Killers chewing gum blows open 40-year-old murders, detective warns there may be more victims

Decades before DNA evidence linked Mitchell Gaff to two Washington cold-case murders, he admitted to six rapes during state psychological evaluations, court records show.Years later, a judge ended his civil commitment, allowing him to live in the community without the restrictions imposed under Washington’s sexually violent predator program.Gaff pleaded guilty in April 2026 to the murders of Judith "Judy" Weaver and Susan Vesey.A Snohomish County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 50 years to life in prison in May.DNA FROM CHEWING GUM NAILS LONGTIME SEXUAL PREDATOR DECADES AFTER REIGN OF TERROR: REPORTMitchell Gaff is pictured in a mugshot.

(Washington State Department of Corrections)His convictions have raised questions about other victims, given Gaff’s history of sexual violence before a court unconditionally released him from civil commitment in September 2018.Gaff later lived in Olympia under the alias "Sam Wise Price."CALIFORNIA SHERIFF FIGHTS PLAN TO HOUSE CONVICTED SEX PREDATOR NEAR GIRL SCOUT CAMPDr.Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist and author not affiliated with the case, told Fox News Digital that ignoring a predator's admissions carries dangerous risks."Psychologically, if he'd confessed but discovered there'd be no consequence, he'd likely feel emboldened to potentially repeat it," Ramsland said.CONVICTED SERIAL RAPIST ORIGINALLY SENTENCED TO 124 YEARS WALKS FREE AFTER 20, SPARKING OUTRAGEIn June 1984, authorities found Weaver bound, sexually assaulted and strangled inside her apartment off Rucker Avenue in Everett.

Investigators determined that Gaff had also sliced her clothing with a knife and set a fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.Authorities found Judy Weaver's body inside her home on Rucker Avenue in Everett, Washington, after first responders were called to a fire on June 2, 1984.(Everett Police Department)The investigation initially focused on Bill Richards, Weaver’s fiancé.

Weaver’s daughters told investigators that...