EVERETT, Wash. — Court documents released Monday shed new light on the "gum ruse" utilized by Everett police to secure DNA evidence that eventually led to an arrest in a 1984 cold case homicide.
In June 1984, 42-year-old Judith "Judy" Weaver was killed inside her home on Rucker Avenue. Officials said they initially responded to her home for a report of a fire and found her inside.
Mitchell Gaff, 61, was arrested last week and booked on suspicion of a number of charges, including aggravated first-degree murder. He was officially charged with first-degree murder on Monday in a Snohomish County court. Gaff pleaded not guilty Monday and is being held without bail.
Court documents said police started looking into this case in July 2020. Eventually, a DNA sample from a wrist ligature found on Weaver matched a sample listed in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database of DNA managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The database found Gaff to be a likely match to samples from inside the victim, the fabric used to restrain her and pieces of clothing that had been cut from her body. However, police needed another sample from the suspect to confirm the match.
Everett police detective Susan Logothetti and other undercover officers posed Jan. 17 as representatives from a gum company to determine the favorite flavors of participants in a study. The detectives collected multiple pieces of gum they saw the suspect chew in front of them in a ramekin, which was sent to compare with the DNA recovered from the victim.
A forensic scientist found samples from the evidence "were consistent" with Gaff's DNA from the gum.
KING 5 does not typically name suspects until they are formally charged. However, Gaff's criminal record showed many similarities to Weaver's killing. His past convictions show a trend of him tying women up and then assaulting them.
He was convicted of assaulting a woman in 1979 but she was able to escape. Then, five years later, he was convicted of raping two teenage girls in Everett.
After his conviction, Gaff was incarcerated on McNeil Island, a prison housing people the state deems to be the most violent sex offenders. In 2006, he was granted release into a halfway house in Seattle.
Everett police chief John DeRousse praised Logothetti for her work, which led to Gaff's arrest.
The Weaver family released a statement through Everett police on Monday that read: "We want to thank the Everett Police Department, Detective Susan Logoghetti, Prosecutor Craig Matheson, and the Forensic Scientists who have worked so diligently over the years to compile the DNA evidence that ultimately led to an arrest. Throughout the years our family has never given up hope. We are very happy there will finally be justice for our mom, Judy. We request our privacy at this time as we navigate the beginnings of this difficult situation."
The case is expected to go to trial June 21.