GUILTY WA - Sarah Yarborough, 16, found deceased, Federal Way, 14 Dec 1991 *DNA arrest in 2019*

[wfgodot]

The coldest case ever? Police trace DNA of 1991 killer back to 17th century family who came over on the Mayflower

The 1991 murder of a teenage girl on her high-school campus may now finally be solved - thanks to the DNA of a 17th century family.

Seattle police investigating the death of Washington 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough say they are one step closer to catching her killer.

They have matched crime-scene DNA samples to the historic family of Robert Fuller, from Massachusetts, whose ancestors settled in Salem in 1630 after coming over on the Mayflower.

It means one of his descendants could be responsible for the teenager's death. But as almost 400 years have passed, the number of suspects could now run 'into the thousands'
---

the rest, with pictures, at Daily Mail link above

 

[Vabrownid1]

I have a hard time with the fact that they have DNA from someone that traveled from England to America back in the 17th Century! I wonder where they got samples to test?

 

[CuriousHousewife]

Did these people know that their DNA was being collected and kept? I doubt it.

 

[Cubby]

I see Colleen Fitzpatrick was quoted in having a "probable" last name for the killer. She has about a half dozen "probable" last names for Benjaman Kyle, even down to a possible third cousin, according to the wiki site she set up for him. Yet, Mr. Kyles case is still unsolved.....

 

[Cubby]

I have a hard time with the fact that they have DNA from someone that traveled from England to America back in the 17th Century! I wonder where they got samples to test?

Did these people know that their DNA was being collected and kept? I doubt it.

This information is obtained from the newer Y-dna, or male dna geneology databases. Thing is y-dna is not very stable and "morphs" or changes itself every so many generations. Ms. Fitzpatrick likely has a list of hundreds or thousands of possible last names, of which one was traceable back to the Mayflower. Not exactly a case solving "bombshell", imo.

I respect the work and knowledge, no doubt, however it's premature imo to believe y-dna is ground breaking technology to solve crimes due to the known changes in y-dna.

 

[Aphra]

I would normally shrug off this information as an unlikely source of finding the killer, except for one thing: according to a 1992 Seattle Times article, the Yarboroughs are friends with a family named...the Fullers.

"Bill Fuller, who works at Weyerhaeuser with the Yarboroughs and whose daughter, Elizabeth, was one of Sarah's closest friends, has launched a fund-raising drive and commissioned Bonney Lake artist Larry Anderson to create a memorial in Sarah's honor."

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19921204&slug=1528262

I wonder if Bill Fuller has a son or other relative who knew Sarah.

 

[mistermissy]

I would normally shrug off this information as an unlikely source of finding the killer, except for one thing: according to a 1992 Seattle Times article, the Yarboroughs are friends with a family named...the Fullers.

"Bill Fuller, who works at Weyerhaeuser with the Yarboroughs and whose daughter, Elizabeth, was one of Sarah's closest friends, has launched a fund-raising drive and commissioned Bonney Lake artist Larry Anderson to create a memorial in Sarah's honor."

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19921204&slug=1528262

I wonder if Bill Fuller has a son or other relative who knew Sarah.

Good one. Unfortunately, it looks like Bill Fuller was an only child and all he had was daughters, including E. bbm.

http://www.autoreviewonline.com/obits/?ID=cnapntonzglaw&pg=419

 

[crystalgenie]

I can trace my maternal side to Mayflower. We may have married into a Fuller at some point and time between now and the Mayflower, I'll have to check.

This isn't a good lead. This is junk. Quite a few people can be traced back to the families of the Mayflower.

 

[Koshka]

The King County SD has never given up.

Snipped from : http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article201889834.html#storylink=cpy

King County Sheriff’s Department released new renderings of a suspect in the 1991 murder of 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough on Friday afternoon. This image predicts what the suspect looked like today. DNA evidence was used to create the image.

Snipped from: http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/det...-help-find-sarah-yarboroughs-killer/706005511


Twenty-six years later, investigators with the King County Sheriff’s Office are hoping new sketches based on DNA found at the scene could finally lead to an arrest.
Related Headlines

Captain Ted Boe said that if you compare the new and old sketches, "you can tell it's the same person. The witnesses saw the right guy."

