The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer (29 page)

Someone needed to establish a priority in the investigation of suspects and their elimination. Previous investigations had shown that a lack of a clear priority for the processing of information on suspects resulted in some suspects being partially investigated, their elimination postponed by investigations of a “better” suspect, which in turn resulted in the team’s having to play catch-up, trying futilely to avoid being overwhelmed by masses of work. The current suspects needed to be rated on a reliable scale of probable guilt. Spurious suspects needed to be eliminated from the case so that the remaining suspects could be investigated aggressively.

In an effort to identify cases with similarities that might contain viable suspect information important to the Green River cases, I suggested that task force detectives also research all homicides of prostitutes and strangled females in western states during the previous five years. My bet was that the Green River Killer did not begin with the murder of Wendy Coffield, just like the Ted Bundy cases didn’t begin with the murder of Lynda Healy. There was a high probability that other cases would be discovered that had occurred before the one the police now thought of as the first in the series.

I advised that task force detectives keep uniformed patrol officers up-to-date on the case. I encouraged weekly briefings to promote information sharing and to update patrol officers on which pieces of information had been followed up on. Much has been written about how serial killers really catch themselves. But what usually occurred was that some patrol officer on routine duty came across the killer doing something—like chatting up a hooker or trolling back and forth in his car or leaving the scene with a potential victim too quickly for a casual encounter—that caught his attention. It then took alert and intelligent investigators to turn that clue into final resolution of the case.

Police officials from jurisdictions neighboring King County also needed to be kept informed of the status of the investigation, I recommended, in order to ensure maximum cooperation and coordination of leads. Serial murderers are random, mobile killers and touch many jurisdictions. Because they are often compulsive about traveling to pick up victims, crossing jurisdictional boundaries is a play—either conscious or unconscious—on their part to confound the investigation. Historically, murders by the same serial killer have been committed in different jurisdictions, and the King County Police needed to be prepared for this eventual event. When
police cooperate, leads that would usually be lost are retrieved and the killer’s position is fixed. I will always remember that it was Hergesheimer’s coordination with Ben Forbes of Salt Lake City that reminded Forbes to contact the Ted task force after Bundy was picked up by the Utah state trooper.

The streetwalkers in the district where the serial killer was picking up victims were probably some of the most reliable witnesses, even though they might not believe it. It was more than likely that they’d seen the killer, knew the killer, or had driven around with the killer without realizing it. Since prostitutes frequently get arrested, I advised police officers to interview them as they were booked into the King County Jail because that’s when they were most talkative and most eager to trade information in order to be released. That would save untold hours trying to contact them for information about suspicious events they might have seen. I believed that some of the local hookers might have been approached by the Green River Killer without knowing it at the time. Maybe someone at a booking or even an arraignment might remember some fact that hadn’t been uncovered. My report ended with the recommendation that King County officials develop an interview strategy for all suspects and potential witnesses. They all needed to be interviewed by investigators who were working from the same frame of reference and possessed the knowledge of what others have said.

In May 1983, I turned over my report to the new sheriff of King County, Vern Thomas, to Major Richard Kraske, and to Detective Dave Reichert. Dave appreciated the report, but Kraske initially seemed depressed by it. Kraske’s immediate reaction was for Dave to write a report either verifying or refuting my observations. Dave Reichert’s detailed point-by-point follow-up of my Green River murders investigative evaluation mimicked my every word. He was unable to locate one of my criticisms that was unfounded. At first, Kraske chose to number the existing reports and seal them forever. Luckily, his fellow administrators gave him wise counsel that his choice to have the case reviewed by an outside authority was an excellent management strategy. He should be commended for his
foresight. It took a while before he forgave my harshness or would speak to me again, but the sting of my report gradually wore off.

Throughout the fall of 1983, Seattle newspapers reported the sporadic discovery of skeletal remains that they connected to the Green River Killer. A sense of urgency to fend off impending doom filled their stories. Members of the news media documented questions about the quality of the King County police investigation. In November,
Seattle Times
and
Post-Intelligencer
editorial headlines read
COUNTY KILLINGS DEMAND REVIEW
and
TIME TO INTENSIFY THE INVESTIGATION.
The articles were direct. Their intent was exemplified by the closing paragraph in the
Post-Intelligencer
editorial, which urged that County Executive Randy Revelle and members of the county council order an urgent review of the police investigation in the Green River murders to determine its effectiveness and to see whether a greater effort should be made to “eradicate this continuing succession of obviously premeditated killings, and to bring their perpetrators to justice.” Unbeknownst to the media, a review had already been completed by me the previous May, and county administrators were already gearing up for that sought-after increase in the intensity of the investigation.

By December 1983, the police had linked 13 murdered prostitutes and several missing persons to the Green River investigation even though no additional victims were found in or near the river. Five more skeletons of prostitutes were recovered by King County police in remote wooded areas. The killer had officially changed his method of operation just as I had predicted.

Rumors ran amok through the courthouse that an enhanced task force was being formed. They came true when, in January 1984, the Green River Murders Task Force was formed under the able command of Captain Frank Adamson. I was glad that my report had not fallen on deaf ears. Dave Reichert was both pleased and disturbed at the news he received about the task force. He had gotten what he wanted, 50 additional personnel to help him look into the Green River murders. But he was not commissioned the commander. He was one of 25 detectives assigned to the task force. For all his hard work, Dave felt he should have had more authority in making decisions, in selecting the personnel for the task force, and in overseeing its subsequent investigative activities. He desperately wanted the lead detective role.

