King County Prosecutors have charged serial killer Gary Ridgway, dubbed the Green River Killer, with an additional count of Aggravated First Degree Murder in the death of 20-year-old Becky Marrero who came from White Center. Marrero's remains were found in December of 2010, giving prosecutors enough evidence to charge Ridgway in the murder he confessed to in 2003 (insufficient evidence prevented them from charging him at that time). Prosecutors said the death penalty will not be sought as a result of Ridgway's plea bargain. More information is posted below, coming from Prosecutor Dan Satterberg's newsletter.
From King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg's monthly newsletter, The
Prosecutor's Post:
Today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (PAO) charged Gary Ridgway with Aggravated First Degree Murder for the death of 20-year-old Becky Marrero, whose remains were found in December of 2010 by three teenagers exploring a steep ravine near Auburn.
Marrero's remains were discovered within 100 feet of an area that had been thoroughly searched by members of the King County Sheriff's Office's Green River Task Force in 2003. Ridgway had directed the Task Force to that area, among many others, during the five months he was interviewed by the Task Force. An exhaustive search of the area was conducted, but only the remains of another victim, Maria Malvar, were found at that time.
Ultimately, Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of Aggravated First
Degree Murder in 2003. The plea agreement required Ridgway to plead guilty to the original seven charged counts and any and all future cases where his confession could be corroborated by reliable facts revealed by the investigation.
Ridgway confessed to killing Becky Marrero in 2003, but was unable to provide details of the crime. The PAO determined that there were not sufficient supporting facts to warrant a charge at that time. Prosecutors expect Ridgway to plead guilty to Marrero's murder under the plea agreement.
This is not a death penalty case because it falls squarely within the agreement made in 2003. Seeking the death penalty would not only be difficult, it would be impossible under the agreement. When Norm Maleng made the difficult decision in 2003 to trade the death penalty for the truth about unsolved cases, he had cases like this one and families like the Marrero's in mind.
Becky Marrero's family was finally able to bury her after a church service this past weekend. They finally have answers. They have provided a proper burial, and with these charges and anticipated guilty plea, they will have achieved some level of justice for Becky.
