeaTac strip?
No, not at this stage.
How many officers have you
put onto the task force?
Um, that number I cannot
tell you right now.
We'll get back to you on that.
How much is this
going to cost the taxpayer?
I can't answer that.
Next.
Is there any truth to the rumor
that the police are not
taking this seriously
because it involves prostitutes?
No, there
is no truth in that.
Anyone else?
Well, do you have any suspects?
No, no, no.
Are we done?
Thank you for coming.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Detective Richards?
Yes.
I'm Bob Keller,
I work with the FBI
Behavioral Science Unit.
Come in.
So, what brings
you to Green River?
I saw the press conference.
I thought maybe I could help.
You gonna help me improve
my public relations skills?
You know what we do at the
Behavioral Science Unit,
Detective Richards?
I'm vaguely familiar.
Call me David.
Okay, David.
We develop and provide
programs of training,
research, and consultation
in the behavioral
and social sciences
for the FBI and law
enforcement community.
If you don't catch
this killer quick,
dealing with the press
isn't gonna get any easier.
Well, I've set up a task force,
led by myself and
Detective Tom Johnson.
We've had confirmation
all of the victims
frequented an area
known for prostitution.
It's likely the killer is
a regular visitor there,
so we're staking it out, as
well as the Green River itself.
But it may make it easier to
identify the killer's habits
if we formed a
psychological profile.
And that's something
I can help you with.
Sure.
Have you ever had
any direct experience
with a serial killer,
beyond just consulting
on the case files?
I have.
Back in '74, I was a rookie
detective in King County.
Two girls disappeared from
Lake Sammamish State Park
and several of us were assigned
to assist the Issaquah Police.
I became part of a task force.
We identified Ted Bundy
as the main suspect
in the murders.
You came face to face with him?
Yeah,
I sat in on one of
his first interviews
after he was arrested.
What was he like?
On the surface, very
articulate, always polite.
In many ways, he reminded
me of a politician.
Smart appearance
and he knew how to dance
around the tough questions
and divert the conversation
towards his own agenda.
But you saw through it?
I realized I had a nose
for this kind of thing.
I knew the moment he sat
down in that interview room,
he was wearing a mask of sanity.
I saw the truth
behind those eyes.
He's on death row now, right?
Yeah.
Actually, I've interviewed him
several times
since he was convicted.
There are lots of murders
he hasn't confessed to
and bodies which
we never recovered.
I think he will only
give up the information
if he can get
something out of it,
like a reprieve from execution.
Ironically, for a man who dealt
out so much death to others,
he fears dying.
So, what are your
thoughts on this one, Bob?
Can you help us build a profile?
I'd say so.
Obviously, the first
determination
is that these murders
were very likely the
work of one person.
The same modus operandi
was employed in each death,
and body clusters often suggest
that one individual
is responsible.
He has familiarity
with the Green River
and surrounding area.
This suggests a local man.
He was likely raised in a
family with marital discord
and physically and
emotionally abused.
Possibly even strict religious
or puritanical morals
imposed by one or both parents.
I'd say he's currently between
his mid-20s and mid-30s.
Given that all
the victims so far
have worked in prostitution,
we can assume that the killer
has frequented the red light
district for sexual encounters
which didn't always
end in murder.
However, there will
likely be self-loathing
as a result of these encounters,
and it may trigger his
deep-seated hatred of women.
Murderers who strangle often
speak of an intimate connection
they feel with the
victim as they die.
It's twisted to you and I,
but this man may feel
at his most alive
when he's causing death.
That's why I know
he'll strike again.
Every day, he deals with
the scars of childhood,
poor relationships, and a
generally unremarkable life.
That buzz he gets from killing,
he'll seek it out at every
opportunity available to him.
Strangulation,
same as the others.
How old is she?
I'd say she's in her 30s.
They've all varied in age.
It's clear that isn't a
factor when selecting victims.
I bet this one
works the strip too.
She's been posed
very deliberately.
There's fish and a wine
bottle entwined with her body.
They weren't placed by accident.
He didn't do that with
any of the other victims.
Could be some kind
of religious motive?
That ties in with the
strict religious parents
you mentioned in
the briefing, Bob.
Could be,
could also be game-playing.
How do you mean?
He watches the news
like everybody else,
he could be sending us a message
or having a personal
joke on our expense.
