SEATTLE WA., 11/5/03:  Gary Leon Ridgway, an ex-truck painter confessed in Court today that he was responsible for the famed Green River murders.  Ridgway confessed to murdering of 48 women over the past two decades.    He said he had actually lost track of the count and I have a hard time keeping them straight.  "Choking is what I did and I was pretty good at it".   This case involves more murders than any serial killer case in U.S. history.  Ridgway escaped the death penalty when he struck a plea bargain with prosecutors to get life in prison without parole.  Most of the women were prostitutes.  The killer said "I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex."