"I was sickened by that, but not necessarily surprised," said Thomas. She declined to elaborate, but Ridgway had been on investigators' list of possible suspects since 1983 and was arrested two years ago.

Ridgway told investigators he preferred to kill at home, where his victims were lulled by an appearance of normalcy that included toys and his little boy's bedroom. He also strangled women in his truck and in area woods.

Thomas said she saw Ridgway bring young women into his house. She never saw anyone leave -- or Ridgway carrying out anything that could have been a body wrapped in plastic.

Ridgway worked the swing shift as a truck painter and some of the other neighbors worked odd hours as well, she said.

"It's amazing no one saw anything," Thomas said.

Ridgway told police he had a foolproof disposal plan. He would unscrew a light bulb in his kitchen, back up his truck to the door and load the bodies. Once, he used his son's footlocker to remove a victim's body from the house.

Thomas said they discussed their sons, who played together every other weekend in about 1984 and 1985, and chatted about other things. Ridgway had visitation rights with his son, Matthew, born in 1975, after he and his second wife, Marcia, divorced.

Thomas occasionally ran into Ridgway in local stores and would stop to chat with him and his third wife, Judith. Thomas also went to garage sales at Ridgway's new home in nearby Des Moines.

Judith was "very friendly" and told her how she met Ridgway at a Parents Without Partners meeting, Thomas said. She doesn't think the woman was aware of the murders: "I don't think she could stick with him knowing what he had done."

Gary Ridgway separated from his third wife about a year after his arrest to protect her from claims related to the Green River case, his attorneys said.

Forum: Was the plea bargain giving Gary Ridgway life instead of the death penalty a just decision?