How to Catch A Criminal: Crab Mentality

It is said that when trapped in a bucket, a crab will naturally attempt to escape the bucket. However, when multiple crabs are in the same bucket and one attempts to escape, the other crabs will drag it back down, preventing it from getting away. This phenomenon is known as “crab mentality.” This idea of “if I can’t have it, neither can you” also persists in humans. People with that mentality will attempt to sabotage the success of another person in their group or class if that person is trying to outdo them. This need to undermine another person’s achievements can stem from competitiveness, envy, spite or a range of other factors. When a jealous or competitive person wants to be the best in their field, they will be willing to thwart others to do so. If that field just so happens to be serial killing, the methods of sabotage may be quite unique.

July 15, 1982. The body of 16-year-old Wendy Caulfield is discovered floating in Washington’s Green River. The Green River is a 65-mile waterway located in King County, and the apparent dumping ground for a murderer. By Aug. 15, four more bodies were found in and along the river indicating there was a serial killer hard at work in the area, taking lives at a blistering pace. In just one month’s time, this killer, soon dubbed the Green River Killer, had racked up more murders than most serial killers would in several years. For example, Dennis Rader, the BTK killer, murdered 10 people in 17 years. The Green River Killer was on pace to kill just as many people in two months, and would do exactly that, though many of the bodies weren’t found for some time.

On Aug. 16, 1982, the King County Sheriff’s Office decided it was necessary to dedicate a group of deputies to catch the Green River Killer. Aptly named, the Green River Task Force, included notable detectives Robert Keppel, who was instrumental in capturing Ted Bundy, and Future King County Sheriff and U.S. Representative David Reichert. The task force got to work trying to identify suspects as more and more victims turned up. By the end of 1982, a total of 16 people had gone missing and would eventually be discovered dead at the hands of the Green River Killer.

As is the case with many serial killers, the Green River Killer had a few tendencies. His preferred method of killing was strangulation, his victims were all female, many of them prostitutes or runaways, nearly all of them in their 20s or younger. There was also a clear sexual nature to his killings, as many bodies were found nude and showed signs of rape. The killer also had his preferred dumping grounds, leaving the victim’s bodies in wooded areas near Green River and around King County. These areas were difficult to traverse and provided concealment for the crimes, which is why some of the victim’s remains weren’t found for more than twenty years.

In the spring of 1983, three more teenage girls went missing, and their bodies were found almost exactly one year later, obviously the work of the Green River Killer. That year proved to be the Green River Killer’s busiest, as he would kill an additional 24 females before that Christmas. That same year would also lead to a break in the case, and though it wouldn’t give the Green River Task Force probable cause to charge anyone, it would later pay off in a big way. On April 30, not far from Green River, a pickup truck approached 18 year old prostitute, Marie Malvar, and requested her services. As the truck drove away with her on board, it sped up and quickly left the area. Malvar’s boyfriend noticed this and thought it was strange, as men who hire prostitutes typically drive casually in order to avoid unwanted attention. After his girlfriend didn’t return, he drove the area looking for her. He found the truck parked outside a residence in Des Moines, Washington. He passed that information on to law enforcement who would later question the truck owner at that residence.

The owner of the vehicle was a man named Gary Ridgway. Ridgway had been charged with soliciting a prostitute in 1982. By picking up Marie Malvar, he was displaying a pattern of behavior, and it was believed the Green River Killer would share this same behavior, as his victims were often prostitutes. Detectives questioned Ridgway, but he denied ever meeting Marie Malvar, and the investigators did not have evidence to suggest otherwise. Ridgway was now officially a suspect, however evidence was still scant and there wasn’t anything to tie Ridgway or anyone else to the murders.

1984 would come and go, and with it, two more murders. The Green River Killer had slowed down substantially compared to the previous two years, but he was still active and the leads weren’t exactly leading anywhere. In May of that year Gary Ridgway reached out to the Green River Task Force, apparently with good intentions. Ridgway wanted to offer his assistance in the case and was given a polygraph test. When asked if he had killed any women, Ridgway answered he had not. The results? He was telling the truth. Ridgway wasn’t the only person to offer to aid the task force that year.

In November, detectives Keppel and Reichert received a letter from another murderous Washingtonian: Ted Bundy. Bundy had been keeping up with the Green River Killer case from his prison cell in Florida while he awaited execution. He presented himself as an expert in this subject matter and believed he could provide insights that would help identify and capture the Green River Killer. Bundy himself had confessed to the murders of 30 women, 20 of which were confirmed. Eventually the detectives met with Bundy and heard what he had to say. Bundy believed the Green River Killer was returning to the dumping sites and having sex with the bodies prior to them being discovered. Bundy recommended setting up surveillance if they find a fresh body because the killer would likely return.

1985 passed without any new disappearances, but old bodies were still being found. 1986 saw one additional victim, as did 1987. The Green River Killer was still active and no closer to being caught. As thoroughness is highly encouraged in police work, detectives revisited Gary Ridgway in 1987 and obtained DNA samples from him. DNA had also been collected from semen found in several of the victims. DNA testing, however, was not as advanced in 1987 as it would become in the 21st century, and detectives were unable to determine if the DNA matched. But in 2001, the samples were tested again and found to be a match. Thanks to this testing, an arrest warrant was issued for Ridgway and he was apprehended at his job on Nov. 30.

Ridgway was 52 years old when he was arrested. He had a troubled upbringing and a disturbing, resentful, lustful relationship with his mother. At 16 years old, he stabbed a 6-year-old boy in the liver, but this was viewed by law enforcement as an accident. Ridgway developed a sadistic attitude towards women, specifically prostitutes. His IQ was believed to be around 80, but his ability to remain free for nearly two decades with over 40 victims under his belt, may say otherwise. After being charged with four counts of aggravated first degree murder in 2001, he received three additional counts in 2003. It was apparent he would eventually be charged with the remaining murders, and a death sentence would be unavoidable, Ridgway would eventually accept a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder and divulge the details of his crimes in order to be spared the death penalty. In his confessions, Ridgway admitted to having sex with the bodies of his victims, just like Bundy assumed. Ridgway stated he did this because it would allow him to get sexual gratification without having to risk another murder. On top of the 48 convictions, Ridgway took responsibility for the deaths of 71 women. Ridgway stated he would hire prostitutes and coax other young women into his truck in order to strangle them to death while having sex with them. He also explained where he hid the bodies of some of the victims, the remains of which have been found as recently 2010. Until the convictions and confessions of serial killer Samuel Little in the 2010s, Gary Ridgway was believed to be the most prolific serial killer in American history.

As for Ted Bundy, his insights turned out to be accurate, but nothing the Green River Task Force didn’t already suspect. His involvement in the case may or may not have made a difference in Ridgway’s arrest, but in the time he met with Keppel and Reichert, he confessed to some of his own crimes that he hadn’t previously. Bundy displayed narcissistic behavior throughout his life and basked in the spotlight every chance he got. Perhaps, as the Ridgway’s numerous kills surpassed his own 30, he felt the need to pull that crab back into the bucket.

From prison, there wasn’t much he could do to prevent Ridgway from committing more murders, and he couldn’t exactly commit more of his own in order to compete. However, consistent with crab mentality, Bundy decided if he couldn’t be the greatest serial killer, of all time, neither could Ridgway. If he wanted to take back the glory, so to speak, and be recognized as Washington’s number one serial killer, he would have to undercut the new kid on the block. Bundy did his best to sabotage the Green River Killer by opening the mind of a serial killer to investigators, and even bolstering his own statistics by revealing more of his own crimes. Apparently even murderers can have unhealthy mental traits just like the rest of us.