[3] Ritchie scored 1200 on his SAT and was recruited by the West Virginia University (WVU) football team in 1994, one day following the death of Quincy.

[5] Ritchie committed his first two confirmed murders during the early morning hours of July 3, 2016, when he shot 20-year-old Brianna Foisy and 41-year-old Jason Netter Sr.

The two bodies were discovered together along a bike path near Ship Creek by a bicyclist at 7:45 a.m.[6] Netter was noted for having extensive run-ins with the law, often regarding his drug-related activity, as well as child support issues with his two daughters, one of whom changed her name.

[3] Three girls who had spotted Ritchie lingering in the woods near Bolin Street through their window just prior heard the gunfire and witnessed him grabbing Thompson's bicycle.

[13] During the early hours of August 28, Ritchie shot dead 34-year-old Kevin Turner and 25-year-old Bryant (Brie) De Husson in Valley of the Moon Park.

[13] Recognizing a modus operandi displayed by the string of murders, the APD released an advisory notice for citizens to avoid isolated trails after dark.

On September 6, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz hosted a press conference that asserted that gang violence was largely responsible for the record-breaking number of murders in the city, though he refused to acknowledge the evidence lending credibility to the serial killer theory.

She claimed to have located an armed Ritchie near the Alaska Regional Hospital in October 2016 and to have reported to the APD lieutenant about having found her son's killer.

[9] Ritchie was killed near the corner of 5th Avenue and Cordova Street in Anchorage during a gunfight with 38-year-old Officer Arn Salao and 34-year-old Sergeant Marc Patzke of the APD on November 12, 2016.

[24] After seventy-eight hours of investigation and contacting the victims' families, APD Chief Chris Tolley hosted a press conference in which he announced the connection between the homicides and the attempt on Officer Salao's life.

Additionally, Lieutenant John McKinnon confirmed that the investigation had revealed a connection between the murders, but the task force withheld it from the public out of concern that Ritchie would have disposed of the Colt Python had he realized it was being sought.

[10] On April 26, 2017, APD spokesperson Renee Oistad announced that sufficient probable cause was determined to confirm that Ritchie was solely responsible for the five murders and, therefore, a serial killer.

Investigators had traced the Colt Python handgun's whereabouts back to confirm that it had found its way into Ritchie's possession prior to the murders of Foisy and Netter in July 2016.