Tracy Whitney Obituary, Death; – Authorities have successfully identified the individual responsible for the assault and murder of a woman in Washington 36 years ago, utilizing DNA evidence to resolve the case.
On August 28, 1988, fishermen discovered a body in the Puyallup River near Sumner, as reported by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department in a news release dated December 1.
Two months following the discovery, dental records confirmed the identity of the victim as Tracy Whitney. She was last seen that day at a Burger King, engaged in an argument with her former boyfriend.
“She left the Burger King, and within less than 24 hours, her body was found in the river,” stated Det. Sgt. Lindsay Kirkegaard in the video presentation. At the time of her discovery, Whitney was found without clothing. An autopsy revealed that she had been strangled or possibly smothered, in addition to suffering multiple blunt force injuries and sexual assault. Her death was classified as a homicide, and DNA samples were collected from her remains.
Despite extensive interviews with acquaintances and former partners, the perpetrator remained at large.
“There were numerous potential suspects that emerged during the investigation, including current and former boyfriends,” Kirkegaard noted.
Decades later, efforts to locate the victim’s assailant continued. In 2005, the DNA obtained from Whitney’s remains was submitted for analysis through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database that facilitates the comparison of DNA across various jurisdictions to link violent crimes to specific individuals.
Detectives later opted to resubmit the suspect’s DNA for testing, taking advantage of advancements in technology at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. Although a new DNA profile was generated and uploaded to CODIS, it yielded no matches, according to Kirkegaard.
In March 2022, detectives submitted a DNA sample to Parabon Labs, where analysts traced familial connections back to the 1700s, ultimately leading them to a man named John Guillot Jr.
“John passed away from cancer in January 2022, eight months prior to this development.”
