4 October 1998, in Hughes Springs, Texas. Leafie Mason, an 81-year-old female, was beaten to death by Reséndiz, who entered her house through a window. He beat her savagely with a tyre lever. Fifty yards outside her door was the Kansas City Southern Rail line.
17 December 1998, at West University Place, Texas. Claudia Benton, 39, was raped, stabbed and bludgeoned repeatedly after Reséndiz entered her home, which was near the West University train tracks. He then made his getaway in her Jeep Cherokee, which police found in San Antonio, Texas. They found Reséndiz’s fingerprints on the steering column. Strangely enough, the police only issued a warrant for his arrest for burglary, but not for murder.
2 May 1999, in Weimar, Texas. Norman J Sirnic, 46, and his wife Karen Sirnic, 47, were both bludgeoned to death by a sledgehammer in a parsonage of the United Church of Christ, where Norman Sirnic was a pastor. The building was located adjacent to a railway. Reséndiz stole their red Mazda, which was also found in San Antonio, Texas, three weeks later. Reséndiz’s fingerprints were found within the vehicle, which gave the police a positive link to the previous murder of Claudia Benton.
4 June 1999, in Houston, Texas. Noemi Dominguez, a 26-year-old schoolteacher at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, was also bludgeoned to death in her apartment near the rail tracks. Reséndiz then stole her white Honda Civic, which was found seven days later by police on the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. On the same date in Fayette County, Texas, Josephine Konvicka, 73, was murdered with a blow to the head from a pointed garden tool while she lay sleeping. Reséndiz attempted to steal the car but was unable to take it away as he could not find the car keys.
15 June 1999, in Gorham, Illinois. George Morber Senior, 80, and Carolyn Frederick, 52, were also brutally murdered by Reséndiz. He shot George Morber in the head with a shotgun and then clubbed Carolyn Frederick to death. Their house was located only 100yd from a railway line. A witness saw a man matching Reséndiz’s description driving Carolyn Frederick’s red pick-up truck in Cairo, Illinois, 60 miles south of Gorham.
By now, the police search to trace and arrest Reséndiz had gained momentum. In June 1999, the FBI placed the Railroad Killer on its Ten Most Wanted list. The FBI’s initial reward of $50,000 for information leading to Reséndiz’s capture escalated within days to $125,000. In the meantime, police in Jackson County, Illinois, officially linked Reséndiz with the murder of the Gorham killings after his fingerprints were matched. The police in Louisville, Kentucky, were able to do this as well. On 1 July, police in Fayette County, Texas, identified DNA from Noemi Dominguez in Josephine Konvicka’s home, indicating that after Reséndiz had killed the younger woman, he drove her car to the other woman’s home and committed a second murder.
Police missed the opportunity of making an arrest when, on 2 June, the Border Patrol apprehended Reséndiz near El Paso as he was attempting to cross the US–Mexico border illegally. While he was in custody, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service performed a computer search on him, checking his fingerprints and photo against a list of possible fugitives. Because the system failed to identify him as a wanted man, he was deported back to Mexico.
The slip-up proved to be much more than an embarrassment. It was an error of immense proportions. After his release, Reséndiz immediately found his way back into the US where, within 48 hours, as a result of a computer error, he went on to kill four more innocent people.
On 7 July 1999, the FBI enlisted the help of Reséndiz’s common-law wife, Julietta Reyes. Surprisingly, Julietta handed over to the FBI 93 items of jewellery that she had been sent by Reséndiz. She believed they belonged to his victims, and this turned out to be correct. Relatives of Noemi Dominguez quickly identified 13 of the items. George Benton, husband of the murdered Claudia Benton, also identified several items of her property.
The Texas Rangers decided to try another plan to arrest him. They had traced Reséndiz to Mexico, where he had absconded after the double murder in Illinois. At that point he was believed to be hiding near the town of Ciudad Juarez. They contacted his sister Manuela, who was very close to him. They wanted her to try to persuade him to give himself up in an effort to prevent him killing again, or being killed by police should he be located within the US. If he surrendered himself, they said he would be assured of three things. First, his personal safety would be guaranteed while in jail. Second, he would have regular visiting rights so that his wife, sister and others could visit him. Third, he would have a psychological evaluation while he was in custody. The District Attorney endorsed these proposals in writing. Reséndiz, surprisingly, agreed to give himself up and, on 13 July, crossed the border back into the US where he was met and arrested by a single Texas Ranger in company with his sister.
