In 1982 a then 33 year old Gary Ridgeway began a series of rapes and murders (48 he has been found guilty of) that could number as many as 90.

His first victim, Wendy Lee Coffield, was just 16 years old when her path crossed with Ridgeway. She was a dropout and a runaway with a history of hitch hiking. Ridgeway had raped her and then strangled her to death.

Ridgeway’s victims were overwhelmingly teenagers, some as young as 15. A few were in their early 20’s with just two victims being over 30. Nearly 50 young lives brutalized and snuffed out by a callous monster. He developed a habit of posing and revisiting his victims to have sex with the corpses.

Ridgeway was caught in 2001 and eventually charged and convicted of 48 murders.

Apparently to date Gary Ridgeway has cost a total of $819m in legal, investigative and prison expenses. He is currently 69 and in good health. He could quite possibly rack up another 30 years of prison expenses.

He viciously ended so many young lives and could potentially end up having cost $1000m to be kept safe, and warm, and fed.