Gary Ridgway is one of the most notorious serial killers in United States History, being convicted of 48 rapes and murder, while also having admitted to over 30 more. He was born on February 18, 1949 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Thomas Newton Ridgeway and Mary Rita Ridgeway. Ridgway's home life was far from ideal, a similarity he shares with many other serial killers. He had a twin brother named Gary II Ridgway and was the middle child. His relationship with both his parents was far from normal. At a very young age, Gary, was attracted to his domineering mother, while also witnessing many arguments, including physical arguments, between his two parents. In school, he was not a good student, and even had is IQ tested at a young age to see if he had a learning disability. Doctors found that he had an IQ of 82, which placed him under the threshold of what was considered average intelligence. All these factors during his youth contributed to Gary Ridgway's troubled and crime-filled life. .
When Gary Ridgway was 20 years old, he committed his first crime. He saw a six year old boy wearing cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat, and led him into the woods. Once in the woods, Ridgway stabbed him in the ribs with a knife. The boy asked him "why did you kill me" while Ridgway laughed at him. He wiped the blade clean on the child's shirt and walked away saying that he always wanted to know what it was like to kill someone. The boy was found in the woods, alive, and rushed to the hospital. He survived the attack and to this day remembered what happened and what Gary Ridgway said to him, and saying that he remembers Ridgeway's laugh vividly.
Gary Ridgway got married to his high school girlfriend Claudia Barrows right after he graduated from high school, and then joined the Navy when he was 21. This, along with the attempted murder of the young child was a turning point in Gary's life, all for the worse.