Last known set of remains connected to Green River Killer case identified

January 22, 2024 / 12:59 pm

caption: "Bones 20",the final unidentified victim of the Green River Killer has been named; Tammie Liles

One of the final mysteries surrounding the Green River Killer was solved Monday as investigators confirmed, through DNA testing, the person whose remains were known as “Bones 20” has a name: Tammie Liles.

Liles, who went missing at the age of 16 in 1983, was originally identified as a victim through dental records in 1988. Part of her remains were found at the Tualatin Golf Course near Tigard, Oregon in 1985, along with those of another woman.

Gary Ridgway, dubbed the Green River Killer, was arrested in 2002 — 20 years after beginning his decades-long killing spree. In an agreement to avoid the death penalty, he led investigators to sites where he'd dumped some of his victims' bodies and helped solve some of the murders. One of those locations was on Kent-Des Moines Road, where the rest of Liles' remains — then unidentified and referred to as "Bones 20" — were found.

It would take law enforcement another 22 years to make the connection between Liles’ remains identified in 1988 and “Bones 20,” which were initially thought to belong to another, unidentified person.

Typical DNA matching compares about 20 markers. It can also only make identical DNA matches, or matches between a parent, child, or sibling. The DNA testing that recently identified Liles was conducted by Othram, a forensic sequencing laboratory that specializes in identifying human remains and helping law enforcement solve violent crimes.

Othram CEO David Mittelman said the company took samples with 100,000 DNA markers from Liles’ remains and found a match through a third or fourth cousin. When scientists have significantly more DNA markers, like the profile Othram created, it’s easier to match relatives as distant as fifth or sixth cousins, Mittelman said.

Of Monday's news, King County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Eric White said there is a “great sense of relief and accomplishment for our major crimes detectives that have been working on this for decades.”

However, the case isn't closed, White added.

“Even with the identification of Tammie Liles, we will still continue to look and see if there are more victims out there. This does not represent that we're done looking for victims or that these are the only victims," he said. "We're still keeping an open mind.”

In December 2003, the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway, was convicted of murdering 49 women and girls, including Liles, between 1982 and 1998. However, investigators believe he killed 65 people or more.

Ridgway is serving 49 consecutive life sentences for murder at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. According to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, if Ridgway is convicted of additional murders outside of Washington state, he could face the death penalty. On April 21, 2023, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation removing the death penalty from the state’s law.