Who were the victims of the Green River Killer? Here's everything we know about the American serial killer ahead of Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil

The new Hulu docuseries Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil highlights the way serial killer Ted Bundy helped create a profile and ultimately hunt down another infamous perpetrator, Gary Leon Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer. It premieres August 7, 2025.

As Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil revisits one of the largest serial murder investigations in American history, it also draws attention to the individuals whom Ridgway victimized. Between 1982 and 1998, Ridgway attacked young women, many of whom were runaways or sex workers, in the Seattle area.

Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to 48 murders in 2003, although he said he had killed as many as 71 women, as reported by KingCounty.gov. Some victims remained unidentified for decades and were only recognized later through DNA analysis and forensic genealogy.

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The victims of the Green River Killer

The Green River Killer case started in July of 1982 when the body of 16-year-old Wendy Lee Coffield was found in the Green River. Within a month, four more victims, Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Fay Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills, and Cynthia Jean Hinds, were also located in the area, according to KingCounty.gov. Eventually, investigators connected Ridgway to dozens of similar murders.

As highlighted by ComingSoon.net, Ridgway's victims tended to be young women and girls (ages 14-26). Most were vulnerable individuals, mostly runaways and sex workers. He confessed to having killed at least 71 women, though there have only been 49 confirmed so far. Some victims who were specifically teenagers include Debra Estes (15), Sandra Major (20), and Wendy Stephens (14).

Some of the victims went unidentified for decades. In December of 2023, DNA and genealogical analysis linked "Bones 17” to 15-year-old Lori Anne Razpotnik, as reported by The New York Times.

Lori had run away in 1982 and had never come home. In January of 2024, the only unidentified remains tied to Ridgway were confirmed to belong to Tammie Liles, who was also 16 years old. She had been previously connected to another set of remains found in 1988, according to CBS News.

Ridgway was arrested in 2001 after DNA linked him to several killings. He pleaded guilty to 48 counts of first-degree aggravated murder in 2003. He later admitted to more murders and even suggested the number could be close to 80, as per ABC News.

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How Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil revisits the Green River killer's case

A still from Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil (Image via YouTube/Hulu)

Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil is a six-part docuseries based on 12 hours of unreleased audio recordings. It shows how detectives Robert Keppel and Dave Reichert turned to Bundy for help and guidance in profiling the Green River Killer.

The investigation was brought to a standstill, and Bundy offered to give them insight into the psychological patterns of the killer, according to the show's description.

Bundy told investigators that Ridgway would have likely returned to the crime scenes and practiced necrophilia. According to him, the murders were acts of possession, not just acts of violence. These interviews contributed to investigative strategies even though Ridgway was not identified as a suspect for many years after that.

Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil is also based on the book The Riverman, co-authored by Keppel and Bill Birnes. The series seeks to provide a more thorough understanding of Bundy's manipulatively psychotic psyche and Ridgway’s gruesomeness.

Moreover, as CBS News noted, all 49 of Ridgway's confirmed victims have now been identified. However, a few other unsolved cases from the same era are still being investigated.

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Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil can be streamed on Hulu.