The Riverman 2004

Robert D. Keppel, a criminology professor at the University of Washington, is approached by Detective Dave Reichert to help profile a serial killer preying on prostitutes in the Seattle area. Keppel agrees, despite the objections of his wife Sande Keppel, who is tired of him spending more time with crime scene investigations than with her.

Keppel receives a letter from serial killer Ted Bundy, whom Keppel had helped send to death row, offering to consult on the case. He conducts a series of interviews with Bundy under the guise of seeking his expertise. In reality, he hopes Bundy will reveal details of his own murders before he is executed. Bundy proves to be of limited help in profiling the killer, whom he dubs “The Riverman,” but the conversation sheds light on Bundy’s own pathology, particularly his urge to possess his victims, even to the point of necrophilia. Eventually, Bundy confesses to several unsolved murders in the vain hope that Keppel will delay his execution.

Meanwhile, Detective Dave Reichert and Keppel question a suspect, Gary Ridgway, and take a DNA sample. Years later, that DNA is used as crucial evidence to convict Ridgway of the murders.