Green River killer claims he killed dozens, wants to help

Gary Ridgway is serving 49 consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to the murders of 49 women. But now, the so-called Green River killer says he's responsible for as many as 80 murders and he wants to help investigators bring closure to the victims' families.

“You can’t go back and change the past; it’s over with,” Ridgway said. “All we can do is try to make it better.”

As part of his 2003 plea deal, Ridgway rode along with the Green River Task Force to some 20 potential dump sites, where he used a laser pointer from inside the van to direct investigators to where he thought bodies -- and body parts might be.

Ridgway said he was only allowed to leave the van three or four times, which is why he was only found guilty of 49 murders.

“They should have had me get out at every site to show them where I put those bodies,” he said. “If I could do it all over again, I would say I want to get out at every single site.”

Rob Fitzgerald, a professional investigator who has volunteered time to hunt for the missing girls, talks on the phone with Ridgway a few times a week.

Still, Fitzgerald says Ridgway has yet to lead him to remains, and while he questions the killers' motives in looking to find more, he won't stop working with him.

“That just means I’m one day closer to finding that piece of key evidence," Fitzgerald said. "It could be the next search we do, the next conversation I have with him. I guess that’s hope, right?”

But according to a CIA analyst who listened to Ridgway's interviews, he could be leading investigators on a wild goose chase. Ridgway has complained about his legacy -- how everyone knows about Ted Bundy, but not him.

But Ridgway says he just wants to help.

“I want to prove them wrong," he said. "I want to prove there’s 80 bodies out there, or 85 or whatever."