Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver Murder Details and Investigation Timeline

In the episode titled ‘The Detective and the Chewing Gum Sting’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the primary focus is on the homicides of two Everett, Washington, women — 21-year-old Susan Vesey in 1980 and Judy Weaver in 1984. Their murders remained unsolved for more than four decades, until an unlikely perpetrator emerged thanks to an undercover operation involving a chewing gum ruse. The documentary features exclusive and insightful interviews with Susan and Judy’s loved ones and officials who helped solve the decades-long cases.

Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver Were Found Dead in Their Respective Everett Homes About Four Years Apart

On July 11, 1959, in Puyallup, Washington, William Richard “Bill” Glaser and Judith Goldie “Judy” Baker Glaser welcomed Susan Raynell “Susie” Glaser Vesey into the world. Growing up in a seemingly loving household with five brothers, Jeffrey, Paul, Jonathan, James, and Ronald, in the Puyallup-Orting area, Susan relocated to Everett after 1977. On March 18, 1978, she married the love of her life, Kenneth Ray Vesey, in King County, Washington, and gave birth to a son, Joshua M., and a daughter, Debra D. Unfortunately, her bright future as a doting mother was cut short on July 12, 1980, at the age of 21.

Susan’s beloved husband, Kenneth, came across her remains on the bedroom floor of their Casino Road home after returning home from work. Their two children were found inside the home, unharmed, while she had been strangled to death. Nearly four years later, another homicide shattered the community of Everett as Judith “Judy” Weaver, who was in her early 40s, was found dead inside her burning Rucker Avenue apartment on June 2, 1984, by the Everett Fire Department. According to reports, Judy, a divorced mother of Cathy Meyers and Colleen Kayser, had walked home alone after finishing her shift at work on Hewitt Avenue. The autopsy revealed that she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, before her bedroom was set ablaze to get rid of the evidence.

Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver’s Killer Was Apprehended Decades Later Thanks to DNA Evidence

Due to a lack of evidence and advanced DNA technology, the investigations into Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver’s killings didn’t lead to any arrests or prosecutions. At the time of Judy’s killing, the authorities submitted vaginal swabs as evidence. Her boyfriend at the time was considered the prime suspect in the case, but wasn’t arrested. The investigation turned cold after his passing in 1994. Finally, decades later, with the advent of DNA profiling, the detectives revisited Judy’s case in 2020. Besides having her boyfriend’s DNA, they also found a DNA profile from an unknown person, which led them to a man named Mitchell Gaff through CODIS in November 2023. It turned out that he had been involved in the rapes of two teenage sisters in Everett, just a few months after Judy’s death.

To confirm the DNA sample, the detectives posed as a gum company and visited Mitchell, claiming to be conducting research into their supposed customers’ preferred flavors. They collected his chewed gum and used the DNA extracted from it to match it against the DNA evidence found on Judy. After his DNA matched the evidence, in May 2024, he was arrested and charged with Judy Weaver’s killing. It would take a few more months to link him to Susan Vesey’s murder. In January 2025, Kenneth Vesey informed the Everett Police Department that his brother, who was considered a suspect in the case, had passed away. Upon reviewing Susan’s case, the investigators found multiple similarities between the killings of Susan and Judy. When Mitchell’s DNA also matched the DNA evidence from Susan’s case, he was also charged with her killing in March 2025.

About a year later, on April 16, 2026, Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver. During his hearing, the killer admitted to breaking into Susan’s home and raping her before strangling her to death. He also admitted to attacking Judy in her bedroom and setting the room on fire to get rid of evidence. “Before leaving I wrapped cords around her neck and lit the corner of the bedspread in an attempt to cover up my crime and with the intention of killing her. Ms. Weaver died because of my actions,” he added. Mitchell also admitted to committing multiple other rapes and attacks. A month later, on May 13, he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for his involvement in the two homicides.

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