Quote · Last Podcast On The Left
Episode 671: Gary Ridgway : Redux Part I - Wrong Way Gary
Where this was said
The Driveway Choking: Gary Discovers What He Wants to Do
At 1:26:27 · chapter starts 1:23:20
Coming home drunk from a party, Gary choked Marsha from behind in the driveway, then tried to dodge around the car pretending to be shocked. Marsha knew immediately it was Gary. He later admitted to investigators the choking had majorly turned him on — and his own words, as quoted in the episode, are unambiguous: he wanted to have sex with a prostitute and kill her during it. [1] — Marcus Parks "Gary Ridgway speculated that if he'd killed his wife Marsha in 1980, he'd only have one murder on his conscience. The reason he didn't? He …" 1:23:53 Marsha filed for divorce in 1980; she staged the moving van ambush while he was out for breakfast. Gary was devastated — he wanted to be a normal family man. He was also furious about child support. A forensic psychiatrist later asked Gary why he targeted sex workers; Gary said women had hurt him, specifically his two ex-wives. He even speculated that if he'd killed Marsha, he'd only have one murder on his conscience. The fact that he didn't — because he knew he'd be the prime suspect — is presented as proof his killings were always a choice.
Gary Ridgway speculated that if he'd killed his wife Marsha in 1980, he'd only have one murder on his conscience. The reason he didn't? He knew he'd be the prime suspect. That calculation — dumb as he was — proves that serial killing wasn't uncontrollable compulsion for Ridgway. It was always a strategic, deliberate choice.
After a drunken argument, Gary snuck up behind his wife Marsha and choked her from behind, then pretended to be shocked when she figured it out. He later admitted the act had majorly aroused him — and directly said it was when he understood he wanted to have sex with and kill a prostitute. This was his own eureka moment, and it was catastrophic.
Gary Ridgway's wife Marsha noticed he increasingly came home late, wet, and covered in dirt with no explanation beyond a broken-down car. He also kept rolls of protective plastic called visqueen in his truck — the same material later found covering victims' bodies. She never asked.