The police were puzzled as to why Reséndiz surrendered so freely in a state that has executed more people than any other. He must have known that, if convicted of any of the murders in Texas, which seemed very likely, he would face the death penalty. The surrender agreement was very concise in detail. In no way was it set out to mislead or confuse Reséndiz into believing he would be spared due punishment. One possible speculation for Reséndiz’s easy surrender was that he feared bounty hunters who, it was known, had gathered in Mexico to collect the reward. Another theory is that the Mexican authorities were currently investigating similar crimes, which he may have been responsible for.
Reséndiz was formally charged with seven murders but only convicted of one of those killings, that of Claudia Benton. In addition, he admitted to two earlier killings on 23 March 1997, in Ocala, Florida. Jesse Howell, 19, was bludgeoned to death with an air-hose coupling and left beside the railway tracks. His girlfriend, Wendy Von Huben, 16, was raped, strangled, suffocated and buried in a shallow grave.
On Wednesday, 12 April 2006, the San Antonio Police Department announced that it had cleared the unsolved murder of Michael White, who was found shot to death in July 1991 in the front yard of a vacant house in downtown San Antonio. According to police, Reséndiz gave them precise details about the murder and was named the prime suspect.
Prior to his case coming to trial, his defence team tried to raise a defence of insanity. However, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by lethal injection. On 21 June 2006, a Houston judge ruled that Reséndiz was mentally competent to be executed. Upon hearing the judge’s ruling, Reséndiz said, ‘I don’t believe in death. I know the body is going to go to waste. But me, as a person, I’m eternal. I’m going to be alive forever.’
He was executed on 27 June 2006, in Huntsville, Texas. When asked if he had any last words he made a statement directed at the husband of Claudia Benton, who was there to watch his execution. He said: ‘Yes sir. I want to ask if it is in your heart to forgive me. You don’t have to. I know I allowed the devil to rule my life. I just ask you to forgive me and ask the Lord to forgive me for allowing the devil to deceive me. I thank God for having patience with me. I don’t deserve to cause you pain. You did not deserve this. I deserve what I am getting.’
GARY RIDGWAY, AKA THE GREEN RIVER KILLER
On 15 August 1982, Robert Ainsworth was sailing a raft down the Green River towards the edge of Seattle’s city limits. As he drifted slowly downstream, he noticed a middle-aged balding man standing by the riverbank and a second, younger man sitting in a nearby pick-up truck. Ainsworth thought that the men were out for a day’s fishing. As he passed them by, he acknowledged them; little did he know that moments later he would stumble across a river of death.
As Ainsworth peered into the clear waters, staring eyes met his gaze. He thought he saw the face of a black woman floating just beneath the surface of the water. His immediate thought was that it was a mannequin and, being curious, he tried to dislodge it. As he did so, he overturned his raft and fell into the river. To his horror, he realised that the figure was not a mannequin, but a dead woman. Seconds later, he saw another floating corpse of a half-naked black woman, partially submerged i
n the water. He managed to scramble out of the river in terror and contacted the police.
Soon after they arrived at the scene, detectives sealed off the area and began a search for evidence. During the search, a detective made another macabre discovery. He found a third body, that of a young girl who was partially clothed. Unlike the other two girls, this one was found in a grassy area less than 10yd from where the other victims lay in the water. It was obvious that she had died from asphyxiation. The girl had a pair of blue trousers knotted around her neck. She also showed signs of a struggle, because she had bruises on her arms and legs. She was later identified as Opal Mills, 16. It was believed that she had been murdered within 24 hours prior to her discovery.
