DNA identifies unknown Gary Ridgway victim as teenager from Lewis County
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The body of a young woman who was murdered by serial killer Gary Ridgway in the early 1980s has been identified through DNA testing 40 years after her death, the King County Sheriff’s Office announced on Dec. 19.
The victim, whose remains were found near the Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn, Wash. in 1985, was recently identified as Lori Anne Razpotnik of Lewis County. Razpotnik disappeared in 1982 after she ran away from home when she was 15 years old.
Razpotnik’s bones were discovered on Dec. 30, 1985, when City of Auburn employees were called to the scene of a car that had driven over an embankment near the cemetery. Upon searching the area, officials found a pair of unidentified human remains, which they labeled as “Bones 16” and “Bones 17.”
Ridgway led investigators to the same ravine in 2002 and admitted to dumping the young women’s bodies there, investigators said. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to murdering the women but was unable or unwilling to identify them.
In 2012, DNA testing identified “Bones 16” as 20-year-old Sandra Majors. With the help of the Virginia company Parabon NanoLabs, Inc., King County detectives obtained a DNA sample from “Bones 17.” Detectives then collected a saliva sample from Razpotnik’s mother and asked the University of North Texas to perform a DNA comparison, which confirmed that “Bones 17” were Razpotnik’s remains.
"Due to advancements in DNA technology, they were able to develop a new DNA profile to begin the forensic genetic genealogy process," the King County Sheriff's Office said. "After extensive research, they concluded that the victim was Lori Anne Razpotnik."
Ridgeway, known as the Green River Killer, is considered one of the most active serial killers in U.S. history. Ridgeway is linked to the deaths of at least 48 women who went missing around the Pacific Northwest between 1982 and 1984.
The FBI joined the investigation in the summer of 1985 when two of Ridgway’s victims were found near Portland. Ridgeway was arrested by police in 2001 after his DNA was linked to one of his many victims. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to the murders of 48 women and was sentenced to life without parole.