"Judgment Day Is Coming": Former Sheriff Dave Reichert on Gary Ridgway, Unedited KIRO 7 Interview, December 2025

Name: "Judgment Day Is Coming": Former Sheriff Dave Reichert on Gary Ridgway, Unedited KIRO 7 Interview, December 2025
Uploaded: 2025-12-02T00:00:00Z
Duration: 13 min 11 s
Description: Dave Reichert, the Green River Task Force detective who became King County Sheriff, answers a KIRO 7 reporter's questions for 13 minutes about the families, the DNA match, the 2003 plea deal and Ridgway's lies.

Dave Reichert, the Green River Task Force detective who became King County Sheriff, answers a KIRO 7 reporter's questions for 13 minutes about the families, the DNA match, the 2003 plea deal and Ridgway's lies.

Subject: Gary Ridgway
Recorded: about December 2, 2025
Runtime: 13:11

Content warning: Concerns the murders of girls and young women and the recovery of their remains; brief references to decomposition, no other graphic detail.

The Interview

This is a 13-minute-11-second unedited interview recorded by KIRO 7 News in Seattle and posted by the station on December 2, 2025. A KIRO 7 reporter, heard off camera and not named, questions Dave Reichert, who worked the Green River investigation as a King County detective from its early days in 1982 and later served as King County Sheriff and as a U.S. Representative. Gary Ridgway is not heard.

Historical Context

Gary Ridgway murdered girls and young women in King County, Washington, beginning in 1982. The Green River Task Force investigated the killings for nearly two decades. Ridgway was arrested on November 30, 2001, after DNA testing linked him to several victims. On November 5, 2003, under an agreement that spared him the death penalty in exchange for his cooperation in locating remains, he pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated first-degree murder, and on December 18, 2003, he was sentenced to 48 consecutive life terms without parole. He pleaded guilty to a 49th murder in 2011.

Circumstances

On December 1, 2025, KIRO-FM reported, citing anonymous sources, that Ridgway was receiving end-of-life care at the Washington State Penitentiary; the Washington Department of Corrections said he was not in hospice care, although he had health issues. KIRO 7 recorded this interview in response and posted it unedited. Reichert says he has heard Ridgway is close to death and saw a photo of him in a wheelchair almost a year earlier.

What the Interview Covers

Reichert says his first thought is for the families, some of whom waited years to learn what happened to their daughters and some of whom still do not know. He says he always knew the task force would catch Ridgway, that Ridgway was among the investigators' top suspects for the 19 years of the case, and that he knew in 2001, through DNA, that they had him. He describes the lasting effect on detectives of recovering remains, and recalls that when Ridgway was asked why he killed, "he said because he could." He credits his friend Bob Keppel's experience on the Ted Bundy investigation and says the task force's outdoor crime scene techniques are still used. He defends the 2003 plea deal: he says he met with every family over a weekend at a hotel near Pacific Highway South in SeaTac, that only seven cases could have been charged, and that the deal answered questions for many more families. He calls Ridgway "a pathological liar" who cooperated only to save his life, and ends: "He better pray, because Judgment Day is coming." Asked about closure, he says, "there's never closure for the families."

What Makes the Recording Significant

It is a long, unedited account from the investigator most closely associated with the case, including his first-hand description of the family meetings before the 2003 plea and of Ridgway's answer to why he killed.

Archival Importance

A retrospective interview, not coverage from the time of the crimes.

Important Caveats

Ridgway is not heard; the words attributed to him are Reichert's recollection. The figures are Reichert's own as he states them ("48 cases initially," "pleading guilty to 49," "we close 51 cases," "he says he's killed 65 people"); Ridgway pleaded guilty to 49 murders and has been reported to have confessed to many more (Wikipedia gives at least 71). The reporter's "nearly a hundred people" is the reporter's figure. The December 2025 report that Ridgway was near death was disputed by the Department of Corrections; no death has been confirmed for this handoff, and page copy must not say he has died. The reporter is not named in the video.

