Auburn skull, bones ID'd as likely Green River victim

Rebecca "Becky" Marrero disappeared in 1982 and was long presumed to be a victim of the Northwest's most prolific serial killer.

Police, prosecutors and even Marrero's family were certain the 20-year-old had met the same fate as the 48 women and girls who Gary L. Ridgway was convicted in 2003 of killing. But 28 years had passed without a trace of Marrero, and Ridgway was never charged in connection with her presumed death.

On Thursday, a forensic dentist positively identified remains found earlier in the week in Auburn as those of Marrero. The King County Sheriff's Office says she was likely a victim of the notorious serial killer.

The ravine where her bones were found Tuesday and Wednesday is roughly three miles from Mountain View Cemetery, a place where Ridgway disposed of a number of his victims.

In 2003, the remains of another victim, Marie Malvar, were found close to where Marrero's were discovered this week. Malvar was among the 48 women and girls Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing.

"The pain is too much to be able to find closure right now," said Sandra Jeans, who helped raise Marrero's daughter, Shawnte, who is now 31 with children of her own.

Jeans was once married to Shawnte's father.

Marrero's daughter, sister and mother couldn't be reached Thursday.

But Marrero's brother, Perfecto Marrero, told The Times in November 2003 how disappointing and devastating it was not to have closure or answers for his family even as Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing 48 others.

"He is a heartless man, and we believe it's him," Perfecto Marrero said at the time. "And we hope that one day we'll know what happened."

Last seen in 1982

Marrero was last seen Dec. 3, 1982, leaving a motel room at South 168th Street and Pacific Highway South.

She left her 3-year-old daughter with her mother at the Western Six Motel, intending to be gone only a short time. Marrero's mother reported her missing July 20, 1984.

Because of where she was last seen, she was presumed to be a victim of the Green River killer, who met many of his victims on Pacific Highway.

Marrero was also friends with Debra Estes, a Ridgway victim who was 15 when she disappeared in 1982. Estes' body was found six years later in a grave behind a Federal Way apartment complex.

King County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said Ridgway was questioned extensively about Marrero in 2003. But sheriff's officials don't "discuss what suspects say or don't say during the investigation of open cases," he said Thursday.

Ridgway was arrested in November 2001 and two years later pleaded guilty to 48 counts of murder and was sentenced to 48 life terms in the plea agreement that spared him from facing the death penalty.

In exchange, Ridgway led authorities to the remains of his victims, most of whom were runaways, prostitutes and drug addicts.

For the families, finally knowing what happened to their loved ones brought closure.

Ridgway wasn't charged in Marrero's murder "based upon the evidence available at the time," according to a statement Thursday from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

"With the discovery of Ms. Marrero's remains, detectives and prosecutors will now review the investigation into her disappearance and death. Investigators will examine all aspects of the case, including any potential involvement of Ridgway," the prosecutor's statement says.

"Prosecutors will announce the results of the review at a later date."

This week's discovery raises two questions: Could Ridgway be charged with Marrero's murder? And since her slaying was not part of the plea agreement, could he potentially face the death penalty in her slaying?

"We need to conduct our review before any of those questions can be answered," said Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

"Based on the sheer volume of the case ... nothing is going to be decided quickly or without doing a full review."

Mystery still surrounds three Ridgway victims, whose remains have been found but never identified. Ridgway implied that the three were killed in spring or summer 1983.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the remains belonged to:

• A white female, possibly as young as 12; found March 21, 1984, in the Burien area off Des Moines Memorial Drive South.

• An African-American or possibly mixed-race female; found Dec. 30, 1985, near Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn. She was likely between 18 and 24 when she died.

• A white female, between 14 and 18; found Jan. 2, 1986, near Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn.

Also in 2003, Ridgway claimed to have killed three other women: Kelly Kay McGinness, 18; Kassee Lee, 16; and Patricia Osborn, 19. But the women's remains have never been found and he wasn't charged in their slayings because of a lack of sufficient evidence.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to the report, which includes information from Times archives.

Sara Jean Green: 206-464-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com