/ Green River Killer

06:40 PM PST on Wednesday, November 5, 2003

By ELLEN LIANG / KING5.com

SEATTLE - Defense attorney John Henry Browne, who has worked on a number of high-profile criminal cases, met with Gary Ridgway as a potential attorney, and remembers him as "very mild-mannered, very matter of fact, just like we saw (in court)."

He believes the plea bargain was the best decision made for all involved, because many of the murders may not have been solved otherwise.

"Personally, I think it's a very wise decision by (King County Prosecutor) Mr. Maleng…," he said. "As I understand it, 41 of the murders would not have been solved without Mr. Ridgway's cooperation, and that is a significant factor."

KING John Henry Browne

One question that came out in court Wednesday was whether rape was part of Ridgway's motivation. Investigators and the public had long assumed that sex played a role in the murders, but there was no mention of rape in court.

According to Browne, long ago there was speculation there was no sexual motivation in the murders, despite newspaper reports to the contrary, and that the killer would be somebody who had a problem with prostitutes in general.

"From what we heard today, there were no allegations of sexual misconduct," he said. "It implies to me that there was no sex involved in the murders because that would be an additional aggravating circumstance and one that the prosecutors would be very leery to leave out…So what we know is that he apparently had a problem with prostitutes and it sounds to me more that was the motivation more than sex."

Ridgway may have had a zealous motive as far as ridding the world of prostitutes, Browne suggested.

However, motive is not something the state has to prove in a criminal case, Browne pointed out.

"Legally, it's not required," he said. "My guess is the prosecutors demanded it so the family and public would know. It's very unusual to see in a plea situation."

Asked why it took so long to finally arrest Ridgway, Browne said the leads on Ridgway were ignored because he did not fit the profile.

"I don't think profiling is really a very valuable tool," he said. "Polygraphs are not reliable - a sociopath can pass one very easily (including Ted Bundy)....I do think this could be one of those instances where profiling was the culprit."

There were also some proof problems. The fact that Ridgway's DNA was found on some prostitutes did not necessarily mean he killed them, only that he patronized them.

Browne also said he doubts whether the Jane Doe cases will be solved. "I would assume that if the King County Medical Examiner has not been able to make identification of them, we'll probably never know who they were."

It would not be surprising to hear that Ridgway had killed elsewhere, Browne added. "For serial killers, the compulsion does not go away, and it seems that his compulsion was to rid the country of prostitutes," he said.

Browne predicts that life in prison for Ridgway could be tough, particularly due to his notoriety.

"Many sex offenders and child molesters have a very unpleasant time in prison," Browne said. "Now, I'm not certain to what extent sexual misconduct had to do with this case - that may make a difference as to how Mr. Ridgway is treated. Of course there are always people in prison who want to make a name for themselves by doing someone in. I think he's going to have an extremely difficult time in prison."