Overview
- Mitchell Gaff, who pleaded guilty in April, received 50 years to life Wednesday in Snohomish County Superior Court for murdering Susan Vesey in 1980 and Judith Weaver in 1984.
- Detectives first focused on Gaff after DNA from Weaver’s wrist ligature matched him in CODIS, the national DNA database, which led them to seek a fresh sample.
- Two Everett detectives then posed as gum researchers to collect his chewed samples, and lab tests matched that DNA to evidence from Weaver’s rape and murder.
- After a cold-case review, the Washington State Patrol lab re-tested items from Vesey’s scene, and DNA on white cords matched Gaff, leading to a March 13 charge.
- Relatives and a 1979 assault survivor described decades of harm at sentencing, and the judge rejected a bid for a lower term under older laws, citing Gaff’s violent, sexually motivated record.