Stolen Voices of Dole Valley

Episode: The Liar | Date: December 9, 2025

Produced by Pie in the Sky Media and KSL Podcasts, distributed by Lemonada Media

Host: Carolyn Osorio

Episode Overview

This episode, "The Liar," provides an unflinching look into the mind and confessions of Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer—one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. Through authentic interrogation tapes, survivor accounts, and detectives’ insights, the episode reveals Ridgway’s manipulative games, the suffering of his victims, and the battle waged by investigators to wring truth from a pathological liar. The core theme: the struggle to unmask a killer who hid in plain sight, minimize his evil, and erase the humanity of those he killed—contrasted with survivors and families determined to ensure these women are never forgotten.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of the Confession (01:01–04:37)

• Secrecy and the Plea Deal:
  Gary Ridgway was removed from jail and held for months in a secret location to prevent him being influenced by other inmates or plotting with attorneys. The goal: trade his life for truthful confessions, and give closure to families while avoiding a lengthy, costly trial.
  • Quote: "They plastered all the walls with butcher paper... and that's where he lived for almost six months. We had the SWAT team 24 hours a day..." – Retired Sheriff John Urquhart (02:43)
• Jurisdictional Concerns:
  The plea was restricted to King County. If Ridgway confessed to out-of-state murders, he risked the death penalty—something he was cunning enough to avoid discussing (11:20).

The Nature of Ridgway’s Lies (06:51–13:53)

• Manipulation and Memory:
  Ridgway pretended to have poor memory and a low IQ, but investigators quickly saw through these tactics. He recalled mundane details about his life but became evasive about murders.
  • Quote: "His memory problems were highly selective... things that meant something to him, he remembered." (08:22)
• Pathological Game-Playing:
  Detectives recount constant frustration as Ridgway gave convoluted, often contradictory answers.
  • Quote: “If I had a buck for every time you said maybe… I could retire…” — Detective (10:17)
  • Quote: "He was described to me as dumb as a stump, but cunning like an animal..." — Detective (12:57)

Survivor’s Perspective: Rebecca Gardegue (14:01–18:48)

• Survivor Testimony:
  Rebecca Gardegue, the sole woman to escape Ridgway, recognized—but was originally too afraid to act on—his motivations and the police's skepticism toward victims.
  • Quote: "I know that he got a lot of kicks out of getting away with it." – Rebecca (14:49)
  • Quote: "I thought I was gonna die. I don't know what made him let me go..." (15:30)
• Systemic Failures:
  Rebecca didn’t immediately go to police due to fear of being labeled and ignored, underscoring societal failures that enabled Ridgway’s spree (16:19).
  • Quote: "She didn't want to be labeled as a prostitute." (16:31)

Ridgway’s Rationalizations and Misogyny (19:07–32:09)

• Victim-Blaming:
  Ridgway claimed he killed "prostitutes" as a favor to police, a blatant lie and rationalization for targeting vulnerable women.
  • Quote: “I thought I was doing you guys a favor killing prostitutes here.” (18:59)
  • Quote: “Nobody would look for her... That'd be second after looking after an ordinary woman." (20:04)
• Origin Stories and Victim Profiles:
  He feigned rage was triggered by victims' actions, ascribing murder to their lack of enthusiasm or disinterest—again, blaming them for his violence.
  • Quote: “If she wasn’t talking dirty or enjoying it…She might have said hurry up and throw me into rage.” (26:33, 26:51)
• Choosing Victims:
  Ridgway selected those least likely to be missed or believed—runaways, sex workers, young women.
  • Quote: “He was cunning from the way that he could talk to these people… The older sex workers fought too hard, and the young ones didn’t." (12:57)

Confessions: The Details and Their Gaps (33:38–45:48)

• Murder Descriptions, Memory Lapses:
  Despite being pressed, Ridgway’s accounts of his first and subsequent murders were punctuated by conveniently poor memories. Detailed about method—not about victims’ identities or last moments.
  • Quote: “I drove her to the spot in the river...within 10 minutes after I killed her, I drove her to the spot in the river.” — On Wendy Cofield (34:13–34:48)
  • Quote: “It snapped. You heard it, heard snapped?” — On breaking victim’s arm (34:50)
• Necrophilia, Trophy-Taking, and “Games”:
  Ridgway admits to acts like placing rocks in victims' bodies—to symbolically “possess” them and taunt police. He took Polaroids, left jewelry at work for coworkers to find, all to relive his crimes and exert control.
  • Quote: “I taunted the police with the rocks in the vagina… That was power.” (55:07)
  • Quote: “He would surreptitiously leave [jewelry] in the women’s restroom at his work, hoping they would pick it up and wear it so he could relive what he’d done." (57:13)
• Routine and Double Life:
  Ridgway continued mundane daily activities before and after killings, hiding his crimes in plain sight.
  • Quote: “One case on the way to work, picks up a young girl, kills her…has sex with the body in the truck at lunch…has dinner with his wife, watches TV and goes to bed.” — Detective Reichert (60:12)

The Challenge for Detectives and Families (61:16–61:58)

• Detectives’ Frustrations:
  Even after hours and months of interviews, detectives doubted Ridgway’s truthfulness about the full extent of his crimes.
  • Quote: “You really haven’t given up...So that’s why we wonder...why should we believe you on the bodies that you say you didn’t do.” — Detective (61:16)
• Closure and Uncertainty:
  The plea bargain brought partial closure, allowing some families answers, but the full scope of Ridgway’s carnage—and the fates of many “lost girls”—remains obscured by his lies.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Ridgway’s Strategy:
  “He was described to me as dumb as a stump, but cunning like an animal…” — Detective (12:57)
• Rebecca Gardegue’s Resolution:
  “If this person were charged, Would you be willing to prosecute? Yes, I will. Because there could be another person that he does this to, and I know that he got a lot of kicks out of getting away with it.” — Rebecca (14:49)
• Detective’s Frustration:
  “If I had a buck for every time you said maybe since we’ve been doing this, I could retire...” — Detective (10:17)
• Ridgway on Power:
  “I taunted the police with the rocks in the vagina...That was power.” (55:07)
• Life in Parallel:
  “He was a killing machine...has sex with the dead body in the back of the truck, drives back to work, finishes out the shift…has dinner with his wife, watches TV and goes to bed.” — Reichert (60:12)

Important Time Stamps

• Ridgway’s first removal and plea agreement background: 01:01–04:37
• Interrogation tapes reveal Ridgway’s selective memory, lies: 06:51–13:53
• Rebecca Gardegue’s surviving account: 14:01–18:48
• Ridgway’s rationalizations and detectives’ psychological probing: 19:07–32:09
• Confessions on early murders, details/failures: 33:38–45:48
• Polaroids, trophies, and workplace “games”: 45:55–58:05
• Ridgway’s daily double life described by Detective Reichert: 60:12
• Detective’s skepticism about Ridgway’s truthfulness, closure for families: 61:16–61:58

Tone & Language

Throughout, the episode maintains the original, unsparing tone: haunted, relentless, frequently chilling. Survivors’ and detective voices are plainspoken, measured, weary but determined. Carolyn Osorio weaves fact with empathy, making clear the human cost while refusing Ridgway the final word or mythologizing his evil.

Conclusion

"The Liar" exposes both the monstrousness and banality of Gary Ridgway—his cruelty disguised by ordinariness, his victims dehumanized by his lies, and the dogged pursuit of those who refused to let these women vanish into silence. This episode is a sobering chronicle of the cost of denial, the failures of the justice system, and the indomitable will of survivors and investigators determined to reclaim the “stolen voices” of Dole Valley.