Serial killers can elude police for decades, and some might even die with their secrets. As shown in "The Capture of the Green River Killer" (a Lifetime Channel miniseries out March 29 on DVD), it's mostly because the murderers usually prey on the most vulnerable and disconnected, usually poor women reduced to prostitution.
Based on the memoirs of detective David Reichert, the drama follows his investigation into a long string of sex killings involving young prostitutes whose bodies were found along the Green River near Seattle. It's "Twin Peaks" country, wooded and where even the blue sky promises rain. Interposed with the police procedural is the story of Helen, the daughter of a single mother from the dysfunctional depths of the lower class. Raped by one of her mother's boyfriends, she drifts into the streets and into harm's way. Her narrative allows the story to wonder a little about luck, fate, choice and God.
"The Capture of the Green River Killer" lacks the snap and determination of "Law and Order SVU" but probably conveys a more realistic sense for the sluggish, often disappointing and frustrating nature of police work. Solutions don't usually arrive at the 50-minute mark.