Kiro 7 Reporter: So, if anybody is familiar with Gary Ridgway, it would be you. What is your reaction to the news that you've heard about his health?

Dave Reichert: Well, you know, what I've heard is that he's close to death, but I've been hearing that for several months. And almost a year ago, I saw a photo of him in a wheelchair. He didn't look too healthy then. So I don't know what his current status is, but I'm hearing he is close to death. I guess my thought on that is that I'm... [pause] I'm really thinking about the families and what they're going through right now, because every time this case comes up, they have... it just brings up everything. The missing persons reports that they filed, the length of time they had to wait to find out what happened to their daughter. Some, it was six years, and there are still some today that don't know what happened to their daughter. So my main thought today, as we look at Ridgway's impending demise, is about the families, and prayers and thoughts about the families. They've lost their loved one, a hole that they couldn't fill their entire life. Still empty today.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And just, this case went on for decades. Did you ever fear that you guys weren't going to catch him?

Dave Reichert: No, I always knew we'd catch him. We just didn't... we had a never-give-up attitude. I had a great team of people. You know, there were people who were very, very committed to evidence processing, and committed to preparing for the interviews that we did with Ridgway, committed to the outdoor crime scene processing. You know, we collected scores and scores of dead bodies of little girls and young women. So what this monster did, and that's the way I refer to Ridgway, he's an evil monster who invaded our lives here in Washington State, in Oregon, took the lives of our little girls and young women, someone's sisters, brothers, daughters, granddaughters, ripped their lives out of their families, terrorized the community, put a dark cloud over the state of Washington. And he finally got his judgment from this earthly judge, and I'm understanding that soon he'll face another judgment, which could be pretty harsh.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And just, when was the turning point for you in that case? When did you know it was him?

Dave Reichert: Oh, I knew it was him when the science of DNA came along, which, you know, in the early days of 1982, in the early days of the case, we didn't have that kind of science. And so in 1999, 2000, that started to be more and more of a science that was usable in investigations. So I knew in 2001 that we had him through DNA. We had, you know, most of us had top five suspects throughout the 19 years that we were working on this case, and he was always in the top.

Kiro 7 Reporter: For you personally, how have you gotten through this? Because I can imagine just the things you have seen, the things you've uncovered when specifically on this task force to find this man...

Dave Reichert: Yeah.

Kiro 7 Reporter: How have you... how difficult was that for you?

Dave Reichert: You know, so I like to say that not only did he traumatize the families with the taking the lives of their daughters, their loved ones, but there was, you know, you don't forget collecting the bodies of little girls in various forms of decomposition, bits and pieces here and there. You don't forget that. It's something that you always are aware of. This case has been... it's just me now. It's not something that's separate. It's a part of me. It's a part of how I think and how I act and how I treat people, how I think about life. And I know that's true with all the detectives that worked this case, because they were very dedicated and tenacious.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And just, you talk about dealing with the detectives and everything, but what was it like dealing with these families who were searching for these answers, and just grieving?

Dave Reichert: And that's a key. The way you asked the question is absolutely correct. They never have closure. The families were only searching for answers to questions about what happened to their daughter. And, you know, when he pled guilty, the questions were answered. And that's the... I guess that's the most that the families could really... that we could give them, are answers to questions. We asked him why did he kill, and he said because he could. That was it.

Kiro 7 Reporter: When you hear yourself say that's what he told you, how do you fathom when someone says it in that way over an act like that?

Dave Reichert: I think, you know, rational human beings struggle with this, because how was this monster created in the first place? Was he born this way? Was it a combination of, you know, growing up at home in a dysfunctional family and biological circumstances that came together, created Ridgway? I don't have the answer to that question, but I do know that he has no remorse. He was more guilty about stealing a hubcap than taking the life of a human being.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And this task force, I mean, the work you guys put in to find a person who's murdered nearly a hundred people. How has the work you guys did impacted other task force agencies who investigated... because I won't use the term "people like Ridgway," because I don't think there's ever someone like that. But how has your work impacted other agencies when they look in cases like this?

