GUILTY WA - Jay Cook, 20, & Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, Skagit County, 24 Nov 1987

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Thursday, March 14th:
*Status Conference Hearing (@ 1:30pm PT) – WA – Jay Cook (20) & Tanya Van Cuylenborg (18) (Nov. 19, 1987, Skagit County; Tanya found 11/24/87, Jay 11/26/87) – *William Earl Talbott II (55/24 @ time of crime) arrested (5/17/18) & charged (5/18/18) & indicted (6/15/18) with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty (6/19/18). $2M bail, changed (12/13/18 to $2.5M. DA will not seek DP.
Investigators made a break in the cold case using a new strategy involving genetic genealogy (Parabon Nanolabs) & uploading DNA from the crime scene to a public, online genealogy (GEDMatch) database.
7/20/18 Update: Hearing was moved from 7/18 to 7/19. During all court hearings defendant will be unshackled & civilian attire & lower bail denied. Next court hearing is 11/19 for Status hearing; DA has until 11/30 to decide about DP; trial moved to March, 2019 (no specific date).
8/18/18 Update: Jury trial has been continued to 3/25 & 3/26. Next Status hearing on 11/19. 11/19/18: DA will not seek DP. Next Motion hearing on 12/13, Status Conference on 1/24, Jury selection starts 3/25, trial will start 4/2/19.
1/24/19 Update: Next Status Conference hearing on 2/28. 2/28/19 Update: Next Status Conference hearing on 3/14. Rest of court dates stand as is.
 
Trial of Seattle man in 1987 killings of Victoria-area couple to begin in June


The jury trial for a Seattle-area man charged with the aggravated first-degree murders of a young Saanich couple more than 30 years ago is scheduled to begin June 3.
[.....]
On Thursday afternoon, Talbott, a trucker in his mid-50s, appeared before trial judge Linda Krese in Snohomish Country Superior Court. The defence asked for a postponement of the trial to get a couple of things squared away, said Snohomish County’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson.

“There are a lot of moving pieces in a case of this age and complexity,” he said. “There are thousands and thousands of pages of disclosure.”
[.....]
The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. Fifty witnesses are expected to testify.
[.....]
If convicted, Talbott will not face the death penalty. Last year, the Washington state Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. The ruling commuted the sentences of eight men on the state’s death row to life in prison.
 
March 27 2019
Murder trial in Washington highlights growing use of genetic genealogy to solve cold cases
"The double-homicide trial of William Earl Talbott II, who is accused of the 1987 killings of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, will be closely watched by cold case investigators, prosecutors and defense attorney across the country. And that includes the Inland Northwest, where Coeur d’Alene and Spokane police say they are interested in watching as new technology is used to try to win a murder conviction."
 
Thursday, April 18th:
*Status Hearing (@ 2pm PT) – WA – Jay Cook (20) & Tanya Van Cuylenborg (18) (Nov. 19, 1987, Skagit County; Tanya found 11/24/87, Jay 11/26/87) – *William Earl Talbott II (55/24 @ time of crime) arrested (5/17/18), charged (5/18/18) & indicted (6/15/18) with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty (6/19/18). $2M bail. DA will not seek DP.
Investigators made a break in the cold case using a new strategy involving genetic genealogy (Parabon Nanolabs) & uploading DNA from the crime scene to a public, online genealogy (GEDMatch) database.
7/20/18 Update: Hearing was moved from 7/18 to 7/19. During all court hearings defendant will be unshackled & civilian attire & lower bail denied. Next court hearing is 11/19 for Status hearing; DA has until 11/30 to decide about DP; trial moved to March, 2019 (no specific date).
8/18/18 Update: Jury trial has been continued to 3/25 & 3/26. Next Status hearing on 11/19.
11/19/18 Update: DA will not seek DP. Next Motion hearing on 12/13, Status Conference on 1/24, Jury selection starts 3/25, trial will start 4/2/19. Trial will last about a month, with jury selection taking at least a week.
3/14/19 Update: Trial has been delayed. Need time to get DNA results. Trial has been moved from April 2 to June 3, 2019. Next Status Conference hearing on 4/18.
 
Traymar said:
Do you know if they had the status hearing yesterday, @Niner?
Click to expand...
I just checked the docket and it says it was cancelled for an unspecified reason but they did have a status conference on 4/12/19 where defendant filed his list of witnesses for trial.
 
