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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
46 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.