“The Shadow Girls” Podcast
OPS staff, including our founder Noel Gomez along with Doris Beamon and Martha Linehan, are featured throughout a new podcast about the women victimized by the Green River Killer.
Amid all of the media about the Green River Killer, it is so important to remember the women who were killed, know their names, understand them as individuals, and work to ensure similar acts of violence do not continue. We need to keep centering survivors and those who support them in these discussions and honor that they are experts in these issues.
Here is a description from the podcast producers:
Secretly, the Green River Killer case haunted Carolyn Ossorio’s childhood and adolescence…growing up near Gary Ridgway's hunting grounds, where he preyed on vulnerable teens and young women, strangling them, stripping their bodies of all earthly possessions and leaving them in the river and green spaces. 49 victims...and yet the first name most think of is, Gary Ridgway. As a little girl, Carolyn never forgot how his victims were portrayed as "bad girls." The message was clear: that's what would happen to you if you were a bad girl. Decades later, during the Covid lockdown, Carolyn embarked on a deep dive into the nearly 20-year investigation, that journey would uncover never heard before audio, a long buried secret of her own and the hard truth: that bad things still happen to girls…whether they are good or bad has nothing to do with it.
You can listen to episodes as they are released here.
Please note that this podcast discusses explicit acts of violence against women and could be uncomfortable, upsetting, or triggering to survivors and other listeners. Below are some resources for support and self-care:
King County Crisis Connections (211 or 866-427-4747)
KCSARC Guide to Responding to Stress for Sexual Assault Survivors
”7 Tools for Managing Traumatic Stress” from NAMI
Call us (206-853-6243) to speak with an advocate
OPS formed the Green River Victims Memorial, a series of tiles created by survivors in dedication to those who lost their lives. A selection of these tiles is on view at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
Tiles by NM, Doris Beamon, Searetha Simons, and MW