Tammie Liles

*This article includes details of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and/or rape. Discretion is advised.*

## Tammie Liles

### Discovered

April 23, 1985 (skull and partial remains)
August 21, 2003
(partial remains)

### Identified

March 1988 (1985 discovery)
January 2024
(2003 discovery)

### Location

Tualatin, Oregon (1985 discovery)
Kent, Washington
(2003 discovery)

### Cause of death

Unknown

**Tammie Charlene Liles** (May 9, 1967 - June 9, 1983), known as **Jane Doe B-20** before her 2024 identification, was a teenager who was murdered by Gary Ridgway in Seattle or Kent, Washington, or Tualatin, Oregon, in June 1983. She was Ridgway's thirty-second known murder victim.

Her unidentified skull and partial remains were unidentified for three years, being identified in March 1988, and the rest of her remains found in 2003 were identified by Othram in January 2024.

## Background

Tammie was born on May 9, 1967. Details surrounding her childhood are unknown, but she was known to be involved in sex work.

## Disappearance

Tammie ran away from her home in Snohomish County, Oregon, in May 1983, but she was last seen alive in Seattle, Washington, on June 9, 1983. It's unknown what happened to her afterward.

## Discovery

### 1985 Discovery

Tammie's remains were discovered near a golf course in Tualatin, Oregon, on April 23, 1985. Her cause of death couldn't be determined, but her case was deemed a homicide.

She was likely found during subsequent searches of the area after the then-unidentified remains of Angela Girdner were recovered the day prior.

### 2003 Discovery

Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, confessed to the murder of a woman who would turn out to be Tammie. When police discovered they hadn't found her remains yet, Ridgway led them to the remains. In the search, police recovered 25 - 30 bones.

## Aftermath

### 1985 Investigation

#### Initial Aftermath

Tammie wasn't reported missing initially as she ran away from home, and it wasn't believed she met with foul play.

After Tammie and Angela's then-unidentified remains were recovered, their cases were believed to be connected. After June 1985, police began to suspect the girls were victims of the Green River Killer after the partial remains of Denise Bush and Shirley Sherrill, two Green River victims, were discovered only a mile away.

Police had no evidence to confirm this without Angela and Tammie's names, meaning they weren't added to the list of suspected victims. Both girls remained unidentified.

#### Identification

Tammie's family contacted police in 1988 to report their daughter missing, as they hadn't heard from her in years at that point. Police took a report and, upon obtaining Tammie's dental records, were able to make an identification of Tammie's remains in March 1988.

#### Identification of Killer

The Green River Killer was identified in 2001 as Gary Ridgway and took a plea deal where he confessed to most of the victim's murders. When asked about Tammie and the then-unidentified Angela's murders, he denied killing them, not knowing he directed police to Tammie's unidentified remains. He was convicted of Tammie's murder, though she was unidentified. He was not convicted of Angela's murder.

#### Identification of Angela Girdner

Angela was identified in 2009 via dental records. The discovery of her identity also gave a reason as to why Ridgway denied killing her. Angela was last seen alive in Portland, Oregon, and if he confessed to the murders, he could face the death penalty. It's believed he denied murdering Tammie to even further distance herself from Angela.

### 2003 Investigation

#### Initial Aftermath

Ridgway was convicted of Tammie's murder, along with the murders of forty-eight other women. Tammie was Ridgway's only victim to be unidentified after Lori Razpotnik was identified in December 2023.

#### Recent developments

In 2020, the DNA Doe Project took on her case. They had identified many John/Jane Doe's in the past and were working on identifying Tammie.

In September 2023, the DNA Doe Project moved Tammie's case to their past cases, meaning they had left her case because law enforcement had given it to another genetic genealogy provider.

#### Identification

In January 2024, that provider would be revealed as Othram, as they announced Tammie had finally been identified, meaning Tammie could be considered a confirmed victim of Ridgway. It's unknown if Angela is also a confirmed victim.

## Sources

* Gary Ridgway on Wikipedia
* Tammie Liles at *Find a Grave*
* Green River Killings (archived)
* *The News Tribune* (subscription required)
* DNASolves
* DNA Doe Project