EVERETT, WA — Mitchell Gaff, 68, was sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 50 years in prison for murdering two women in the 1980s after undercover detectives obtained his DNA through discarded chewing gum.
Gaff pleaded guilty in April to first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Susan Vesey, 21, and Judith Weaver, 42. The cold cases remained unsolved for decades until investigators used a “gum ruse” in January 2024 to collect DNA evidence that linked Gaff to both crimes. The breakthrough came after his DNA profile, already in a national database from a 1984 rape conviction, matched evidence from Weaver’s murder scene through the Combined DNA Index System.
Three Everett Police Department investigators posed as representatives from a gum company conducting flavor research in January 2024, according to court documents obtained by CNN. Detective Susan Logothetti said the team visited Gaff’s Washington home, where he invited them inside and sampled different gum flavors. “I remember watching him spit the first piece of gum into the ramekin and seeing the saliva, and it was very hard for me to contain my excitement,” Logothetti told CNN. The detectives provided Gaff with a dish to dispose of his used gum, then submitted the saliva-covered pieces for forensic testing that confirmed his DNA matched evidence from both murder scenes.
Gaff had been identified as a potential suspect in November 2023 when investigators examining electrical cords used to bind Weaver’s wrists received a DNA hit matching his profile in the national database. His DNA was entered into the system after he was convicted of raping two teenage sisters in 1984, just three months after Weaver’s murder. Gaff served 21 years in prison for that crime and was later confined at McNeil Island, a facility housing Washington state’s highest-risk sex offenders. A psychologist diagnosed him as a sexual sadist, according to court records. The gum ruse provided investigators with the additional DNA sample they needed for confirmation before making an arrest.
Vesey was found dead in her home by her husband on July 12, 1980, while both her children, under age 2, were in another room. Gaff had barged into the home and bound Vesey with electrical cords before raping and strangling her, court documents state. Four years later, Weaver was discovered dead in her bedroom on June 2, 1984, after Everett Fire Department responded to a house fire that Gaff had set to destroy evidence. Investigators determined Weaver had been bound, raped and strangled before the fire was lit. Police initially considered the cases unrelated and questioned several other suspects over the years, including Vesey’s husband Ken Vesey and his brother Gerry. DNA forensic testing was not available to law enforcement in 1984, leaving both cases unsolved for decades.
Gaff was arrested and charged with Weaver’s murder in May 2024, then charged with Vesey’s death in March of this year after additional DNA testing confirmed his connection to that crime. In his plea statement, Gaff admitted to “trying random doors and found the victim’s door unlocked” before attacking Vesey. He described beating, raping and strangling her to death. Regarding Weaver, Gaff stated: “Before leaving I wrapped cords around her neck and lit the corner of the bedspread in an attempt to cover up my crime and with the intention of killing her. Ms. Weaver died because of my actions.” Gaff told investigators he did not know either woman before attacking them and that the crimes were random. He also admitted to attacking a third woman in November 1979, who managed to escape after he beat her and attempted to bind her wrists.
Family members of both victims addressed the court during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, urging Judge to impose the harshest possible sentence. “For over 45 years, my family has grappled with not knowing who had taken her from us,” said Debra Newton, Vesey’s daughter, in her victim impact statement. “Late justice is better than no justice at all, and you can still give some semblance of justice to me, my brother, her brothers and her other family and friends who loved her.” Weaver’s oldest daughter, Colleen Kayser, wrote that for 40 years she wondered who had killed her mother. Weaver’s niece, Dawnyel Wilder Harris, wrote: “My one and only wish for the monster of a defendant is that he be given the most amount of years allowed and that he never sees daylight again.” Gaff addressed the court before sentencing, saying: “I am sorry, not because I was caught, but the consequences. No one did anything to deserve me coming into their lives.”
Gaff will serve his 50-year sentence to life in prison, ensuring he will likely remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life. The Everett Police Department confirmed that Gaff’s statements and confessions were consistent with their investigation findings in both homicides. His next court appearance has not been scheduled, and prosecutors indicated they will seek protective orders for the victims’ families.
Shame he wasn’t given death. But 50 years with no parole is probably just as good!