Investigators find a woman’s killer 36 years after she washed up on the Washington riverfront

Julia Park/The News Tribune (TNS)

August 28, 1988, was the day a woman’s body washed up on the sandbar of the Puyallup River, less than 24 hours after she left a Federal Way Burger King.

Her family spent more than three decades wondering who took her life.

Tracy Whitney, 18, of Federal Way, was found lifeless by a fisherman at the intersection of the Puyallup and White Rivers near Sumner, according to a release from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, which recently solved her cold case . An autopsy shortly after her death revealed that Whitney was unable to breathe as someone strangled and possibly suffocated her. Her injuries also suggested a sexual assault.

Her younger sister Robin was only 11 years old when her big sister died. She posted on Facebook yesterday to honor her sister’s memory, breaking years of silence.

“Many of you may not even know that I had a sister, and for those who did, I didn’t talk about her,” Robin wrote.

She also wrote that her father, Ronald, was in contact with detectives for years to ensure Tracy’s case was not forgotten.

A picture of Tracy in Robin’s post shows a quiet young woman with soft brown hair, brown eyes and a slight smile.

Her killer was recently identified as John Guillot Jr. of Puyallup, closing a 36-year investigation.

A DNA test

Investigators took DNA swabs from Tracy’s body after she was found. But the technology of the time limited what could be found with this evidence.

“Detectives interviewed everyone who knew or dated Tracy in an effort to find the killer,” the release said. “Unfortunately, the case lay dormant for years.”

One by one, each potential suspect was eliminated as the real murderer.

According to a video from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, recent technological advances led to a renewed search for a match to the suspect’s DNA profile. Investigators submitted the suspect’s DNA profile in 2005 to CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), a nationwide database of DNA profiles maintained by the FBI to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes, but found no matches.

The investigators tried again. In August 2022, Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Lynelle Anderson received the results of a forensic genealogy analysis based on the suspect’s DNA back and landed on John Guillot Jr.

By this time, Guillot Jr. had died of cancer at the age of 64. His remains had also been cremated, leaving no DNA that could confirm Guillot Jr. as a suspect.

His biological son, John Guillot III of Bonney Lake, died the same year at age 34 on April 29, 2022, according to Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darren Moss. The circumstances of his death required an autopsy, and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office had his DNA on file. Investigators compared it to the suspect’s DNA and confirmed that John Guillot III’s father matched the suspect’s profile.

The sheriff’s department statement said no connections were found between Tracy Whitney and John Guillot Jr., concluding the incident was a “kidnapping, rape and murder by a stranger.” .

According to News Tribune archives, an article was printed in 1989 stating that deputies were looking for a connection between Whitney’s death and the death of another 18-year-old woman, Amanda Stavik. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Moss said he did not know if there was another victim associated with the suspect.

Cold Cases and the Pierce County Sheriff

When asked how long detectives would continue to investigate a cold case like Whitney’s, Moss said the sheriff’s department has a designated detective sergeant who works on cold cases that the department keeps on hold until they get more leads, evidence , have witnesses or family members who can help with the solution.

Some cases may never be solved, but the sheriff’s department goes through them as often as possible to see if there’s anything else they can do, Moss said. If this is not possible, they may hand out flyers asking for more information.

“The really sad thing is the further we are from an incident, the less likely it is that the people involved are still alive,” Moss said.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Lindsay Kirkegaard said in the sheriff’s department video explaining the investigation that she knows how important cold cases are to the community.

“Although there has been no arrest in this particular case, I hope the family can find some peace knowing that Tracy’s case is finally solved,” Kirkegaard said in the video.

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