Suspect admits killings

The week's news at a glance.

Seattle

The man suspected of being the most prolific serial killer in American history has confessed to 48 murders in a bid to escape the death penalty, according to news reports this week. In a plea deal, Gary Leon Ridgway, 54, is expected to admit to being the Green River Killer, who targeted mainly prostitutes and runaways in Washington. The first bodies were found by the Green River south of Seattle in 1982. Detectives thought the murders stopped in 1984, but Ridgway reportedly admitted killing a woman as late as 1998. “I find it incredible that an individual was able to cause that many deaths,” said the father of one victim, “to perpetrate that much suffering and misery on so many people.”

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