Adult Life
At age 21, after graduating from high school, Ridgway married his high school girlfriend Claudia Barrows. He joined the Navy and was sent to Vietnam, where he served on board a supply ship and saw combat. During his time in the military, Ridgway began spending a lot of time with prostitutes and contracted gonorrhea. This angered him, but he continued to have unprotected sex with prostitutes. Meanwhile, his wife Claudia, alone and 19 years old, had an extramarital affair, and the marriage quickly ended within a year.
When questioned about Ridgway after his arrest, friends and family described him as friendly but strange. His first two marriages resulted in divorce because of infidelities by both partners. His second wife, Marcia Winslow, claimed that he had placed her in a chokehold. Ridgway had become religious during his second marriage, proselytizing door-to-door, reading the Bible aloud at work and at home, and insisting that Marcia follow the strict teachings of their church pastor. Ridgway would also frequently cry after sermons or reading the Bible. Ridgway continued to solicit the services of prostitutes during this marriage; he also wanted Marcia to participate in sex in public and inappropriate places, sometimes even in areas where his victims' bodies were later discovered.
According to women in his life, Ridgway had an insatiable sexual appetite. His three ex-wives and several old girlfriends reported that Ridgway demanded sex from them several times a day. Often, he would want to have sex in a public area or in the woods. Ridgway, himself admitted to having a fixation with prostitutes, with whom he had a love–hate relationship. He frequently complained about their presence in his neighborhood, but he also took advantage of their services regularly. It has been speculated that Ridgway was torn between his uncontrollable lusts and his staunch religious beliefs.
In 1975, his second wife gave birth to Ridgway's son, Matthew.
Read more about this topic: Gary Ridgway
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