Police take items from homes of suspect
Police take itemsfrom homes of suspect
SEATTLE -- Authorities have seized several items, including bone fragments, from homes of a truck company worker charged with murder in the deaths of four women attributed to the Green River serial killer.
Gary Leon Ridgway, 52, who was arrested last week, was charged Wednesday with four counts of aggravated murder after authorities said they had linked him to three of the victims with DNA evidence.
Detectives took envelopes containing bone fragments, boxes of latex gloves and a copy of the book "The Search for the Green River Killer" from four homes where Gary Ridgway has lived, court documents made public Wednesday show. Authorities wouldn't provide details about the bones, including whether they were from humans.
The documents offer graphic details of Ridgway's sex life, as described by two ex-wives, girlfriends and prostitutes. They also recount alleged incidents of past violence toward women.
The Green River case has baffled investigators since 1982, when authorities began finding women's bodies in or near the Green River, south of Seattle. Forty-nine women -- most of them prostitutes or runaways -- were believed to be victims of the killer in Washington and Oregon.
Scientists gathernew evidence in case
WASHINGTON -- New evidence gathered from the remains of the man who said he was the Boston Strangler and from the killer's last victim might bring investigators closer to determining whether the man was really the strangler.
James Starrs, a professor of forensic science and law at George Washington University promised blockbuster results from DNA and toxicological tests that forensic scientists performed on remains of victim Mary Sullivan and the confessed strangler, Albert DeSalvo.
In terms of the Sullivan murder, the findings, "whether they announce one way or another whether he did it or not, I think that will be a fairly conclusive announcement," said Paul Fucito, a GWU law school spokesman.
If the findings show that DeSalvo was not Sullivan's killer, the Boston Strangler case -- in which 11 Boston-area women were sexually assaulted and murdered between 1962 and 1964 -- may be called into question. It would also leave open the possibility that the Sullivan's killer may still be alive.
Clinton breaks groundfor presidential library
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- With a golden shovel full of dirt, Bill Clinton broke ground Wednesday on a presidential library that promises to document both his triumphs and scandals.
"The impeachment? Absolutely," Clinton said. "What I did wrong is a matter of record, but what I want is the whole record out."
Clinton was impeached by the House in December 1998 on two articles of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. But in February 1999, the Senate voted to acquit Clinton.
"I think they were right and I believe the fact that we stood up to this right-wing movement ... will be something that will redound to my credit in history," Clinton said. "I don't think it will be a black mark."
The library is scheduled to open in 2004. Until then, a temporary exhibit opening today at the Cox Building downtown will show off some artifacts given to Clinton during his eight years in office. Among the photographs, letters, sculptures and gifts is a glass-encased gold-and-silver horse presented by the Amir of Bahrain.
IMF opposes bailout
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Word that the International Monetary Fund is opposed to an immediate $1.3 billion bailout loan for Argentina triggered renewed worries today that the country could default on its debt load.
His nation saddled with $132 billion in debt accrued through years of overspending, President Fernando De la Rua met with his economy minister and top aides on a response to the announcement.
In Washington, the IMF said Wednesday it couldn't recommend approval of a $1.3 billion loan desperately sought by the cash-strapped South American country, now weathering a severe financial crisis.
The international lending agency said its 24-member executive board had met informally to hear a report from the head of an IMF team sent to Argentina two weeks ago to study its economy.
De la Rua had no immediate comment after entering meetings late Wednesday at his suburban Buenos Aires residence with Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo and other aides.
Associated Press