She was stripped
naked like the others,
but they found her dress
just a few yards
down the riverbank.
We bagged it and took it in.
No sign of any
other items so far.
Is he getting sloppy?
Maybe.
Or, like I said,
he's taunting us.
Catch me if you
can, so to speak.
Do you
have any suspects?
Out of the way, please.
Have you
made any arrests?
No comment.
Nothing to say at this stage.
How many
more are gonna die?
Out of the way, please.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
In Seattle,
another grim discovery today
that could be connected to the
string of Green River murders
that have shaken
that West Coast city.
Explorer scouts today
found a fourth skull
off in a wooded
area outside of town
where three other skeletons
were discovered this weekend.
Most of the victims have
been young prostitutes.
So, Sandra, how did
you and Dave meet?
We actually went to
the same high school,
but we didn't really meet there.
I used to see her in the
stands at the football games.
I found it quite distracting,
pretty sure I missed a few
catches because of her.
Yeah, right.
Anyway, um, I worked after
school at the local library,
my mom worked there for
years, so she got me a job.
It was just around the
corner from my house,
so I'd go in every day after
school,
check out some books.
I'd find pretty much any
excuse to talk to her.
About... after two months,
Dave had this huge
stack of overdue books.
I liked talking to him, so
I didn't wanna remind him,
and, um, then he
realized on his own
and brought in this
big stack of books.
And I told him I would
get rid of the fees
if he took me out to
dinner, which he did,
and here we are.
What a great story.
Are you married, Bob?
I was...
to Kathleen.
She died a year ago, cancer.
Oh, god, I'm so sorry.
Hey, Deb?
What was that about?
I don't know.
Do you want me to
go talk to her?
No,
no,
I'll go.
Excuse me.
What?
You okay?
Not really.
Have I done something wrong?
I'm sorry, it's just, I
was at a party earlier,
some guys started saying things.
About what?
You.
What did they say?
They said everyone in town
knows you're
messing up the case.
Some of them said
that their parents
watch you on the news
and call you names.
What kinda names?
They say you
don't have any balls,
and that you're too weak
to catch the killer.
I'm sorry you had to hear that.
I know it's not your fault,
I'm sorry for getting
mad, it's just--
You have every
right to be annoyed.
It's my job, you
didn't ask for this.
It's not just your job
though, is it, Dad?
What do you mean?
It's your life.
You and your mother are my life.
But we have to share you
with all of the criminals in
this little part of the world.
They get more of
your time than we do.
I'm sorry, Deb, I'll try to
make more time for us.
Okay.
Okay.
He's been
called the Green River Killer
ever since the first
bodies, five of them,
were pulled from this river.
You know, this issue with the
press isn't gonna go away.
I didn't have any
new information,
there was no point
talking to them.
But we did get
something new today.
Nothing to leak
to the press yet,
but it could change how
you deal with the media.
The posing of the body
with the wine and the fish?
Yeah.
That wasn't part of
his modus operandi
with previous victims.
That was his way of
engaging with us,
or, more to the point, you.
It's like he's saying, "This
is my banquet, Detective."
You really think he sat at
home watching the news reports?
Of course.
Narcissism is one of the
symptoms of psychopathy,
that's the dichotomy.
Damaged self-esteem
on the one hand,
but also a grandiose sense of
self-importance on the other.
In the killer's head,
this murder spree may
be the ultimate game.
Now you're his main opponent.
Sun Tzu, the Chinese general
who wrote "The Art of War",
he said, "If you're
far from your enemy,
"make him believe you're near."
Just something to keep in mind.
As you know, we've
discovered another body.
I won't be taking
any questions today,
I just came to say one thing.
I wanna talk directly
to the killer.
I know you're out there,
watching this,
I don't need profilers
and psychiatrists
to tell me you're a
sick son of a bitch.
You're not even a man,
I doubt you have the
equipment for it.
You're a demented pervert
who doesn't deserve to
breathe the same air
as the people you have
so callously murdered.
You are gutless, pathetic,
and when your luck runs out,
and make no mistake, it will,
I'll be right there
to take you down,
you got that, you
piece of?
That's a promise from me to you.
Thank you.
Hey, slugger.
How was school today?
Good.
He made you this.
...Began in
the summer of 1982,
and since then, an
army of detectives
and a multimillion-dollar
computer system
have been unable to
track the killer.