Oops - I was going to post the same as you Suglo - but since I already copied it - I'll paste it too! :)

04/18/2019 Status Conference
Hearing Time: 02:00 PM
Cancel Reason: Unspecified
Comment: 2pm Dept 11 Judge Krese


link: Odyssey Portal - Washington Courts Online Case Search

edited to Add - the next court hearing shown is the trial starting on 6/3.
 
May. 31, 2019
https://www.nelsonstar.com/news/tri...cold-case-killing-of-vancouver-island-couple/
"Over the objections of the defendant, a trial was delayed about a week for the SeaTac man accused of killing a Canadian couple in 1987.

“My life’s been on hold for greater than a year now for a crime that I did not commit,” William Talbott II said Friday, one of the few times the suspect has spoken in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Jury selection is now set to begin June 11."

"In Talbott’s trial, pretrial motions are set to be heard Friday in front of Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese. She ruled the trial could be delayed in part because prosecutors handed over 2,369 pages of new discovery papers on May 14, and the defense hasn’t been able to read through them."
 
dotr said:
May. 31, 2019
https://www.nelsonstar.com/news/tri...cold-case-killing-of-vancouver-island-couple/
"Over the objections of the defendant, a trial was delayed about a week for the SeaTac man accused of killing a Canadian couple in 1987.

“My life’s been on hold for greater than a year now for a crime that I did not commit,” William Talbott II said Friday, one of the few times the suspect has spoken in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Jury selection is now set to begin June 11."

"In Talbott’s trial, pretrial motions are set to be heard Friday in front of Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese. She ruled the trial could be delayed in part because prosecutors handed over 2,369 pages of new discovery papers on May 14, and the defense hasn’t been able to read through them."
Click to expand...

Interesting information. I notice the defendant in this case claims he is not guilty. If they have not done so already I would urge lawyers and public defenders in these cases which have used DNA genealogy read my posts while they are still about (and to praise Websleuths and LE they do take a fair and balanced approach with such things) in order that these men get a fair trial and are aware there may be misidentifications with erroneous DNA hits presented as fact by LE when DNA genealogy 'new technology' and 'science' are used. Also privacy and human rights groups need to be aware of this as we have the situation at the moment where in my opinion people are recklessly being encouraged to opt in to sites like GEDMATCH without all the facts being know especially about the possible suffering of innocent people and their families because of the use of GEDMATCH. Thank you for hearing for thoughts and concerns.
 
Last edited:
05/31/2019 Motion Hearing
Judicial Officer: Krese, Linda C
Hearing Time: 9:00 AM

06/04/2019 Jury Trial
Hearing Time: 9:01 AM
Cancel Reason: Continuance

06/07/2019 Jury Trial
Judicial Officer: Krese, Linda C
Hearing Time: 9:00 AM

06/07/2019 Pre-Trial Management Hearing
Judicial Officer: Krese, Linda C
Hearing Time: 11:30 AM

06/11/2019 Jury Trial
Hearing Time: 9:01 AM
Comment: Assigned to Judge Krese 4 weeks 90 jurors

07/01/2019 Jury Trial
Judicial Officer: Krese, Linda C
Hearing Time: 9:30 AM

link: Odyssey Portal - Washington Courts Online Case Search
 
jaejae said:
Interesting information. I notice the defendant in this case claims he is not guilty. If they have not done so already I would urge lawyers and public defenders in these cases which have used DNA genealogy read my posts while they are still about (and to praise Websleuths and LE they do take a fair and balanced approach with such things) in order that these men get a fair trial and are aware there may be misidentifications with erroneous DNA hits presented as fact by LE when DNA genealogy 'new technology' and 'science' are used. Also privacy and human rights groups need to be aware of this as we have the situation at the moment where in my opinion people are recklessly being encouraged to opt in to sites like GEDMATCH without all the facts being know especially about the possible suffering of innocent people and their families because of the use of GEDMATCH. Thank you for hearing for thoughts and concerns.
Click to expand...

While I agree with your points about risks of accusing innocent people in using DNA to solve murders, this case seems fairly solid based on the evidence. Talbott's DNA was a match to the evidence found. Moreover, the evidence came from seminal fluid found in the rape exam done on Tanya. What are the chances that she met and had consensual sex with Talbott, a total stranger, just after her boyfriend was murdered and dumped in the woods? What are the chances she had consensual sex with Talbott before her boyfriend was killed, while she and her boyfriend were on a fun weekend trip? There seems to be some important circumstantial evidence connected to the murder, in addition to the DNA evidence.