Following an examination of the bodies at the scene, Chief Medical Examiner Donald Reay determined that all three females had died of strangulation. The two females found in the water were later identified as Marcia Chapman, 31, and Cynthia Hinds, 17, and both were found to have pyramid-shaped rocks lodged in their vaginal cavities. They had both been weighted down in the water by rocks. Reay further determined that Chapman, a mother of two who had gone missing two weeks earlier, had been dead for over a week. She showed advanced signs of decomposition. However, Hinds was believed to have been in the river for a period of only several days. The three bodies were not the only ones to be found in and around Washington State’s Green River. Several days earlier, the body of a woman named Deborah Bonner had been discovered. Her naked body had been found slumped over a log in the Green River. She too had been strangled to death.
Just a month earlier, another young girl, identified as Wendy Lee Coffield, had been found strangled and floating in the Green River. Moreover, six months prior to Coffield’s discovery, the body of her friend, Leanne Wilcox, was found several miles from the river in an area of wasteland. Within the space of six months, six bodies had been discovered in or near the river. The detectives at the scene quickly realised that there was a serial killer on the loose. The massive police investigation that followed was initially deluged with an influx of information, so much so that the police at that time did not have the means to process the ever-increasing amount of data and evidence and much of it was lost, misplaced or overlooked entirely. In fact, the situation got so bad that at one point they called for volunteers to assist in the ongoing investigation.
During their investigation, the police ascertained that many of the murdered women knew each other and shared a similar history of prostitution. They decided to commence their search for the killer in the area the girls were known to frequent. They conducted hundreds of interviews with many prostitutes who worked the main strip in Seattle. Investigators tried to obtain information on any suspicious people the women might have encountered. However, many of the prostitutes were reluctant to talk because of their blatant mistrust of the police.
The police reviewed reports of assaults made by prostitutes, which they thought might be related to the Green River murders. Two of these reports, made by two separate prostitutes, claimed that a man in a blue-and-white truck had abducted them and attempted to kill them. According to one account given by Susan Widmark, 21, a middle-aged man in a blue-and-white truck had solicited her. Once Widmark was in his truck, he pointed a pistol to her head and sped off towards the highway. He took her to a desolate road, turned off the engine and proceeded to rape her violently. Following the rape, he allowed her to dress while he began to drive away from the scene with her still in the car. While driving, he made reference to the recent river murders, while continuing to hold a gun to her head. Fearing for her life, she managed to escape from the vehicle while at a red light. Widmark was able to make out part of the registration number of the truck before the man sped away.
A similar incident involved Debra Estes, 15, who made a report to police in late August 1982, concerning a rape. Estes told police that she was walking down the highway when a man in a blue-and-white pick-up truck approached her and offered her a ride. She accepted and climbed into the vehicle. To her amazement, the man pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her head. He forced her to give him oral sex before releasing her into the woods, handcuffed, and driving off. She immediately fled the scene looking for help.
Seeing a pattern emerging that might be related to the Green River murders, the taskforce decided to follow the lead and search for this truck and driver. They hoped that new information concerning the man would give them a break in the case. That September, a butcher named Charles Clinton Clark was stopped by police in his blue-and-white truck while driving along Seattle’s main strip. After a background check was conducted, it was discovered that Clark owned two handguns. Investigators believed that Clark might be the man they were looking for. They obtained his driving licence photo and showed it to both Widmark and Estes. Both women positively identified Clark as their attacker.
Clark was arrested and his house and vehicle were searched. The police found the two handguns that were allegedly used in the assaults. After interrogation by police, Clark admitted to attacking the women. However, there was speculation as to whether he was the Green River Killer because he was known to release his victims following an attack. Moreover, Clark had solid alibis for the times when many of the Green River victims disappeared.
While Clark was being interviewed for the rapes of Widmark and Estes, 19-year-old Mary Bridgett Meehan disappeared during a walk. Meehan was more than eight months pregnant and went missing near the Western Six Motel. The motel was located on the strip and was a frequent hangout and workplace for many of the prostitutes who fell victim to the Green River Killer.