Thank you.
It is a familiar routine,
for the Green River Task
Force sifting through
any remaining
evidence on the site
where someone had stumbled
across human remains.
Your office forwarded this.
You haven't been demoted
to mailman already,
have you, Tom?
If we don't
catch this prick soon,
maybe I will be.
Oh my god.
Dearest Bob.
It has been the better
part of two years
since we've corresponded,
and I must admit,
I've missed it.
I've followed,
with great interest,
the case of "The Riverman",
and see from the news reports
that you are advising
the task force.
I recently saw a press
conference
with Detective Richards.
Not the usual police
officer, is he?
He seems to be taking
it quite personally.
As you know,
I have some experience in The
Riverman's field of expertise.
I believe I can help you.
If you have the
time to visit me,
along with Detective
Richards, please do.
Time for me is running out,
I would like to make
use of what remains.
Kind regards, your old
friend, Theodore Bundy.
David, your thoughts?
Well, the key question is,
could he actually help
the investigation,
or would he be leading
us on some circle jerk
for his own amusement?
He has an agenda,
he always does.
What's his agenda
here? To buy time?
Yeah, I'd say so.
Like he says in his letter,
time is running out for him.
He'll do everything he can
to court favor with
the authorities
and get a reprieve
from execution.
What's it like coming face to
face with someone like that?
Maybe you need to
find out for yourself.
At some point,
you're gonna be face to face
with the Green River Killer.
After you meet Ted Bundy,
evil will no longer
be a mystery to you.
What?
Two days talking to
a madman in Florida?
Don't you have enough
to deal with right now?
It might be a complete
waste of time,
or it could help with the
investigation, who knows,
but we have no suspects yet,
I have to try everything I can.
I just worry about
you, that's all.
It'll be fine.
Come here.
Where are you going?
I've got a few errands to run.
Well, you know you're
looking after Adam tonight.
How come?
I've got a dinner with
Amy and the girls.
It's her birthday, I told
you about this weeks ago.
What's the matter?
What's the matter?
I've got something
important to do.
It's been playing
on my mind all week,
I need to take
care of it tonight.
Come on, Gary, I
had my plans first.
If you have to leave the house,
can't you take Adam with you?
I guess so.
Thank you.
I'll be home around 11.
Alright.
Dad, where are we going?
I gotta pick up a friend of
mine, drop her off somewhere.
Hello, Bob.
Ted.
Long time no see.
It's been a while.
And this must be the
famous Detective Richards.
As always, Ted, we'll
be recording this.
Of course.
It's the 2nd of September,
approximately 9:30 p.m.,
at Florida State Prison.
This is a tape-recorded
interview with Bob Keller,
David Richards, and Ted Bundy.
So, Ted, would
you like to begin?
Well, this is just
sort of a spontaneous
dialogue we're having here.
I'm not approaching it
in any organized fashion.
I don't even know if I can
be of any real assistance.
You're the detectives after all.
We'd value any
insights you may have.
Well, did you bring a
copy of the case file?
Um, I'm not sure it would
be ethical to give you--
It's fine.
The Riverman enjoys easy prey.
The victims?
Yes.
Prostitutes are low risk.
Not many people would miss them.
Who would you consider
to be high-risk prey?
Well, people who
work normal jobs,
have families, social circles,
people who are noticed.
You know,
with all the slasher movies
being made at the moment,
you should stake out the car
parks of the movie theaters.
I am sure you'd find many
serial killers of the future,
people who go to those films
to fuel their fantasies.
When I was a kid, I just
had the detective magazines.
I don't think staking out
thousands of movie
theaters is practical,
given the limited
numbers of police
we can assign to the case.
Perhaps not.
But you could stake
out his old dump sites.
You mean where he
left the bodies?
Yes.
He'll return to them.
He's going back to
check out the scene
and see the
condition of the body
after it's been
there for a while,
for, uh, well, whatever kick
he might get out of that.
Necrophilia?
Look, what he's
doing is not normal,
so you can't apply
normal standards to it.
He might just drive by, see if
the scene is being disturbed,
if the body has been discovered.
Well, if it hasn't,
well, he might wanna
take it all in again.
Would he go back to a site
after we've discovered it?
Oh, no.
At that point, he wouldn't
touch it with a 10-mile pole.
