Podcast Summary: Stolen Voices of Dole Valley

Episode: The Confession
Date: December 16, 2025
Host: Carolyn Osorio (Lemonada Media)
Podcast Series: Shadow Girls

Episode Overview

"The Confession" delves into the chilling details of Gary Ridgway’s (the Green River Killer) confessions to police, examining the psychological warfare detectives waged to elicit the truth, the devastated families seeking closure, and the lasting trauma inflicted on survivors and families. The episode intercuts police interview tapes, commentary from law enforcement, voices of the families and survivors, and the host’s own personal reflections on vulnerability, trauma, and healing. The theme centers both on the crimes and their aftermath—how communities remember victims, and how cycles of violence, neglect, and exploitation continue.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Difficulties of Eliciting a Confession

• Detectives’ Approach: Investigators pursued the truth for the sake of families, enduring psychological toll and facing Ridgway’s remorselessness (00:52).
• Ridgway’s Manipulation: He treats memories as possessions or trophies, withholding details as a form of control (02:52).
• Detectives’ Strategy: Used comparisons (what if your son was the victim?) and persistent questioning to break Ridgway’s defenses (01:17–02:52).

2. Ridgway’s Methods and Psychology

• Described how Ridgway lured victims using his son and props like kids’ toys to appear non-threatening (04:03–05:45).
• Quote:
  “I told Matthew I’d be back in a couple minutes. I go for a walk.” – Gary Ridgway (04:29)
• Admission of Possible Filicide: When asked if he could have killed his own son if he witnessed a murder, Ridgway chillingly says,
  “No, probably not. I don’t know. Possibly. Though it’s possible.” (05:45)
• Used ruses, staged scenes, and items (e.g. wine bottle, paper bag) to taunt police and throw off their investigation (07:21).

3. Confession Motives and Gamesmanship

• Ridgway sought to control the narrative, hoping to influence public perception and even fantasizing about being featured in true crime books by Ann Rule (07:45).

• Quote:
  “I was gonna call in where the site was, call in a couple days later. That was in my mind.” – Gary Ridgway (09:28)

• Ridgway inserted himself into the investigation: planting evidence, sending letters, moving remains to different jurisdictions (10:43–13:32).

4. Why Confess Now? Confession Dynamics

• Detectives’ and Ridgway’s psychological sparring is detailed, with Ridgway often lying or minimizing; his credibility is challenged openly by investigators (16:12).

• Quote:
  “You’re not a stupid man, yet you’ve done some incredibly stupid things…Your credibility—I really can’t say you have any right now.” (16:12)

5. Investigative and Emotional Costs

• Detective Tom Jensen and Sheriff Dave Reichert reflect on the physical and emotional toll of not only the investigation but of sitting across from a killer (17:31–25:16).

• Reichert shares about personally going to the victim families, forming long-term bonds, and promises to never give up (24:09–25:16).

• Quote:
  “How could you not get emotionally involved? …I just wanted to catch the guy that hurt and took the lives of these people.” – Reichert (24:49)

6. Unique Showdown: Reichert vs. Ridgway

• The critical confrontation: Reichert (now Sheriff) meets Ridgway face-to-face, attempting to build rapport and ultimately get to the truth (25:16–29:18).
• Ridgway’s delusions of grandeur exposed: wants Tom Cruise to play him in a film (28:29).

7. Candid Confessions: Misogyny, Hatred, Family, and Victim Blaming

• Ridgway admits to hating women, practicing his strangulation technique on wives/girlfriends, and even fantasizing about killing his mother (33:26–36:22).

• Quote:
  “Maybe it was my mayday present for you guys…to throw you off.” – Ridgway, about posing a body fully clothed (09:45).

• Ridgway says he would have killed his stepdaughter if he’d picked her up while she worked as a prostitute during his killing spree (33:20).

8. Understanding Evil vs. Understanding Causes

• Retired Sheriff John Urquhart dismisses psychological explanations:
  “Some people are just evil. And Gary Ridgway is one of those people.” (37:57)

9. Impact on Victims’ Families and Communities

• Courtroom montage of family statements: raw anger, pain, and, for some, forgiveness (39:13–41:27).
• “You are a loser. You’re a coward. You’re a nobody. You’re an animal.” – Victim’s family member (40:19)
• Robert Rule forgives Ridgway for killing his daughter Linda Rule (40:58).

