2017, en./wiki/Green_River_(Duwamish_River). “Applications of DNA Technologies.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, “Green River (Duwamish River).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Dec. It was because of science that the man who committed this horrible crime was put into jail and the victims finally gained the justice they deserved. Over 48 women were brutally murdered and left in the Green River and for over 20 years the perpetrator was never caught. This is because if 13 of the STRs match, then there will be a 1 in a trillion chance that someone else has the exact same amount of STRs as you. If over 13 of the STRs match with one another then scientists are able to conclude that the suspect was the person who committed the crime. Forensics do this same process to the suspect’s DNA and then they compare the DNA to one another. PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a process where scientists separate the STRs from the DNA helix and create multiple copies of it. Each person has different amounts of base pairs and different lengths of them. An example of an STR would be: AGCATTC AGAGAGAGAGAGAGTCGATAG. An STR (short tandem repeat) can be think of as a short part of your DNA that contains a short string of base pairs. Every individual's DNA is made up of 4 bases: guanine (G), adenine (A), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The way forensics were able to finally catch Gary Ridgway was because they used a new process of DNA analysis called STR and PCR. He pleaded guilty to 48 counts of murder and was sentenced to life without the opportunity of parole. Gary was quickly arrested and sent to jail. Using the new method they were able to see that the unidentified DNA from the crime scene matched Gary Ridgway’s. Forensic scientists used a new method of DNA profiling. Using the DNA they found when searching one of the crime scenes and the DNA given to them by Ridgway they were able to identify the killer. When the new investigators read the suspicions the police had about Gary Ridgway, they decided to reinvestigate him. Detective Reichert found interest in the case and reopened the investigation. It was November 30, 2001, when the police caught the Green River Killer. With no success, the case soon became untouched, remained as a cold case for over 2 decades. The police had no choice but to let him go. The police also asked him for DNA samples and he complied. The police then asked Gary Ridgway to take a polygraph which he passed. However, the police searched his house and found nothing suspicious. In 1980, he was accused of choking a woman - the method used by the felon to kill the victims in the Green River case. While searching for the suspects, the investigators came upon Gary Ridgway who soon became their main suspect. For over three years, authorities tried to investigate into this case and identify the felon. The authorities soon suspected that a serial killer was on the loose. Forensic scientists immediately extracted the sample to use for DNA comparison. When one of the victims’ bodies was being examined by forensics, unidentified bodily fluids were found inside of the victims implying that the victims were also raped before they were killed. Eversince, women in the same area went missing and were later found decaying and killed in the same way. Wendy Lee Coffield, 16 was found dead due to strangulation. The first body was found along Seattle’s Green River on July 15, 1982.
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