AUBURN, Wash. — DNA technology has identified a victim of the Green River Killer over 40 years after her disappearance.
Lori Anne Razpotnik went missing in 1982 when she was just 15 years old. She left her home in Lewis County and her family never saw her again.
KING 5 spoke with her family on the phone and they said they appreciate that they now have closure, but say it is heartbreaking knowing Gary Ridgway is still alive, while their loved one is dead.
Lori Anne's mother provided a DNA sample to the University of North Texas, who was able to do a comparison and linked the DNA to human remains which were discovered by detectives investigating Gary Ridgway in the 80s. The DNA profile on the human remains was Parabon NanoLabs in Reston, Virginia.
"That analysis looks at hundreds of thousands of genetic markers across the genome," said CeCe Moore, Chief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon. "And then we create a file from that and we upload to two databases Geomatch and family tree DNA."
Moore said they had been working on testing Razpotnik's bones for about one year. They were able to identify about two dozen distant cousins of Razpotnik, which eventually led to Lori Anne's mother, who provided her DNA, confirming the bones were Lori Anne's.
"There was definitely the feeling that this was a very young woman, said Moore. "And so it made sense that she would have, potentially, parents looking for her."
On Dec. 30, 1985, employees of the City of Auburn were called to investigate a car over an embankment on the 2000 block of Mt. View Drive Southwest. They discovered potential human remains and the Green River Task Force was called in to investigate. During a search of the area, detectives and search and rescue personnel found a second set of human remains. The two victims could not be immediately identified, and they were referred to as Bones 16 and Bones 17.
Ridgway, dubbed the Green River Killer, led investigators to this spot in 2002 and admitted to placing the victims there. He pleaded guilty to both murders in 2003.
Lori Anne was discovered to be Bones 17. In 2012, Bones 16 was identified through DNA testing and discovered to be Sandra Majors, who was 20 years old when she went missing in 1982.
Dave Reichert, the former King County Sheriff, helped to capture Ridgway. He was at the scene when Lori Anne's remains were found. He said this identification brings back sad memories for him and other detectives who had to investigate Ridgway's murders.
"Years and years of collecting scores and scores of bodies of young women and girls," said Reichert.
He said he is glad to bring closure to the family, but knows closure does not fix the fact that Lori Anne is gone.
"My first reaction is to just extend my deepest sympathies to the family who have just discovered their daughter has been found deceased and has also discovered that their daughter has been found to be one of the victims of Gary Ridgway," said Reichert.
Reichert said Ridgway was found guilty in 49 murders, and was found to be associated with two more that there was not enough evidence to prove. And with the number of women Ridgway claims to have killed, that number is likely higher.
"There are still a lot of unsolved female homicides that occurred from the mid-eighties through the the early 2000 era," said Reichert. "We can only go by what Ridgway told us, that he believed that he killed somewhere around 65 or 70."
Ridgway is now 74 years old and is serving a life sentence in the state prison in Walla Walla.
"The decision that we went through back then was heart wrenching, gut wrenching," said Reichert of Ridgway not getting the death penalty.
Although Reichert said death was fit for Ridgway, he said keeping him alive allowed for more murders to be solved. and for families to get answers.
"We were looking at a monster and monsters should be put to death. If there is anybody who deserved a death penalty, this is the guy." said Reichert.