10. Remembering the Victims and Ongoing Trauma

• Families and advocates refuse to let victims be reduced to names. Jenny Graham shares the cost of telling the truth about abuse in her family and stands up for her murdered sister (42:46–45:04).
• Many victims remain unidentified; authorities believe true victim counts may be higher (45:07–47:25).

11. The Ongoing Crisis: Prostitution and Exploitation

• The podcast pivots to narrator Carolyn Osorio’s personal history—how her own risky adolescence placed her close to the GRK’s victim profile (48:49–57:35).

• Testimonials from survivors, advocates, and social workers stress the deep roots and enduring dangers of commercial sexual exploitation.

• Quote:
  “Our culture helps create people who do not value the lives of women and girls…It’s just prime to have another Gary Ridgway out there.” – Martha Linehan / Steve Davis (59:31–59:53, 47:48).

12. Building a Living Memorial and Healing

• Focus on the Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS) in Seattle: moving from a planned physical memorial to a living, artistic memorial supporting survivors (60:34–70:09).

• Survivors share how art workshops at OPS helped their healing and sense of worth.

• Quote:
  “Art gives us a way to heal. I just can’t believe how I’m able to draw myself, my granny, my daughter…” – Doris Beeman (69:33).

• The living memorial celebrates survivors’ stories, resilience, and growth.

13. Takeaway Messages & Calls to Action

• Detective Reichert emphasizes remembering the families and supporting current vulnerable girls and women:
  “Put yourself in their place. Imagine losing your child…Remember the families of the victims. And then remember there are still little girls out there, young women out there, that are still engaged in this underworld of human trafficking.” (73:38)

• Carolyn reiterates: supporting the living memorial, seeking closure for past and present victims, and the healing that comes through breaking silence and community action (74:55–76:59).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “You remember a lot of details. When we drove yesterday, you pointed out 10 spots where you remember taking ladies. So I’m starting to think you have a very good memory…Her family wants to know what happened to her. As bad as the details are, they still want to know.”
  – Detective, speaking to Ridgway (01:17)

• “With a flat affect, Ridgway would describe his cruel and sadistic ruses which he employed to get his victims to trust him. A lethal combination of ordinariness and cunning subterfuge.”
  – Carolyn Osorio (04:03)

• “He would collect other people’s chewed gum and used cigarette butts, which he then strategically placed at some of the cluster sites, hoping to throw investigators off.”
  – Carolyn Osorio (10:43)

• “You want to be unique, you know, you don’t want to be seen as a John Wayne Gacy… you’re different.”
  – Reichert, to Ridgway (28:06)

• On why the killings diminished:
  “No, I had a different personality towards people. I had somebody to care for, and I love my wife. I didn’t want to do any more killing.”
  – Ridgway (15:01)

• “Our memory is not in your words. You said that they didn’t mean anything to you…But she meant everything to us.”
  – Victim’s family member at sentencing (39:48–40:13)

• “Put yourself in their place…there are still little girls out there, young women out there…get involved and help some of the agencies in our communities.”
  – Dave Reichert (73:38–74:55)

Timeline & Timestamps of Major Segments

• 00:00–10:00: Introduction; detective approach to confession; Ridgway’s manipulation and ruses
• 10:00–17:30: Ridgway’s tactics; investigative challenges; moving and staging remains
• 17:31–25:16: Emotional/psychological toll on detectives; Reichert’s bonds with families
• 25:16–36:22: Reichert-Ridgway showdown; Ridgway’s psychology, misogyny, and confessions
• 36:22–47:25: Reactions from law enforcement and victims’ families; scope of crimes, the confession, courtroom drama
• 47:25–59:53: Reflection on vulnerability; connections to the victims; prostitution and exploitation culture
• 59:53–70:09: Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS)—living memorial, survivor healing stories
• 70:09–75:00: Present-day realities of exploitation; honoring victims and survivors; closing thoughts, calls to action
• 75:00 - End: Host’s ongoing journey for personal closure and final reflections

Tone and Language

The episode maintains a deeply empathetic, investigative, and reflective tone. Osorio’s narration is both factual and personal, blending investigative journalism with lived experience. Law enforcement and survivor voices are straightforward, raw, and sincere; Ridgway’s interspersed interview audio is disturbingly cold.

Conclusion

"The Confession" offers a haunting, multi-perspective deep-dive into the Green River Killer’s crimes, the relentless pursuit of truth by investigators, the voices and memories of the forgotten, and the struggle to find meaning and healing amidst lasting trauma. It calls for honoring victims not only through remembrance, but through activism, cultural change, and community support for survivors.

Support the living memorial and survivor services:
www.seattleops.org