{"id":132450,"date":"2026-05-18T15:22:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/cold-case-killer-who-chewed-cops-undercover-dna-bait-faces-survivor-families-in-courtroom-showdown-132450"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:22:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:22:56","slug":"cold-case-killer-who-chewed-cops-undercover-dna-bait-faces-survivor-families-in-courtroom-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/cold-case-killer-who-chewed-cops-undercover-dna-bait-faces-survivor-families-in-courtroom-showdown-132450","title":{"rendered":"Cold case killer who chewed cops\u2019 undercover DNA bait faces survivor, families in courtroom showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Washington man was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison after admitting to a pair of decades-old cold-case killings which investigators linked him to using a piece of gum<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell Gaff, 74, was sentenced last week after he previously pleaded guilty to the murders of 21-year-old Susan Vesey and 42-year-old Judith “Judy” Weaver in Everett, according to<\/u><\/a> FOX 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investigators linked Gaff to the 1984 murder of Weaver after detectives with the Everett Police Department visited his home while claiming to be researchers working within the gum industry and inviting him to try a free sample, USA Today reported<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gaff reportedly obliged, providing the undercover detectives with a sample that was subsequently sent through the federal database CODIS, where investigators ultimately linked him to Weaver’s murder.<\/p>\n

DAUGHTERS\u2019 RELENTLESS SEARCH SHATTERS \u2018OVERDOSE\u2019 CLAIM, LEADS TO ARREST IN MOM\u2019S 1992 MURDER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He was arrested in May 2024 and was later charged with Vesey\u2019s killing while behind bars, with investigators revealing she had been murdered inside her apartment the day after her 21st birthday on July 12, 1980, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking in court on Wednesday, Gaff offered an apology to the families of both victims seated in the courtroom, while pointing to drugs and alcohol as contributing factors to his history of violence.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I am sorry, not because I was caught, but the consequences,” Gaff said, according to<\/u><\/a> NBC News. “No one did anything to deserve me coming into their lives.”<\/p>\n

HORROR VIDEO CAPTURES REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY ATTACKING 75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, GOUGING HER EYE WITH SPIKED STICK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The court also heard from Jacqueline O\u2019Brien, a former law enforcement officer who survived a violent attack by Gaff inside her Everett home\u2019s garage in 1979.<\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I knew he was going to kill me,” O\u2019Brien said, FOX 13 reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien managed to escape the attack and was pivotal in helping authorities identify Gaff, who was arrested several times in the years after and spent time behind bars for the rapes of two teenage sisters<\/a> in 1984.<\/p>\n

SEND US A TIP HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“My nightmare occurred 47 years ago, but it seems like yesterday,” O\u2019Brien added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vesey\u2019s son, Joshua Vesey, told the court he was just 3 months old and inside the apartment when his mother was killed by Gaff, FOX 13 reported.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“What the defendant took from me and my sister was not just a life, it was a mother\u2019s unconditional love,” Joshua Vesey told the court, according to the outlet. “At any point he could have stopped the confusion, the suspicion and the pain that spread through my family.”<\/p>\n

DECADES-OLD COLD CASE BREAKTHROUGH LEADS TO ARREST IN EXECUTION-STYLE KILLINGS OF MARRIED COUPLE BEFORE CHILD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Leon Gregory, Weaver\u2019s brother, also emphasized how the case haunted his family for years as they grappled with the possibility of never receiving closure.<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Your Honor, as we all know, it\u2019s been a long 42 years,” Gregory said, according to FOX 13. “My parents, brother, two other sisters, passed on years ago, never knowing who killed Judy.”<\/p>\n

Before determining Gaff\u2019s fate, the judge pointed to his history of violence and attempts to cover up the crimes throughout the years as a determining factor in denying the defense\u2019s request that he receive the minimum sentence.<\/p>\n

“The defendant\u2019s history consists of sexually motivated, extremely violent crimes<\/a> against women,” the judge said, FOX 13 reported. “The appropriate sentence has a minimum is the number of years that the families had to wait.”<\/p>\n

The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/cold-case-killer-chewed-cops-undercover-dna-bait-faces-survivor-families-courtroom-showdown <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Washington man was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison after admitting to a pair of decades-old cold-case killings which investigators linked him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-132450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCold case killer who chewed cops\u2019 undercover DNA bait faces survivor, families in courtroom showdown - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/cold-case-killer-who-chewed-cops-undercover-dna-bait-faces-survivor-families-in-courtroom-showdown-132450\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cold case killer who chewed cops\u2019 undercover DNA bait faces survivor, families in courtroom showdown - 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