 

[motherawesome]

[/B]
Good one. Unfortunately, it looks like Bill Fuller was an only child and all he had was daughters, including E. bbm.

http://www.autoreviewonline.com/obits/?ID=cnapntonzglaw&pg=419

Bill Fuller's daughter and Sarah were best friends. I've wondered about this connection ever since this DNA information was brought up.

 

[CassieM]

Bill Fuller's daughter and Sarah were best friends. I've wondered about this connection ever since this DNA information was brought up.

I am sure law enforcement didn't miss that either so he must not be the one.

 

[Koshka]

Following the arrests in the case of Michella Welch and the Cook/Van Cuylenborg murders, I think there is hope that this case may finally be solved, too. Someone out there is probably very nervous.

"In the double murder in Washington State, the suspect’s DNA matched two relatives, both fairly close by the standards of this research: a second cousin and a half–first cousin once removed. The former relative was on the mother’s side, the latter the father’s side, so the suspect was not hard to identify. “No cases are easy, but when they are straightforward, it really falls into place very quickly,” says Moore."

Snipped from: The Coming Wave of Murders Solved by Genealogy - The Atlantic

 

[TGwebs]

This case is very tragic and frustrating. The police have an unbelievable amount of evidence yet it still remains unsolved. They have witnesses who saw the killer, a solid time line, a description, two police sketches, DNA evidence, a new sketch made with the use of DNA technology, a possible family line and last name as referenced earlier in this thread, a possible partial palm print, and a possible vehicle description.
It was a brazen, urgent crime. He assaulted and killed her in bushes within a few feet of so many people. This doesn't seem like the type of crime that would only be committed once. Sarah's killer likely hurt someone before or after her, yet has escaped detection all these years. His DNA hasn't been matched in the data base which means likely he's never been arrested in conjunction with another serious crime.
There are numerous articles available online, but thus far I haven't been able to find any dated before 1992. If anyone has located any from 1991, the year she was killed, please post them. Here are few more articles about the case in addition to the ones posted above for anyone who may want to catch up. The police have all the evidence to put this guy away. They just need a name:

‘I feel that tip is out there’: Drawing created from DNA breathes hope into unsolved Federal Way killing
Local News | New Clue In Yarborough Killing -- Woman Gives Detailed Description Of Car In School Lot | Seattle Times Newspaper
Detectives, family hope new composite sketch based on DNA leads to cold-case killer of Sarah Yarborough
No closure, no end to the pain

 

[jaejae]

I am going to give this case a bump as it was a nasty one and hope that it is solved sometime soon.

 

[jaejae]

I am going to give this case a bump as it was a nasty one and hope that it is solved sometime soon.

Of course as most posters on Websleuths may know already there is a possible connection between the killer in this case and the Mayflower:

Sarah Yarborough murder: Could DNA linked to 17th century Mayflower family solve 1991 case? | Daily Mail Online

 

[Fede]

I read on this thread that there are like 34.000 persons that are descendants from the 26 persons in the Mayflower. I wonder how many are linked to Robert Fuller. In average there are like 1307 descendants for each Mayflower passenger. Maybe it´s not that difficult to check the 1307 or so linked to Fuller?

 

[jaejae]

I read on this thread that there are like 34.000 persons that are descendants from the 26 persons in the Mayflower. I wonder how many are linked to Robert Fuller. In average there are like 1307 descendants for each Mayflower passenger. Maybe it´s not that difficult to check the 1307 or so linked to Fuller?

Good point and it might well work. I am not an expert in this field but it might depend a little whether the killer actually knew they were a descendant of Fuller or cared about it. My feeling is he did not.

 

[jaejae]

Good point and it might well work. I am not an expert in this field but it might depend a little whether the killer actually knew they were a descendant of Fuller or cared about it. My feeling is he did not.

Of course you might be able to trace him by relatives as they did in the Golden State Killer case but there would have to be some relatives in the system so to speak.

 

[jaejae]

Of course you might be able to trace him by relatives as they did in the Golden State Killer case but there would have to be some relatives in the system so to speak.

So just to finish off with my thoughts on the Fuller surname in this case. What if the genealogists got very close to the actual surname of the offender but it was different. This might be due to a maternal link who knows it was a long time ago. Although people might move over time we might be looking for an offender from the East Coast of the US rather than the Pacific West. It certainly is a good angle to work with.

 

[jaejae]

I will give this case another bump. Having a look at the previous posts do not think this has been posted before here is a Crime Watch Daily segment on the case: