The Case of Debra Lynn Bonner

Debra Lynn Bonner, 23, disappeared from the Pacific Highway South area on July 25, 1982. Her body was discovered in the Green River near Kent on August 12, becoming one of the first victims recovered during the rapidly expanding Green River Killer investigation. Ridgway later admitted murdering Bonner.

Debra Bonner was 23 years old and was living in the Seattle-Tacoma area when she disappeared during the summer of 1982. She was last seen on July 25, 1982, in the area of Pacific Highway South, a major thoroughfare south of Seattle that became closely associated with Ridgway's hunting ground. Bonner was among several women who disappeared during the first weeks of the Green River killings. Her disappearance came only ten days after Wendy Coffield's body was discovered in the Green River and as investigators were beginning to suspect that multiple murders might be connected.

Bonner's body was discovered on August 12, 1982, in the Green River near Kent, approximately 600 yards downstream from where Wendy Coffield's body had been found. She had been strangled. Her body was recovered from the river in circumstances that were consistent with the emerging pattern investigators were beginning to associate with the Green River murders. The discovery was particularly significant because it was the second body recovered from the Green River that investigators would ultimately connect to Ridgway.

Bonner's disappearance and the discovery of her body became a major development in the rapidly growing investigation. By August 12, investigators were already considering whether the murders of young women in the area were connected. The discovery of Bonner's body provided further evidence of a developing pattern. On the same day her body was discovered, authorities formally established the Green River Task Force, bringing together investigators from multiple law-enforcement agencies to investigate the growing number of murders. The investigation eventually grew into one of the longest and largest serial-murder investigations in United States history. King County records that at least 48 women were ultimately linked to the Green River Killer investigation. Ridgway became a suspect during the early investigation but investigators initially lacked sufficient evidence to charge him. He was not arrested until November 2001, when advances in DNA technology provided the evidence necessary to connect him to the murders. In 2003, Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 aggravated murders, including Bonner's.

Gary Ridgway admitted murdering Debra Bonner and pleaded guilty to her murder in 2003 as part of his agreement with prosecutors. He received 48 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to 48 murders. He later pleaded guilty to the murder of Rebecca Marrero, bringing his known conviction total to 49.

Debra Bonner was one of the first victims whose recovery helped transform the investigation from a series of apparently unrelated murders into what became known as the Green River Killer case. Her body was found less than a month after Wendy Coffield disappeared and only days after several other young women vanished. The discovery of Bonner's body on August 12, 1982, was particularly important because it occurred on the same day that the Green River Task Force was established.