Why do you think
guys like him kill?
Well, there's a certain
aspect of possessiveness
in serial killing.
I think that's one
way of describing it,
well, in rather bland terms,
but a possessiveness
where the corpse
might easily be as important
as the live victim,
in some respects.
What I mean is,
a possessiveness,
an ownership, a
taking, if you will,
and that's part of the syndrome.
And I think that's one
of the reasons why,
in some cases, not
all, certainly,
but he might be intending
to return to the scene,
interact with the
body in some way.
According to the time of death,
all these murders
happened on a weekday.
What does that tell you?
Well, he obviously prefers
to troll on a weekday.
He might have other
commitments of the weekend,
people he's close to, perhaps.
You think he has family?
Oh, possibly.
What'd you mean by "troll"?
Well, it's what he does.
Watching,
waiting,
selecting.
He knows his hunting ground.
Hey, Julie.
Hey.
This is my son.
You remember, I showed you
a picture of him before.
Oh, sure, yeah.
So, what's the deal here?
You want the kid to watch?
'Cause I'm in to that.
No.
I didn't plan on
bringing him along,
but his mother had to go out.
I figured we'd go to the woods
and he could wait in the car.
I'll be quick.
Sure, I remember.
Get in.
He targets his prey.
He plans what he wants
to do in his mind,
down to the smallest detail.
By the time he closes in,
it's almost like it's
already happened.
Okay,
this is far enough.
You got the money?
So, how do you wanna do this?
That tree over
there, bend over it.
He's played it out in
his mind so many times.
But when the time is right,
and he swoops on his chosen one,
well, then it's like
the spider and the fly.
Fantasy finally becomes reality.
And speaking of fantasy,
well, that's what normality is.
What's normal for the spider,
well, it can seem
like chaos to the fly.
Did she get home okay?
Yeah.
Can you go there, Detective?
Where?
Inside his mind,
think like he thinks.
I'm not sure I can.
Oh, you can.
We all have that coldblooded,
primal instinct within us.
Whether you wanna
touch upon your own is...
well, that's another story.
Hello?
Dave, it's Tom.
What is it?
We've found another body.
Shit.
I thought we had our guys
staking out the Green River?
We didn't find it there,
this one was found in a
woodland near Long Avenue.
Definitely him though, same M.O.
You tell the press yet?
No.
I've only just ordered the
forensics team down there.
Call it off.
- What do you mean?
- Tell the team to back off,
leave the site just
as it was found.
Don't tell the press,
don't tell anyone
in the department
who doesn't already know.
Leave the body exactly
where it was found, Tom.
Why?
Bundy said the
killer will return
to where he dumped the bodies.
If you leave this body there
and he doesn't see
anything on the news,
he might think it's not
been discovered yet.
Then he'll go back.
That's when we'll be
staking out those woods.
Okay, I'll go
myself with Kavanagh.
No, no, I'll go with you,
I'm heading to the
airport right now.
I'll be back in a
few hours, yeah?
Got it.
Bye.
Flying solo today, Bob?
Detective Richards had to
travel back to the Green River.
Have they found another body?
Well, I hope the information
I gave yesterday was helpful.
It was.
And since you're
in a helpful mood,
I thought today we could
discuss a different subject.
What's that?
You know, Ted,
there are still five cases
we're concerned about,
missing girls,
Washington and Utah.
Okay.
Well, maybe we can
talk about that.
I guess it depends.
On what?
Did you speak to the
attorney general?
I spoke to him last night.
I told him you'd been
receptive to our questioning.
But truth be told, Ted,
he knows there are a lot
of families out there
that need closure.
But before we get down to that,
has the attorney general
discussed in firm terms
what the outcome of these
conversations could be for me?
He said any information
you can provide
which can give the
families closure
will be given the
greatest consideration
when discussions take place
about the implementation
of the death penalty.
Okay.
Good.
Well, I'm sure you know, Bob,
it all began in
Washington state.
That's where I was living,
where I grew up as a
kid and a young man,
where those kinds of impulses
which ultimately led to the
violent behavior were born.
Yeah.
This is where I'm
a little, um...
The presence of the
officer down here,
well, it's a little unnerving.
Some of this stuff I don't
mind talking about because,
well, he wouldn't know
it from Adam, but,
well, I can write it down,
or whisper it to you, whatever.
Okay.
Can you hear that?
Yeah, I can hear it.
I just wrote down the
name Joanne Dawkins.
So...
the Dawkins girl's
head was severed
and taken up the road
about 25-50 yards
and then buried in a location
about 10 yards west of the road
on a rocky hillside
in Washington.
Did you hear that?
Yeah.
Lord knows what the little
creatures up there did to it,
what those animals
would have done.
Well, I can draw you a map
to where you can find it,
if you like.
Thank you, that
would be helpful.
But first, how did
you encounter her?
Oh, I was making my
way up an alleyway,
with my briefcase,
using crutches,
and a young woman
was walking down.
I saw her walk around the
north end of the block
and into the alleyway.
She stopped for a moment
and then kept on
walking down toward me.
About halfway,
I encountered her
and asked if she'd help
carry my briefcase,
which she did,
and we went back
up the alleyway.
Across the street,
we turned right,
on the sidewalk outside the
old fraternity house there.
We rounded the
corner on the left
and headed north on 47.
About halfway up the block,
there used to be
this old parking lot,
which they'd made out of the
burned-out buildings there.
So what happened when
you rounded the corner?
Oh, we went into
the parking lot.
When we reached my car,
I knocked her unconscious
with a crowbar.
Where'd you have that stashed?
Hidden behind the
rear wheel of the car.
Did she see it?
No.
There were some handcuffs
along with the crowbar.
I handcuffed her, put her in
the passenger side of the car,
and drove away.
Dave.
Over there.
Wait.
Wait.
Let's go.
Don't fucking move!
Put the fucking gun down now!
Now put your hands on
your head and back away!
Freeze!
Society wants to
believe it can identify
bad or harmful individuals,
but it's not practical.
The truth is, people who
indulge in this sort of thing,
well, they look just
like everyone else.
Their subconscious might
be a raging inferno,
but you'd never tell,
they blend in so well.
This is what it
comes down to, Bob,
we serial killers,
we're your sons,
your husbands,
we're everywhere,
and there will be more of
your children dead tomorrow.
All of
us on this earth
know that there
is a time to live
and that there is a time to die,
yet death is always a
shock to those left behind.
Jesus, Dad, you scared me.
I didn't realize
anyone else was up.
Sorry.
Struggling to sleep?
Yeah.
I have a big test
at school tomorrow,
and no matter how
hard I hit the books,
I just, I don't feel prepared.
You'll do great, you always do.
Hey, take a seat,
watch some TV.
The funeral over,
the saddened group
left the graveside.
Deb, you know I
love you, don't you?
Sure, Dad, I
know, I love you too.
I'm very proud of you,
you know that, right?
You got some
whiskey in that cup?
No, it's just tea.
Then what's with all
the declarations?
I just want you to know
how much you mean to me,
that's all.
You're sweet, Dad.
But I better get back to bed,
see if I can get some sleep.
Okay, sweetheart.
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
Where were you on June 17th?
I had to take my
truck to the shop.
Have you ever cruised
the SeaTac strip?
I'm, I'm not familiar
with that place.
His name is Gary
Ridgway.
He was picked up for
attempting to solicit
an undercover police officer
posing as a prostitute in May.
Tom got a hunch
and ran his record.
He was accused of choking
a prostitute in 1980,
near the SeaTac strip.
At the time, he
pleaded self-defense,
after claiming the woman bit
him, and he got released.
One of our officers stopped and
questioned Ridgway last year
while he was in his
truck with a prostitute.
They also approached this guy
in connection with the
kidnapping of Marie Olsen.
Ridgway was questioned,
but not enough evidence
to make an arrest.
Has anyone questioned the
sex workers on the strip?
Several prostitutes saw a man
matching Ridgway's description
regularly cruising the
strip in the past two years.
Now he works at that
factory down in Bellevue,
painting trucks,
so he would pass that
strip almost daily
on his way to and from work.
Sarah Edgar.
I've never heard of her.
So what's your next move?
I think we should get him
to take a polygraph test.
You know those things can't
be considered 100% accurate.
Yeah, I know,
but I need something
more than circumstantial
if I'm gonna convince the chief
there's a case to be made here.
Do you think he's the killer?
Something in my
gut tells me he is.
Then do what you have to do.
Is your name
Gary Leon Ridgway?
Yes.