Sheriff Vern Thomas, one of the few very seasoned Seattle-area police administrators whom I really admired, called me early that December when the task force was being formed. If anyone could pull off getting a separate appropriation from a usually fiscally conservative county council to fund a task force without losing existing positions, he could. And he did.

He asked me to be part of the task force full-time as a consultant, a right-hand man off whom Captain Adamson could bounce ideas. I was surprised at the sheriff’s request because I’d never heard of a full-time consultant to a law-enforcement operation before, but I was pleased to work with Captain Adamson. Sheriff Thomas had surveyed my report from beginning to end, concluding that the Green River investigation was unprecedented and required a non-traditional approach. Wary that his task force would fall victim to the bad habits of former task forces, he wanted me to assist Adamson in helping minimize problems, such as internal bickering and jealousies, improper press relations, tunnel vision, inadequate cooperation among police agencies, and general disorganization. I was so honored by Sheriff Thomas’s request that I accepted immediately. He had to contact the attorney general for permission to have me on loan, but I knew that was only a formality.

Sheriff Thomas’s telephone call was followed within minutes by a visit from Frank Adamson. Captain Adamson had never been a detective, per se, but he had supervised internal investigations for some time and had a squeaky-clean reputation. His greatest asset was his big heart. He was a very stable and respected leader. He had never commanded a task force like the Green River Murders Task Force before, but neither had anyone else, and he was a fine pick for the job.

Adamson was very clear in his perception of my role. I would be “of counsel,” which meant I would be an advisor, an idea man, a sounding board, an objective conscience, and I would be available to Captain Adamson on an informal basis. He invited me to work in the same office with him and to share the decision-making process. Also, he would give me the freedom to consult at every level within the task
force. I could advise detectives how to work leads they were unsure of and help sergeants and lieutenants with their work as well. This was going to be an attempt to create an operation with a policy—unlike that of other investigations that I was aware of—that was totally open. Any officer, regardless of rank, was welcome in Adamson’s office.

Additionally, Adamson wanted me close by to advise members of the news media on the general problems of investigating serial-murder cases. It wouldn’t take long before Adamson was an expert on the same topic. My main job, which was closely related to that of media liaison, was to advise him about the use of the multitude of consultants who volunteered their expertise to the task force effort. With the Green River Murders Task Force in the national news every day, forensic consultants crawled out from every rock, some very legitimate and useful, others very crazy and capable of taking up a lot of my time before I caught on to their act. Prior to the Green River task force, I’d never heard of forensic philosophers and forensic theologians, who were self-appointed experts in their fields. This could have easily become a carnival if we were not careful.

I assumed my role as consultant and for the first two months of the task force’s existence, detectives were busy setting priorities, investigating suspects, considering the most appropriate computer hardware and software, reviewing all the case files, and handling a deluge of inquiries of reporters from around the world. I was interviewed by hundreds of reporters so often that I rarely could do my work. Within a month, I was exhausted by all the attention and ready to slim down my glorified media liaison role.

Several months after the formation of the new task force, investigators had identified several body dump sites where the killer had left the remains of the 13 victims. Of course, the first site was the Green River. A second was at the south end of the airport along South 191st and 25th Avenue South. There, the remains of Constance Naon, a white 21-year-old, were found in October 1983. Naon’s remains were found just several blocks from the site where Giselle Lovvorn’s body was discovered. While searching the same area for evidence in the Naon murder, investigators found the
skeletal remains of Kelly Ware within 100 feet of Naon. Naon was last seen June 8, 1983, in the area of South 188th and Pacific Highway South, just two blocks from where her body was found. Kelly Ware, also a white female, 22 years old, was last seen July 18, 1983, in downtown Seattle at 22nd and Madison, a red-light district. Unfortunately, her disappearance would not be reported until December 1984, so her remains weren’t identified until that time. This unfortunate and difficult-to-follow pattern of finding skeletal remains of unreported missing persons continued throughout the life of the task force. This phenomenon left investigators far behind the footsteps of the killer. Ultimately, the Green River investigations had become nothing more than archeological digs, in which investigators recovered remains of long-dead and unidentified victims, and then historical surveys that tested the never-reliable recollections of pimps and fellow prostitutes. You can imagine how all of this made it nearly impossible to assemble a factual account of the circumstances behind each victim’s last moments of life.

A most unusual discovery was found within one block of Naon and Ware, but on the south side of South 191st. The buried body of Mary Bridgett Meehan, a white 19-year-old, was disinterred on November 13, 1983, over one year after her disappearance on September 15, 1982. The remains were found 30 blocks from South 165th and Pacific Highway South, Meehan’s last seen location. Meehan was the first and only person who was discovered fully buried. Since Meehan was over eight months pregnant, novice speculators reasoned that the killer wanted to give her and her baby a “righteous burial.” Most people held out hope that killers like the Green River Killer had remorse for some victims. I didn’t agree with that. The more logical reason for Meehan’s burial was that the killer was experimenting with another method of disposing of a corpse. He probably had a shovel along with him that day and decided to try burying a victim. It was apparent that leaving victims on top of the ground in wooded and secluded areas to be scavenged by the local animals was his primary choice of disposal. We now know that burial worked for him in concealing evidence for long periods as well as had disposal in remote areas and transporting victim remains to Oregon.

Lost in the body count of the Green River Killer was Meehan’s unborn baby. Even though killed by the same hands that squeezed the breath out of its mother, the baby has never appeared on any
publicized list of victims attributed to the Green River Killer or Killers. Even the ever-relentless members of the news media forgot about the unborn baby.