For years, Gary Ridgway sat at the top of Dave Reichert's suspect list. In 2001, the DNA finally proved it.
In Part 2, former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert describes the day detectives laid a DNA chart on his desk and handed him an envelope with the killer's name inside. Evidence collected in 1982 had been too degraded to test in 1999. By September 2001, the lab could do it, and the results matched Gary Ridgway.
Reichert walks through the two months of surveillance and the decoy operation before the arrest at Kenworth Trucking, the 40,000 tip sheets investigators had to work through, and the microscopic paint spheres that ended Ridgway's defense. He explains why detectives backed a plea deal that would give answers to dozens of families instead of risking a trial on seven cases, what six months of interviews with a pathological liar were like, and the field trip on which Ridgway pointed to the same trail Reichert had chosen years before.
He also shares how he unexpectedly became sheriff, went on to serve in Congress, and what two decades of recovering victims and notifying families cost him personally. His book is Chasing the Devil.
This episode contains graphic descriptions of violent crime.
👍 If you support law enforcement stories told with honesty and context, like, subscribe, and share.
🔔 Turn on notifications so you don't miss the next episode.
💬 Drop a comment below — what moment from this episode hit you hardest?
📋 Watch the full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2wve6lDC8CG05NH7uNQXc2fS8aW_hOeY&si=yvaW_8jLlr7q1D5L
🔗 Part 1: https://youtu.be/pK5l5jG-Yu8
🌐 Listen to the audio version at: https://heroesbehindthebadge.com/
© 2026 Citizens Behind the Badge. All Rights Reserved.
Timestamps:
0:00 — A Name in an Envelope
1:03 — Waiting on the Science
4:11 — Surveillance, a Decoy, and the Arrest
7:22 — Why Wait Two Months?
9:16 — 40,000 Tip Sheets
10:57 — Could He Get Away With It Today?
15:06 — Paint Spheres and the Plea Deal
18:41 — A Field Trip With a Killer
21:52 — From Sheriff to Congress
27:23 — The Toll of the Case
Keywords:
Dave Reichert, Gary Ridgway, Green River Killer arrest, King County Sheriff, Green River task force, DNA match, cold case DNA, Kenworth Trucking, surveillance, plea deal, death penalty, life without parole, microscopic paint spheres, forensic evidence, serial killer interview, Chasing the Devil, homicide detective, police podcast, law enforcement interview, true crime podcast
