Between 1982 and 1998 Gary Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, murdered at least 49 women, most of them sex workers, in the Seattle, Washington area. His crimes went unsolved for two decades, reflecting both investigative failures and societal attitudes towards vulnerable women. Like the Yorkshire Ripper case, the murders prompted feminist writers and journalists to examine how media and law enforcement devalued the lives of marginalised victims.

The Green River Killer case in 1982 highlighted the vulnerability of marginalized women, prompting poets in the Pacific Northwest to address themes of violence and social injustice. This tragic event became a focal point for poetic explorations of identity, trauma, and resilience.