On 26 September 1982, the decomposing remains of a 17-year-old prostitute named Gisele A Lovvorn were discovered. She had gone missing more than two months before. A biker found her naked body near abandoned houses south of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. She had been strangled to death with a pair of men’s black socks. Intriguingly, at the time of her disappearance, she was blonde. Yet, when her body was discovered her hair was dyed black. Although her body was not found in the direct vicinity of the now-infamous river, police believed that she was a victim of the Green River Killer.
Between September 1982 and April 1983, approximately 14 women disappeared. Those missing included Mary Meehan, Debra Estes, Denise Bush, Shawnda Summers, Shirley Sherrill, Rebecca Marrero, Colleen Brockman, Alma Smith, Delores Williams, Gail Matthews, Andrea Childers, Sandra Gabbert, Kimi-Kai Pitsor and Marie Malvar. The ages of the women ranged between 15 and 23 years old. All were known prostitutes who solicited in the same area of Seattle. On 8 May 1983, another body was discovered that was later identified as Carol Ann Christensen, 21. Her remains were found by a family hunting for mushrooms in a wooded area near Maple Valley; her head was covered by a brown paper bag. When it was removed, it was found that she had a fish carefully placed on top of her neck and another fish placed on her left breast and a bottle between her legs. Her hands were crossed over her stomach and freshly ground beef was placed on top of her left hand. Further examination revealed that she was strangled with a cord. Intriguingly, she also showed signs of having been in water at some point, even though the river was miles away. The police speculated that she was yet another victim of the Green River Killer.
During the spring and summer of 1983, nine more young women, many of whom were prostitutes, disappeared. Those missing included Martina Authorlee and Cheryl Lee Wims, 18, Yvonne Antosh, 19, Carrie Rois, 15, Constance Naon, 21, Tammie Liles, 16, Keli McGuiness, 18, Tina Thompson, 22 and April Buttram, 17. The majority of the girls were placed on the ever-growing list of possible Green River Killer murders. However, there were some that police chose to disregard because they were found outside the area where the Green River Killer was known to dispose of bodies.
During the summer, several more bodies were discovered. In June, unidentified remains, believed to be of a 17–19-year-old white woman, were found on Southwest Tualatin Road. On 11 August, the body of missing Shawnda Summers was discovered near Seat
tle–Tacoma International Airport. One day later, the remains of another body, which remained unidentified, were found at the Sea-Tac International Airport North site. The autumn and winter of 1983 would also yield as many disappearances and even more bodies. Between September and December 1983, nine more women went missing and seven bodies were discovered, all of whom were believed to have been abducted and murdered by the Green River Killer. The missing women, who were mostly prostitutes, included Debbie Abernathy, 26, Tracy Ann Winston, 19, Patricia Osborn (believed to be aged 19), Maureen Feeney, 19, Mary Sue Bello, 25, Pammy Avent, 16, Delise Plager, 22, Kim Nelson, 26, and Lisa Lorraine Yates, 19.
Police then found the body of Delores Williams, who had gone missing on 8 March 1983. Her remains were discovered on 18 September at Star Lake. That same day, the remains of Gail Matthews, 23, were also discovered at the same location. Over the next few months, the bodies of five more women were discovered.
On 15 October, the skeletal remains of Yvonne Antosh, last seen on 31 May, were found near Soos Creek on Auburn Black Diamond Road. She was one of the few victims to have had a missing person’s report filed on her. Twelve days later, the partially buried skeleton of Constance Naon was found in an area south of Sea-Tac International Airport.
Investigators believed that there were probably more bodies to be found in that area, so they decided to conduct a search with the assistance of a team of teenage explorer boy scouts. On 29 October, during a sweep of the empty land surrounding the airport, one of the scouts found a skeleton covered with rubbish beneath some bushes. The remains were later identified as Kelly Ware, 22. The killer claimed two more victims, whose bodies were discovered before the New Year. On 13 November, following an extensive search of land surrounding an area south of Sea-Tac, the badly decomposed remains of Mary Meehan and her unborn baby were found. Several inexplicable items were found on or near the body, including two small pieces of plastic, a large clump of hair near the pubic region of the body, a patch of skin attached to the skull with fibres on it, three small bones, two halved yellow pencils and some clear plastic tubing.
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