Have you ever
cruised the SeaTac strip?
No.
Have you ever
hired a prostitute?
No.
Did you know Julie Kakova?
No.
Did you kill her?
No.
He passed.
He fucking passed.
Ridgway?
Yeah.
You know we got nothing
on this guy now.
We executed a search warrant
on his home, turned up nothing.
The forensics team
test this guy?
They took everything from him,
saliva, piss, the whole shebang.
There's nothing conclusive
to link him to any
of the crime scenes.
Shit.
We gotta let him go.
bodies found since 1982.
There have been
several suspects,
but a case can't be
made against any of 'em.
$15 million of
public funds spent.
As of today, the Green River
Task Force will be dismantled.
We simply can't continue
spending this kinda money
and allocating
this much manpower
to an investigation which
has yielded no results.
I know you were expecting
this, and I hope you accept it.
It's over, Dave.
Respectfully, sir,
it'll never be over.
A sad
and ugly chapter
will end tomorrow morning
as notorious serial
killer Ted Bundy
is set to die in
Florida's electric chair.
Officially, Bundy's
execution will be for
the kidnap and murder of
12-year-old Caroline Keach,
but he was also found guilty
of two additional 1978 slayings
and is suspected in
20-40 other homicides,
at least 23 of which
he has confessed to law
enforcement officials
in the past few years.
Faced with execution
after nearly a decade
of court appeals,
Bundy has attempted to
trade confessions for time
to give lawmen details
of all of the murders.
The Florida governor refused
to make such a trade.
Bundy is scheduled to
be executed at 7:00 a.m.
Bob.
Ted.
You know, I could still
provide information.
I've remembered things that
might help the families.
I know you're hoping
for a phone call,
but I don't think it'll come.
Many feel justice is
being served tomorrow.
What about you, Bob?
Do you think justice
is being served?
I'm not here to
pass judgment, Ted.
Well, then why are you here?
I'm interested in your
thoughts on something.
What's that?
Why'd you go down this road?
Well, everyone asks that.
Yeah, but you never really
answered it before, have you?
What's the point?
Help people understand perhaps.
Maybe I can give you
a little insight too.
Maybe the truth is
I don't have an answer
to your question.
Whenever I'm interviewed,
people always ask, do I feel
guilt for what I've done?
Guilt...
it's an illusion,
a mechanism of social control.
It's very unhealthy, does
terrible things to the body.
What about when you
were young, Ted?
What was your emotional
state of mind?
Confusion.
I could never understand what
made people want to be friends,
or what made people
attracted to one another,
or what underlays
social interactions.
I'd watch people
and see them feel,
but, I don't know, I
could never be like them.
Do you remember the first
time you felt the urges?
I certainly fantasized.
Well, as a young
boy of 12 or 13,
I'd encountered
soft-core pornography,
outside the home, local
drug or grocery stores.
Young boys,
they explore the sideways and
byways of their neighborhood.
And in our neighborhood, people
would dump their garbage,
and from time to time,
we'd come across books
of a more graphic nature,
detective magazines and so on.
Well, I wanna emphasize this,
the most damaging
kind of pornography,
I'm talking from real
personal experience here,
is the kind which involves
violence and sexual violence.
The wedding of those two forces,
as I know only too well,
well, it brings about behavior
that is too terrible
to describe.
When did fantasy
become a reality?
As a teen,
I was dealing with
very strong inhibitions
against violent and
criminal behavior
that had been conditioned
and bred into me
by my environment,
the neighborhood,
schools, church.
It's a very difficult
thing to describe,
the sensation of
reaching a point
where I knew I couldn't
control it anymore.
The barriers I had
learned as a child
were not enough to hold me back
from seeking out and
harming somebody.
How did you feel the first
time you committed a murder?
Even all these years later,
it's difficult to talk about.
Reliving it through talking is,
well, difficult,
to say the least,
but I want you to
understand what happened.
It was like coming out of some
horrible trance or dream.
I can only liken it
to being possessed
by something so awful and alien,
and then the next morning,
waking up and remembering
what happened,
and realizing that, well,
in the eyes of the law,
and certainly in
the eyes of God,
you're responsible.
Possession is an
interesting word.
What I did, it was like
possessing them, physically,
as one might possess
a potted plant,
or a painting,
or a horse,
owning, as it were, this person,
and then taking
ownership of the remains.
