Forensic science was also used in the discovery of the green river killer In the 1980s and 1990s, a faceless killer stalked young women in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Dozens of women, mostly prostitutes, eventually disappeared, sometimes only a few days apart, sometimes only once or twice a year. The killer had a consistent process hewould rape the women and strangle them with his hands or a ligature. The first several victims were found in or close to the Green River and thats how he got the name.In 2001, a one-two technological punch brought the case back to life. Forensic investigators decided to re-examine evidence compiled years before with the help of two new modes of DNA analysis. They allowed the scientists to sequence and copy very short fragments of DNA taken from crime scenes. they compared them with DNA extracted from a piece of gauze Mr. Ridgway had chewed on in 1987with the weight of the genetic evidence, Mr. Ridgway pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 48 consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole.