Current:Home > InvestRemains of Green River Killer's 49th and last known victim identified as teen Tammie Liles — but other cases still unsolved -StockSource
Remains of Green River Killer's 49th and last known victim identified as teen Tammie Liles — but other cases still unsolved
View
Date:2025-04-17 01:08:42
The last known set of remains linked to the Green River serial killer in Washington state belonged to a teenage girl who had previously been identified as a victim, authorities confirmed on Monday. But officials said there are "other unsolved cases" that may be connected to Gary Ridgway.
The remains were identified as those of 16-year-old Tammie Liles, the King County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. She was from Everett, Washington, north of Seattle, according to local media reports.
Authorities had previously identified another set of partial remains -- known as the Bones 20 case -- as also belonging to Liles. There are no other unidentified remains believed to be connected to Ridgway, known as the Green River killer, according to the sheriff's office.
Ridgway preyed on girls and young women in the Seattle area who were in vulnerable positions, including sex workers and runaways, in the 1980s and 1990s. He was long a suspect in the Green River killings - so called because the first victims were found in the waterway, which runs through suburbs south of Seattle. Detectives were unable to prove his role until 2001, when advances in DNA technology allowed them to link a saliva sample they had obtained from him in 1987 to semen found on several victims.
King County sheriff's spokesperson Eric White told The Seattle Times that officials feel a sense of relief that they've been able to give family members of Ridgway's victims answers about what happened to their loved ones.
"It's an immense feeling of satisfaction that in this case, that started in the early 80s, we are able to identify all of Gary Ridgway's victims," White said Monday. "All 49 of them."
Law enforcement identified Liles as a victim of the Green River killer in 1988 by matching her dental records to remains discovered near Tigard, Oregon. Ridgway led authorities to the second set of Liles' remains in southern King County in 2003.
Investigators took a DNA sample from that second set of remains and uploaded it to a national law enforcement database to search for matches at the time, but none were found. In 2022, the Sheriff's Office contracted with Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy company that specializes in forensic DNA work.
Othram built a DNA profile for the unknown victim and the company's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team tentatively identified her as Liles. Investigators then got a DNA sample from her mother and confirmed the match.
King County Sheriff Patricia Cole-Tindall said that Liles' family does not want to speak to the media.
*We appreciate your support in granting the family the privacy they seek during this time," Cole-Tindall said.
"Parents still out there looking for answers"
The identification of Liles comes about a month after another of Ridgway's victims was identified -- 15-year-old Lori Anne Ratzpotnik.
Ridgway's first murder victims were found in 1982 and Ridgway was arrested in 2001. In 2003, Ridgway agreed to plead guilty to all murders that he had committed in King County to avoid the death penalty. Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder in the first degree, according to King's County, and remains imprisoned for life without a chance of release at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Over 10,000 items of evidence collected and logged and stored prepared to go to trial when Ridgway was arrested, according to Dave Reichert with the King County Sheriff's Office.
Reichert said that although the last remains in the medical examiner's office have been identified, there are still more unsolved cases, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
"Ridgway said that he killed 65 to 70 young women and little girls and so far he's plead guilty to 49 and we've closed 51 cases," said Reichert. "So as I said there are other unsolved cases out there that may or may not be connected to Ridgway but there are parents still out there looking for answers about the death and murder of their daughter."
- In:
- Serial Killer
- Cold Case
- DNA
- Washington
veryGood! (78)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Starbucks and Workers United agree to resume contract negotiations
- US Rep. Lauren Boebert’s son arrested in connection with string of vehicle break-ins, police say
- Helicopter’s thermal imaging camera helps deputies find child in Florida swamp
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Prince William pulls out of scheduled appearance at memorial for his godfather amid family health concerns
- Schumer describes intense White House meeting with Johnson under pressure over Ukraine aid
- She wanted a space for her son, who has autism, to explore nature. So, she created a whimsical fairy forest.
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Messi, Argentina plan four friendlies in the US this year. Here's where you can see him
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Expert in Old West firearms says gun wouldn’t malfunction in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
- Washington man to plead guilty in 'killing spree' of 3,600 birds, including bald eagles
- The Biden campaign is launching a nationwide effort to win the women’s vote, Jill Biden will lead it
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Public health officer in Michigan keeps her job after lengthy legal fight over COVID rules
- Israel accused of deliberately starving Gaza civilians as war plans leave Netanyahu increasingly isolated
- Oreo to debut 2 new flavors inspired by mud pie, tiramisu. When will they hit shelves?
Recommendation
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Donna Summer's estate sues Ye, Ty Dolla $ign for using 'I Feel Love' without permission
No, Wendy's says it isn't planning to introduce surge pricing
States promise to help disabled kids. Why do some families wait a decade or more?
Trump's 'stop
FDA to develop new healthy logo this year – here's what consumers could see, and which foods could qualify
$1B donation makes New York medical school tuition free and transforms students’ lives
Horoscopes Today, February 27, 2024