4, 1997, paramedics were summoned to the Ridley home, where they found Virginia Ridley, 49, dead in her quilt-covered bed. The cause of death was asphyxiation, and a new feast of rumors swirled through the town of 1,800: Alvin had kept her captive in a basement dungeon for 30 years. Alvin had finally killed her.Jan 27, 1999