 The inspiration for the Silence of the Lambs was the real life  relationship between University of Washington criminology professor  and profiler Robert Keppel and real life serial killer  Ted Bundy (qv). Bundy helped Keppel in his investigation of the  Green River Serial Killings in Washington. While Bundy was executed  24 January 1989, the Green River Killings went unsolved until 2001  when Gary Ridgway (qv) was arrested. On 5 November 2003, Ridgway  pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated first degree murder in a  King County, Washington (Seattle) courtroom.