Ep. 5: Last Man Standing; Green River Killer Investigator Tom Jensen

In the summer of 1982, the bodies of five women were found floating dead in and along the banks of the Green River, 20 miles southeast of Seattle.

Over the following two years, upwards of forty, or more, women turned up dead or missing, all victims of a shadowy sex slayer known only as the Green River Killer.

Authorities formed a massive task force of more than fifty to catch the killer. Unfortunately, the trail soon went cold. The task force was wound down, eventually to a single detective — Tom Jensen.

Over the next two decades, Jensen soldiered on in the investigation, until 2001 when DNA evidence finally identified the killer, leading to the arrest of Gary Ridgway.

In this episode, Detective Jensen tells us how it all went down. Several Green River victims' remains are still unidentified. Tom Jensen and the King County Sheriff’s office need the public’s help in identifying these victims.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anatomyofacoldcase/support