The case of Lori Anne Razpotnik, who vanished in 1982 at age 15, has been resolved through advanced DNA forensic genealogy, identifying her as a victim of Gary Ridgway, the notorious Green River Killer.
Razpotnik disappeared from her Lewis County, Washington, home and was never seen by her family again. Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company based in Virginia, was instrumental in solving this long-standing case using their sophisticated DNA sequencing and analysis.
Auburn, Washington, city workers discovered potential human remains on December 30, 1985, while examining a car that had crashed on Mount View Drive Southwest. This discovery led to the involvement of the Green River Task Force, which found an additional set of remains nearby. Initially unidentified, these remains were labeled Bones 16 and Bones 17.
The identification of Bones 17 as Razpotnik marks a significant milestone in this decades-old case. This breakthrough was aided by a saliva sample from Razpotnik’s mother, analyzed by the University of North Texas.
Bones 16, identified in 2012, belonged to Sandra Majors, an African-American woman aged 20 to 25. Bones 17, Razpotnik, was determined to be a Caucasian female between 14 and 17 years old.
Gary Ridgway, arrested in 2001 and confessing in 2003, pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder, including those of Majors and Razpotnik. He is serving 49 consecutive life sentences at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
The King County Sheriff’s Office is committed to identifying other victims of the Green River Killer.