36 years after Washington teen was found dead in river, DNA helps identify her killer

Authorities have identified the man who assaulted and killed a Washington woman 36 years ago, and they used DNA to solve the case.

Fishermen found a body on Aug. 28, 1988, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. She was found in the Puyallup River near Sumner, authorities said in a news release on Dec. 1.

Two months after the woman’s death, she was identified by dental records as Tracy Whitney, the sheriff’s department said in a video. She was last seen that day at Burger King arguing with her ex-boyfriend.

“She walked away from that Burger King and less than 24 hours later, she was discovered in the river deceased,” said Det. Sgt. Lindsay Kirkegaard in the video.

When Whitney was found, she was nude. Officials conducted an autopsy and determined that Whitney had been strangled to death, or likely smothered. She also had multiple blunt force injuries and was sexually assaulted. Officials ruled her death a homicide and took DNA swabs from her body.

Despite detectives interviewing everyone who knew or dated her, her killer continued to walk free.

“There were a lot of suspects, potential suspects, that would come up in this investigation of current boyfriends, previous boyfriends,” Kirkegaard said.

Locating the victim’s killer decades later

In 2005, officials took the DNA collected from Whitney’s body and sent it in for testing via the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national database that allows federal, state and local forensic laboratories to compare DNA and link violent crimes to specific offenders.

Detectives eventually decided to resubmit the suspect’s DNA due to new technology at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. Once a new DNA profile was created, it was uploaded to CODIS but returned no matches, Kirkegaard said.

In March 2022, detectives again submitted a DNA extract to Parabon Labs, where team members traced family lines back to the 1700s, leading investigators to a man named John Guillot Jr.

“John died of cancer in January 2022, eight months prior to receiving the results,” Kirkegaard said. “He had also been cremated, so there was no DNA to compare to the suspect DNA profile.”

Detectives reached out to the Washington State Patrol, who said they could confirm the suspect’s identity by comparing the suspect DNA to a family member. 

Guillot had a son, John Guillot III, who had recently died, so investigators compared DNA from Guillot’s deceased son to the suspect DNA. The test confirmed that the suspect was the father of John Guillot III, or John Guillot Jr., Kirkegaard said.

According to authorities, Guillot and Whitney did not know each other. Police suspect Whitney’s death was a stranger abduction, rape and murder. Because he died, no charges could be brought against him.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office supplied grant money to pay for testing, which solved the case, authorities said.

Kirkegaard said it’s important for authorities to try and give her family some closure.

Victim was ‘a good kid,’ father says

Robin Whitney, the victim's sister, spoke in the vided and said she was a good big sister. 

"She has been really missed throughout my lifetime,” her sister said. “It was really hard growing up without a sister, but I'm just happy that we have finally found who did this and she can rest peacefully."

Her father, Ron Whitney, said she was "a good kid.” He said the smaller kids in the area looked up to her. 

“The best way I can describe her is what her best friend’s mother said,” he said. “Tracy was sweet. She was family.”

Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.