WHO: Nate Griggs; plus NPC ADA Samantha Campbell and NPC Lieutenant Benjamin Dover WHEN: August 10, 2018; afternoon WHERE: Seattle PD, interrogation room SUMMARY: Nate Griggs, serial killer, makes a deal: a full confession to all his past crimes, in exchange for his family being left out of everything. WARNINGS: Read everything else first (this, this, and this). Also, multiple mentions of murder. Mentions of capital punishment.
Twenty-seven years, and Nate was finally caught. Part of him was actually relieved. It was all over. No more secrets. No more lies. And it wasn't like he had anything to lose anymore. He should have just left when Wynnie told him to, but he was stupid enough to think that now was the time to show that he could stick around anyway. And now everything he'd been trying to shield Wynnie and Eli from was going to come out. There was still time… he could confess only to this one murder. It would still hurt them, but it wouldn't hurt them as much as the full truth.
Sperm donor. Deadbeat. Loser. He had taken those without argument. They were all preferable to the truth. Pervert. Even that new one was better than the truth. Murderer.
Serial killer.
No, his life was over anyway. In for a penny, in for a pound. If he was going to prison, it may as well be for all his crimes. He knew that they would never forgive him… but maybe this deal for his full confession would keep them from being marred by it. They were innocent, they didn't know anything. He would rather die than drag them down with him.
He sat there at the table in the interrogation room, thoughts and memories tumbling over and over in his head, even after he heard the door open and close. A woman cleared her throat, and Nate lifted his head from his hands, the chains connecting him to the table rattling as he brought his hands down and shifted in his chair, leaning back against the seat back.
"I hear you're interested in a deal, Mr. Griggs. My name is Samantha Campbell, I'm the Assistant District Attorney here. It looks to me like we've got plenty to convict you, so why would we want to make a deal with you?"
Nate eyed the ADA, sizing her up. Last chance to back out, to only go down for this one. No, it was time to let it all out.
"How about a full confession to this murder and fifty-six others, spread out across the country since 1991?" Nate responded calmly. "I believe the common term for that is 'serial killer.'" That was the first time he'd ever actually said those words, but that's what he was. It was finally time to own up to it. No more secrets. No more lies.
ADA Campbell couldn't quite hide the shock that crossed her face at the seated man's calm and matter-of-fact statement. The Green River Killer was being held here in Washington without parole, and he only had 49 confirmed kills.
"That's quite a claim, Mr. Griggs. Assuming you give us a full confession, what would you want in return?"
Nate shifted forward in his seat again, bringing his elbows to rest on the table. Meeting the ADA's eyes straight on, he said, "You can do whatever you want to me. Fry my brains out, stick some poison in my arm, or find the smallest and darkest hole in the world and shove me into it. I don't care what happens to me. I'll confess to everything, give you dates and locations. I will answer any question you ask, tell you everything. I'll plead guilty to it all, no wasting time with trials or appeals or anything. But my parents, my ex-wife, and my son are left out of this. Nobody goes and questions any of them. They're all innocent victims in all of this, none of them knew anything, I made sure of it." He paused, though his gaze never wavered. "And the Fall City Deputy Sheriff's Department gets full credit for my apprehension." At that, he returned to slouching in his chair. "Or you could just convict me on this one murder, I'll leave that up to you and your boss."
The ADA was unnerved by the eye contact, but maintained it regardless, until Mr. Griggs broke it. "I'll see what I can do, Mr. Griggs."
"This is Lieutenant Benjamin Dover of the Seattle Police Department, taking the confession of Nathan Griggs. The date is Friday, August 10, 2018. The time is 3:15pm Pacific Daylight Time. Mr. Griggs has been informed of his Fifth Amendment rights and has declined to speak with a lawyer prior to his confession, and declined to have one present during his confession. He is currently in custody due to the diligent work of the Deputy Sheriff's Department of Fall City, Washington. We have in his file a signed agreement with the Office of the District Attorney, in which Mr. Griggs has agreed to give the Seattle Police Department a full confession to fifty-seven separate counts of murder, ranging over a timespan of twenty-seven years. Mr. Griggs is not being coerced into giving his confession, he is offering it upon the condition that his family, named as Richard Griggs, Elizabeth Griggs, Bronwyn Llewellyn, and Elijah Griggs, all of Fall City, Washington, be left alone and unquestioned with regards to his self-confessed crimes. Assuming that the information that he gives is acceptable and can be confirmed by local law enforcement personnel, he will be remanded into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further investigation of his crimes and sentencing."
The Lieutenant cleared his throat and looked at the man sitting across the table from him. Gesturing to the microphone in front of the suspect, he said, "Mr. Griggs, you may begin."
Nate stared at the microphone. No turning back now. But as long as the cops and the feds kept their end of the bargain and left his family alone, he would tell them everything. No more secrets. No more lies.
"My first murder was in Bellevue, Washington, on April 27, 1991. The victim was a teenaged boy, a runaway. He was stabbed multiple times with a grilling fork."
"... June 3, 1995, outside of Roswell, New Mexico. A hitchhiker. Punctured right lung, same as the others."
"... July 16, 1997, Billings, Montana. A prostitute. I was seen by a bystander as I was leaving the scene."
"... December 29, 1997, Salt Lake City, Utah. A homeless man."
"... May 27, 2000, Las Vegas, Nevada. A prostitute."
"... November 8, 2002, New Orleans, Louisiana. A runaway teenage girl."
"... March 15, 2005, San Diego, California. A homeless man."
"... May 4, 2018, Richland, Washington. A homeless woman."
"... June 16, 2018, Portland, Oregon. A homeless man."
"... August 6, 2018, Seattle, Washington. A homeless woman."
"I chose people who wouldn't be missed. People who wouldn't have loved ones demanding the police find their killer. Who would fade from memory almost as soon as they were gone. At one point, I started convincing myself that I was helping them as much as they were helping me, I was ending their struggle."
"After my first victim, I learned how to do what I needed to do more effectively. I would buy a knife with cash, or steal one from a restaurant's kitchen. Sometimes I would steal a car to use to pick up prostitutes or hitchhikers. I learned where to hit in order to puncture the lung. I would sit there and watch them struggle to breathe, watch the life drain away from their eyes. I… I needed to see what happened, then, in that moment."
Nate took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was done. Everything was out. Every date, every victim, had been etched into his memory. Now they were out there, for everyone to know. Whatever the feds decided to do to him, he would take it. He deserved it. As long as his family was left alone. No more secrets. No more lies.
When the suspect stopped talking, the Lieutenant cleared his throat. "This is Lieutenant Dover again. Nathan Griggs has completed his voluntary confession. The Seattle Police Department will reach out to the public safety departments of the named locations for assistance in looking for cold cases from around the given dates. We will pass along all of this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and allow them to decide how the case will be handled. The Seattle Police Department reserves the right to question Nathan Griggs further while he is still in our custody."
Lieutenant Dover stopped the recording and began gathering up his things. "Someone will be along shortly to escort you back to your cell, Mr. Griggs."
After the door closed behind the Lieutenant, Nate brought his hands back up to his face, resting his forehead in his palms.