But when I'd wake
up in the morning
and realize what I'd
done with a clear mind,
with all my essential ethical
and moral feelings intact,
well, it absolutely
horrified me.
The feelings of pleasure
derived from what you did
clearly outweighed any
feelings of being horrified,
because you repeated it so much.
Maybe so.
Also, when you compare
people to possessions,
well, I think it's hard to
believe that you felt anything,
certainly if in your mind,
people are no different
to material things.
What's your point, Bob?
I've spoken to your family,
quite in depth, actually,
and they were very candid.
I don't know if you know this,
but your aunt has a very
interesting memory of you
from when you were
three years old.
And what's that?
She recalled waking
up from a nap one day
at your grandparents' house
to find herself surrounded
by knives from the kitchen.
You were stood by your
aunt's bed, smiling.
Well, I can't
say I remember that, Bob,
so I'll have to take
her word for it.
If it's true, it's very
telling, don't you think?
How so?
Well, in my line of work,
I'm always asked
"is serial killing down
to nature or nurture?"
That incident with your aunt
would suggest it's
down to nature,
that you were born with
a darkness inside of you.
But the thing is this,
there are many people out there
who are born with
darkness inside of them,
there are many people
who suffer violence
or have terrible things
happen to them as kids,
but they don't all grow
up to be serial killers.
Is this going somewhere, Bob?
It's like the parable
of the two wolves.
And what's that?
A father is talking to his son,
and he says there are
two wolves inside of us,
always at battle.
The good wolf represents
things like kindness,
bravery, and love.
The bad wolf represents things
like greed, hatred, and fear.
The son stops and thinks
about it for a second,
and then looks at
his father and says,
"Which one wins?"
And the father quietly
replies, "The one we feed."
And I guess you think I
fed the bad wolf, right?
Yeah.
Is it nature or nurture?
A little of both for sure,
but the bottom line is this,
we all have a choice about
the person we become.
We create our own reality.
Ted Bundy, the
notorious serial killer,
died today in the electric chair
after a night of
weeping and praying.
Let me do that.
So,
your first press conference
as the new chief.
You nervous?
Almost 20 years of
dealing with the press,
you get used to it.
I'm proud of you.
You deserve this, and
you've worked hard for it.
I couldn't have
done it without you.
Mm, behind every great
man is a great woman.
I know it's a cliche,
but it's true.
We're a team.
This isn't just my
achievement, it's ours.
Can I confess something?
Yeah.
I'm relieved.
You are?
Mm-hmm, a desk job gets
you off the streets,
which means I'm gonna
sleep better at night
knowing you'll be safe.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
There you go.
Thanks, honey.
You've faced much
criticism over the years
for your failure to apprehend
the Green River Killer,
how do you think the
victims' families might feel
watching your career go
from strength to strength
while the person who
murdered their daughters
is still at large?
Yes,
I've spent almost two
decades haunted by this.
My career has progressed, yes,
but it hasn't stopped
the nightmares.
My arrest and conviction rate
is the highest on the force,
but there is not a day goes by
when I don't think about
the one that got away
and all the pain he caused.
Which is why today,
I am announcing
that I will be reforming
the Green River Task Force.
Considerable resources
will be diverted
to resuming the investigation,
and I will be personally
overseeing it.
I want the victims'
families to know one thing,
I will not rest until the
killer is behind bars.
You saw the conference on TV?
I did.
I know you wanted
me to play it safe
and stay behind a desk,
but I just can't
let this one go.
You gave years to this,
I saw what it did to you,
I'm worried.
I just gotta get back out there
and nail that son of a bitch.
And you think if you find him,
you're gonna not
be haunted anymore?
I don't know, but this
isn't just about me.
You gave your life
to public service,
you don't owe anyone anything.
If we'd have lost Deb, you'd
want justice, wouldn't you?
Yes, of course,
but you being a martyr
doesn't do anyone any favors.
When the case was active,
you were here physically,
but your mind was miles away.
Is it a good thing for you
to fight for other
people's families
when your own has
to suffer for it?
You know I love you, but
this is how I was made,
this is what you married.
Well, if you've
made up your mind,
I guess there's nothing
else for me to say.
Well, do you support me?
I can't do this without you.
I'll always be by your
side, you know that.
And I hope when
you find this guy,
you get the inner peace
that you're seeking.
