Victim of Infamous Green River Killer Identified After Over Four Decades

Authorities in Washington State have announced the identification of a victim of the notorious Green River Killer, one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. The victim, Lori Anne Razpotnik, who had been known as Bones 17 for almost 40 years since the discovery of her remains, went missing in 1982 at the age of 15, according to a news release from the King County Sheriff’s Office.

On December 30, 1985, investigators were called to Auburn, a city in King County located approximately 25 miles south of Seattle, to investigate a car that had gone over an embankment. At the scene, they discovered two sets of human remains, initially labeled as “Bones 16” and “Bones 17” due to the inability to immediately identify them.

The Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway, who was convicted of 49 murders in 2003, led investigators to the same location in 2002 and confessed to placing several victims there. Despite this information, the identities of the victims remained a mystery for many years.

Breakthrough in Identifying Bones 17

More than a decade later, Bones 16 was finally identified as Sandra Majors through DNA testing. The identification of Bones 17, Lori Anne Razpotnik, was made possible through recent advances in forensic genetic genealogy testing. Investigators enlisted the expertise of Parabon NanoLabs in Reston, Va., who conducted the testing. Detectives in King County also obtained a saliva sample from Ms. Razpotnik’s mother, which was used for DNA comparison by the University of North Texas, confirming the identity of the remains.

Prior to Lori Anne Razpotnik, the most recent Green River Killer victim to be identified was Wendy Stephens in 2020. Her remains were discovered in the spring of 1984 in a swampy area near a baseball field in Burien, Wash.

Dave Reichert, a former King County sheriff who played a crucial role in investigating Gary Ridgway’s murders, expressed his condolences to the Razpotnik family. He acknowledged that there are still numerous unsolved female homicides from the mid-1980s through the early 2000s, noting that Ridgway claimed to have killed around 65 to 70 victims, although the actual number remains uncertain.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Gary Ridgway terrorized King County with his heinous crimes. While he was convicted of 49 murders, he has confessed to a staggering 71, and some investigators believe the true number may be even higher.

The Green River Killer’s Apology and Sentencing

In 2003, Gary Ridgway was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During his sentencing, he expressed remorse for his crimes, apologizing for “killing these ladies” and acknowledging that they had their whole lives ahead of them. Ridgway also pleaded for forgiveness from his family and expressed his sorrow for the victims who were not found.

May the identified victims, including Lori Anne Razpotnik, rest in peace and find a better place than the one Ridgway left them.