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10 Most Deadly Washington State Serial Killers

Washington State is famed for being a good place to call home with a lot of scenic parks and mountain ranges that will give the resident good views. However, there is a darker side to this state that is filled with forest and often experiences a lot of rain as it is home to some of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the United States of America. Washington state has been in the limelight in the true crime community as most serial killers committed crimes in this state. Therefore, in this article, we are going to explore the ten most deadly serial killers that operate in the state to give the reader insight into why true crime shows are usually set in this state.

1 Ted Bundy

A mugshot of Ted Bundy.  , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the United States of America.  He was active from the early 1970’s to the 1980s and during this time, she targeted young women as his victims. He would garner sympathy from young women by faking that he was hurt and thus make them help him to his car. On reaching his car, he would change and abduct the woman and put them in his trunk before driving away and torturing them before killing them.

Most of his crimes happened in Washington State but he committed crimes in six other states.  At the time of his arrest, he confessed to 30 murders but it is believed that his victim count is higher than that. He was found guilty in 1989 and sentenced to death. Ted Bundy was executed by the electric chair.

2 Robert Lee Yates

The former Army officer turned serial killer wreaked havoc in Washington state after he went on a crime spree from 1975 to 1998. During the time that he was active, he killed 18 women but the number of victims is suspected to be higher than that. He targeted sex workers as his victims and he would seek them out as a client and after they finished having sex, he would shoot them.

He managed to evade capture for long because of his reputation as an army officer and family man. He was finally apprehended when evidence of one of the murders he had committed was found in his car. He was sentenced to death but the sentence was later reviewed to life in prison because the state had abolished death sentences.

3 Gary Ridgeway

A mugshot of Gary Ridgeway. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The prolific serial killer was also known as the Green River Killer. He earned his nickname because most of his victims were found in the Green River. The serial killer targeted victims like sex workers and homeless women as people would not easily notice that they were missing. His crime spree lasted 20 years and at the time of his arrest, he was said to have killed 49 people but his true victim count is estimated to be at 90. He was arrested when the DNA collected from the crimes matched his. He confessed to 49 of the murders and was sentenced to life in prison.

4 Warren Leslie Frost

This serial killer is another army man who turned out to be a serial killer. The killer was active for three months and during this time he killed four victims. Some of his victims were teenage girls who were hitchhikers in the Washington area. Warren kidnapped them took them to a remote area and proceeded to kill them. The bodies of the victims were found mutilated and missing some of their clothes.  He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms because he cooperated with law enforcement authorities and thus avoided the life sentence.

Explore this article on the scariest northern California serial killers here

5 Billy Gohl

Serial Killer Billy Gohl. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The serial killer was popularly known as the Ghoul of Grays Harbor. He is one of the earliest serial killers in Washington State as he was active in 1901 and 1902. The serial killer targeted sailors who passed through Aberdeen, Washington. However, only two murders were confirmed to be his but it is suspected that he killed more people. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to life in prison where he died while serving his sentence.

6 Gary Taylor

The serial killer is well known in Washington state for causing terror by committing heinous crimes.  Taylor raped and killed women in Washington, Michigan and Texas. The serial killer is said to have killed 20 people but he was only convicted of one murder that happened in Washington state. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in 1976.

Check out this article on the famous serial killers who are still alive here

7 Martin Stickles

Serail killer Martin Stickles. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The serial killer popularly known as the Kelso Killer is among the oldest serial killers in the state of Washington. Stickles was active between 1899 and 1900 and during this time he was responsible for the murder of 3 people. He would murder his victims in their homes by shooting them with a rifle through the window. He was apprehended when he was 30 years old and executed through hanging.

8 Warren Leslie Forest

Warren Leslie is a serial killer who was active in the early 1970s and is responsible for the murder of two women in Clark County Washington. Although he was convicted for the two murders, he is suspected to have been involved in five other murders that happened around the time that he was active. His first conviction was in 1974 and his second one was in 2022 when DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Warren Forest is now serving his sentence in Airway Heights Corrections Centre.

9 Randall Woodfield

The serial killer was popularly known as the 1-5 Killer. He committed his crimes in three states which included California, Washington and Oregon. Randall went on a six month killing spree through these states and was linked to 18 murders that happened and also suspected to have been involved in 44 others. Sadly, he was only convicted of one murder and sentenced to life in prison. To date, Randall Woodfield has not confessed to killing the victims that were linked to him. Woodfield is serving his sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

10 Joseph Kondro

He was also known as the Longview Serial killer.  He was active during the 1980s up to the 1990s and during this time, he abducted, sexually assaulted and killed three children in Longview, Washington.  His victims were very young with the oldest being 12 years old and the youngest being 8 years. He was finally apprehended and he cut a deal with the prosecution so that he could have a shorter sentence if he confessed to killing Rima Traxler. He was then sentenced to 55 years in prison but he did not finish his sentence as he passed away in 2012 from liver disease.

Check out this article on the 20 scariest serial killers from Los Angeles here