One of the victims,
Marsha Intola,
the one who was posed with
the fish and the wine...
Yeah?
She was stripped
naked like the others,
but there was a
dress found nearby
which was identified as hers.
There was a semen sample
taken from the dress.
We also recovered semen
from several of the victims.
I know we established
many years back
that the samples were
all from the same man,
we just did not
have the technology
for a more detailed DNA profile.
So what can we do now?
Our advances mean that the
sample from the discarded dress
will stand strong
against the suspects
we have on our database.
We should also be
able to get matches
on the semen samples retrieved
from the other victims.
Okay.
Let's get it done.
These are the results?
The same guy's DNA matches
every sample recovered
from the victims.
I don't even need to open this.
It's Gary Ridgway, isn't it?
Let's go get him.
Put your hands
in the air.
One false move and I'll put
two in the back of your head.
Slowly, put your hands
behind your back.
Gotcha, asshole.
In the early 1980s,
the area around the Green
River, south of Seattle,
was the site of one of
the most gruesome
serial-killing sprees
this country has ever seen.
At least 49 women, police say,
mostly prostitutes and runaways,
disappeared or
were found murdered
along this stretch of water.
Gary Leon Ridgway,
now in custody,
was a prime suspect back then,
but police didn't have enough
evidence to make a solid case.
Now, new technology, police say,
has linked Ridgway's DNA
with DNA found on three of
the Green River victims,
while other evidence, police
say, ties him to a fourth.
A team of scientists
spent more than 800
hours on the lab work.
They got you chained up
pretty good there, don't they?
Yeah.
They must be concerned about
whether or not you're
gonna run off, huh?
I guess so.
You wouldn't
do that, would you?
Not this time.
Give us a minute, will you, Tom?
Sure.
I'm the lead investigator
on this case.
I know.
That means you and
I must've stood
in a lot of the same places.
I think we stood in every place.
What do you think about that?
You were on one side,
I was on the other.
Where I killed them, you were
the one who recovered them.
Now,
finally,
we meet.
Yeah.
I've been working on
this case a long time.
Looks like I've caused
you a few gray hairs.
So, Gary, you've been
pretty forthcoming so far,
but do I know everything
there is to know?
Yeah, I'm not holding
anything back.
Can you really
look me in the eye
and tell me you're not
holding anything back?
I haven't been, um,
you know--
Wait a minute, your eyes
are going back and forth.
I'm not lying to you.
Yes, you are.
The thing is, Gary,
you and I can be enemies
or we can be buddies,
that's your choice.
If you're gonna
keep lying to me,
then we'll be enemies.
So, what you gonna do?
I don't know what you want.
The bodies.
There are more, aren't there?
Yes.
So, how are we
gonna work together?
You want me to tell
you where they are?
Yes.
We're gonna find every
last one of them.
Alright.
My memory is hazy, but I'll try.
Yes, you will.
We should've gotten some
champagne to celebrate.
That's alright, I'm just happy
to be here with you both.
How do you feel, Dad?
Relieved.
But the hardest part
of it all... memories.
You'll get some closure now
that you've caught the guy.
Yeah, Dad, it's finally over.
Bob, what you doing here?
Thought I'd pay you a visit
given the recent headlines.
I stopped by the house,
Sandra said you might be here.
It's good to see you.
Been a while, huh?
Yeah, it has.
I think congratulations
are in order.
Oh, it was a team game,
you were part of that team,
you should give yourself
a pat on the back.
I think we can all be thankful
for the advances in DNA.
True.
So, what now?
Time to move on.
Ridgway's behind bars,
the healing can begin.
You know, there's one
thing I keep asking myself.
How do we stop this thing
from happening again?
There are a multitude of things
we could do to
make a difference,
greater education from
a psychology standpoint,
spotting the warning signs
of psychopathy early on.
From a law enforcement
standpoint, we have
advances in DNA
and a better network
of communication
between the agencies.
But, maybe I'm getting
soft in my old age,
I just can't help
thinking about it
from a philosophical standpoint.
I'm intrigued.
Well, if those of us who are
positive in our intentions
spread enough love and light,
maybe there won't
be so much darkness
for evil to maneuver in.
I never had you down
as an idealist, Bob.
I never used to be.
But the times, they
are a changing.
You know what?
I think you're right.