As more murders are solved with DNA evidence, more of these killers fall into the category of people who were adept at blending back into their communities, living normal lives and not attracting attention of law enforcement. There's a reason many of these crimes went unsolved - they were committed by a different class of killers that are much more difficult to identify, who could start and stop their criminal activity for long periods of time. JMO, part of the problem is also due to lack of consistent LE follow up on sex offenders, analyzing rape kits, etc.

All JMO
 
Oops - I had his trial starting today....

Jury selection begins 6/7.

I noticed above it says "90 jurors" - 90?? maybe they mean 9? Does Washington have that?
Or they mean they will "start" with 90 jurors?
 
Friday, June 7th:
*Pretrial Management Hearing (@ 11:30am PT) – WA – Jay Cook (20) & Tanya Van Cuylenborg (18) (Nov. 19, 1987, Snohomish County; Tanya found 11/24/87, Jay 11/26/87) – *William Earl Talbott II (55/24 @ time of crime) arrested (5/17/18), charged (5/18/18) & indicted (6/15/18) with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty (6/19/18). $2M bail. DA will not seek DP.
Investigators made a break in the cold case using a new strategy involving genetic genealogy (Parabon Nanolabs) & uploading DNA from the crime scene to a public, online genealogy (GEDMatch) database.
7/20/18 Update: Hearing was moved from 7/18 to 7/19. During all court hearings defendant will be unshackled & civilian attire & lower bail denied. Next court hearing is 11/19 for Status hearing; DA has until 11/30 to decide about DP; trial moved to March, 2019 (no specific date).
8/18/18 Update: Jury trial has been continued to 3/25 & 3/26. Next Status hearing on 11/19.
11/19/18 Update: DA will not seek DP. Next Motion hearing on 12/13, Status Conference on 1/24, Jury selection starts 3/25, trial will start 4/2/19. Trial will last about a month, with jury selection taking at least a week.
3/14/19 Update: Trial has been delayed. Need time to get DNA results. Trial has been moved from April 2 to June 3. Next Status Conference hearing on 4/18. 4/18/19: Hearing was cancelled. Next hearing 5/31.
5/31/19 Update: Trial has been delayed for a week. Next Pretrial Management hearing on 6/7, Jury selection starts 6/11, trial will begin 7/1.
 
"Photos of Tanya Van Cuylenborg are spread out on a desk, showing a smiling teen from Saanich on a high school trip to Paris, cuddling the family’s golden retriever, sitting on her brother’s shiny 1967 Mustang and behind the wheel of her father’s sailboat.

These happy snapshots are how her brother, John Van Cuylenborg, prefers to remember her, rather than the day he and his father identified her body in November 1987, after she was raped and killed in Washington state.

John Van Cuylenborg spent 31 years wondering whether anyone would be arrested for the killings of his sister, who was 18, and her 20-year-old boyfriend, Jay Cook. Next week, he will face the man accused of the murders, a 55-year-old Seattle-area trucker named William Earl Talbott II, as his trial begins in Snohomish County Superior Court.

“I’ve been preparing for a trial for 31 years,” said John Van Cuylenborg, a Victoria-based lawyer. “I think it’s going to be very difficult. I’m expecting it to be tough, but it’s a necessary part in getting to where we want, which is having someone held accountable.”"

Brother speaks out about B.C. teen's slaying and a trial 31 years in the making
 
Tuesday, July 11th:
*Jury Selection begins (@ 9am PT) – WA – Jay Cook (20) & Tanya Van Cuylenborg (18) (Nov. 19, 1987, Skagit County; Tanya found 11/24/87, Jay 11/26/87) – *William Earl Talbott II (55/24 @ time of crime) arrested (5/17/18), charged (5/18/18) & indicted (6/15/18) with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty (6/19/18). $2M bail. DA will not seek DP.
Investigators made a break in the cold case using a new strategy involving genetic genealogy (Parabon Nanolabs) & uploading DNA from the crime scene to a public, online genealogy (GEDMatch) database.
Jury selection starts 6/11, trial will begin 7/1, and will last about 4 weeks.
 
Here is another article about the upcoming trial in this case:

A Murder Trial Will Allow DNA Evidence From a Genealogy Site

Here is part of the article:


“Our position has always been that the genealogy stuff is not relevant,” Talbott’s defense attorney Rachel Forde said in an interview outside the courtroom Tuesday morning. She says they plan to treat it just like any other tip police might get, and focus on arguing that the presence of Mr. Talbott’s DNA on the hem of the pants belonging to one of the victims does not mean he committed either of the murders. “This way we don’t have to deal with all the other shiny bells and whistles. Neither us nor the state wanted this to be a three-week advertisement for a corporation.”
 
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