Green River Killer Vs. Gary Ridgway

The name “Ted Bundy” strikes fear in the hearts of millions of Americans worldwide. He is endowed with titles such as “Mastermind Monster” and the “Campus Killer,” but despite the hype surrounding him, Gary Ridgway (also known as the Green River Killer) had better reasoning skills, better ability to dodge conviction, and more skill in eluding death. Though both serial killers have committed horrifying crimes with similar modi operandi, and though both were convicted of their crimes, Gary Ridgway was ultimately the more intelligent than Ted Bundy.

Despite obvious fallacies in logic on both parts, Gary Ridgway reasoned his killing spree much more intelligently than Ted Bundy. The ingredients that make up a serial killer are well-known: childhood

Bundy is often credited with a savant-like ability to escape conviction, but a true mark of talent is avoiding capture in the first place. Bundy’s first capture was a result of a simple traffic stop. In this instance, the officer suspected his guilt due to the fact that Bundy kept easily identifiable murder weapons in his car, a true testament to his egotism and stupidity. He escaped twice but was captured both times and indefinitely convicted of his crimes within four years. This was largely due to the fact that Bundy was predictable and had a true love for the gore of murder. He described it as a personal competition. Ridgway, on the other hand, had a quiet methodology in victim search and tried to choose his victims randomly. He also kept his killing spree more or less consistent for a total of sixteen years. Even with an abundance of forensic technology compared to Bundy’s time, Ridgway’s bloody career was four times longer than Bundy’s. Not only was he able to avoid police capture, but he had three wives and a child during this time, none of whom ever suspected his connection to the Green River