Dave Reichert: Well, you know, the investigation of Ted Bundy: I was real good friends with Bob Keppel, and the experience of Bob Keppel and Ted Bundy was useful for us in the task force, trying to find the Green River Killer. So I know that as we gained expertise in outdoor crime scene processing, that those techniques are still used today. There's been some enhancement with technologies that you can use now to help with processing and measuring and that sort of thing. But a lot of what we did all the way through the '90s in the task force, and then into 2000 when we found additional bodies, are still used today. The advantage that investigators have today, they have technology to help them in a system. They have new sciences, DNA, and new sciences that can evaluate other forensics science, other forensic evidence.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And, you know, back in 2003, when he was convicted, life sentence, got the plea deal: if he shared more information to where these other victims were, he would avoid the death penalty.

Dave Reichert: Yeah.

Kiro 7 Reporter: But after you... after your personal encounters with him, talking to these victims' families, do you think that deal was worth it?

Dave Reichert: Absolutely. Yeah. I, you know, if you look back at the footage during those days, there was a lot of discussion around death penalty or life in prison. And I met with all of the families, every one of the families, and they could bring pastors, their whole family if they wanted to. Sat Friday, Saturday and Sunday at a hotel room up off of SeaTac, off of Pacific Highway South in SeaTac. And we talked about the upcoming plea bargain versus death penalty. And what I heard from most of the parents is that, "We want answers to the questions. We want to know." There were only seven cases that we were able to charge him with. Only seven families would have known, if we went for the death penalty. Interviewing him for six months, and working with his attorneys, and gaining more insight into other crimes that he committed, and solving 48 cases initially and now pleading guilty to 49, we close 51 cases. He says he's killed 65 people. Those 51 families know now that Ridgway is the guy that took the life of their daughter, that stole their daughter's life.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And you touched on it earlier, and I'll end with this: just, with his end near, reportedly, there's still so many families that need those questions answered. To you, for someone who has investigated this firsthand, how would you be able to comfort the families if they aren't going to get those answers?

Dave Reichert: Yeah, I'll tell the families this. I have great faith in the King County Sheriff's Office and local law enforcement here. I've worked with them all. I still interact with them even today. They are committed to tracking down the killers of all unsolved homicides in their jurisdiction. I know that some of them need some financial help from the budget to build cold case units, but I know the detectives, I know the commanders, and I know they're committed to finding these people. It may take a while. Evidence is slim in some of those cases, and years have gone by, but never give up hope. The King County Sheriff's Office, again, I know I'm biased, but these are really hardworking, dedicated cops.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And you... to go back to the plea deal side of things, do you feel like at times Ridgway has misled detectives when trying to find victims?

Dave Reichert: Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, he's a liar. He's a pathological liar. He's a psychopath. He only cooperated to the extent that he had to in order to save his life. And so I feel fortunate that we were able to locate other bodies. After we captured him, he took us to other crime scenes. We recovered additional bodies, provided more answers to the questions that the families were asking, and closed additional cases. So yeah, he's going to play games as long as he's alive. That's the nature of a serial killer. That's the nature of a guy who's, in my opinion, just pure evil.

Kiro 7 Reporter: And my last question for you is this. As he enters the end, just as someone who caught him, talked to him, investigated him, brought him to justice, what would you say to them, if you could say anything else?

Dave Reichert: He better pray, because Judgment Day is coming.

Kiro 7 Reporter: Thank you for taking the time. One more question. Would you just look at Jake for me, please? Thank you. I know it's been years, and not every case settled, and there's still a lot of unanswered questions. Is this closure? Is this some sort of closure? Would there ever really be closure?

Dave Reichert: No, there's never closure for the families. Never. They've lost their loved one, and they're not going to get him back. And his death doesn't change that. It's another chapter in this story that closes. But the investigation of the unsolved murders continue. And so I know for a fact I'm going to be getting some calls later in my life, and I'm sure they're going to solve other cases. [13:08 to 13:11: no speech.] ---