1988 cold case solved after DNA links dead suspect to Tracy Whitney murder

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. – An unsolved case from 1988 has finally been solved after investigators managed to match DNA to a murder suspect more than 36 years later.

On August 28, 1988, fishermen found the body of 18-year-old Tracy Whitney, naked, right where the Puyallup and White Rivers converge. Those fishermen called 911 and Pierce County officials responded.

The woman’s autopsy determined her cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation and likely asphyxia. She suffered multiple blunt force injuries and is believed to have been sexually assaulted. Her death was ruled a homicide and police took DNA swabs from her body.

Pierce County detectives interviewed everyone who knew or dated Tracy to find the killer, but the case remained dormant for years.

The suspect DNA was sent to CODIS in 2005, but no matches could be found.

17 years later, in 2022, the cold case detective sergeant submitted the DNA to a genetic genealogy laboratory with the help of a grant from the Washington Attorney General’s Office. They found a match: John Guillot Jr.

Guillot Jr. died a few weeks before his DNA was matched, so investigators used Guillot’s biological son to confirm he was the suspect.

Authorities said there were no connections between Tracy and Guillot Jr. Investigators believed it was a case of kidnapping, rape and murder by a stranger.