The Texas Murder That Changed The Law

Fort Worth, Texas --  The laws, especially in Texas, all have a purpose.  They encourage citizens from lashing out in rages of violence, theft, damage to property, and a myriad of different things.  They are put into place for the protection of the overall collective and to help assist society from going into chaos.  The city of Odessa was hit with a tragic and gruesome murder back in 1985 that eventually helped reshape the Texas law.

Get our free mobile app

A Serial Killer In Texas

In 1985, one of the state's most unforgettable serial killers to roam Texas was named Ricky Lee Green.  What made him notable was not the number of people he killed, but the way he killed his victims.  His methods included strangulation, mutilation, and torture, just to name a few.  The brutality of his crimes was not the only eye-opening thing to come out of this case; this case, in particular, was said to be one that exposed huge gaps in law enforcement coordination, which eventually led to reforming the law with stronger databases, better offender profiling, better investigation practices, and overall better communication.

Murders

• March 27, 1985, Green killed a 16-year-old who disappeared from his home in Fort Worth. His nearly decapitated, mutilated, and castrated body was found almost a year later in a swamp.
• October 12, 1985, Green picked up a topless dancer and then drove to his home.  He then S.A.'d her, stabbed her 17 times, struck her with a hammer, and mutilated her body. Green left the woman's body in a rural area where it was found the next day.
• November 23, Green met a 27-year-old woman at a club in Fort Worth. Green eventually S.A.'d her at his home, stabbed her 30 times and hit her with a hammer multiple times.  Her nude body was left in a drainage ditch, where it was found a little over a week later.
• December 29, 1986, Green picked up a 28-year-old TV sales executive at the beach, who was said to have wanted to hook up with him.  The man's body was found inside Green's home, tied to his bed and stabbed to death. Green then covered the body, robbed his victim of all the money, and then went on the run in his victim's vehicle.

The Arrest Of Ricky Lee Green

This case brought to light enormous shortcomings when it came to communication between agencies.  Mr. Green's killing spree ended in 1989 when he was linked to one of his murders and later confessed of the others.  He was eventually executed by lethal injection in 1997.