Cops used chewing gum to make murder cases stick against ‘sexual sadist’

U.S. newsCops used chewing gum to make murder cases stick against ‘sexual sadist’Mitchell Gaff admitted raping and strangling two woman in the 1980s after DNA found on the gum he sampled matched evidence found at the crime scenes.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Mitchell Gaff during his sentencing Wednesday in Everett, Wash.King 5ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 15, 2026, 4:04 PM EDTBy Corky SiemaszkoConvicted double murderer and diagnosed sexual sadist Mitchell Gaff will likely be chewing on this for the rest of his life --- in prison. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Gaff was tied to a cold case murder of a women in Washington state by a “gum ruse,” in which he inadvertently provided DNA evidence to undercover detectives posing as workers conducting a gum flavor survey, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Snohomish County Court. Instead of discarding the sticks of gum Gaff had sampled, the detectives submitted them for forensic testing that resulted in him being arrested for the 1984 murder of 42-year-old Judy Weaver.Using that DNA information, Detective Susan Logothetti of the Everett Police Department was also able to subsequently link Gaff to another long-unsolved murder, that of 21-year-old Susan Vesey in 1980, the court records state.“After reviewing the Vesey murder file, it became apparent to Det. Logothetti that there were startling similarities between the murder of Susan Vesey, and the murder of Judy Weaver,” the court papers state.Gaff, 68, of Everett, admitted killing both women in April when he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 50 years to life in prison.“I am sorry, not because I was caught, but the consequences,” Gaff said at his sentencing. “No one did anything to deserve me coming into their lives.”Judy Weaver.via King 5Before Gaff addressed the court, relatives of the victims implored the judge to...