EVERETT — In front of a packed courtroom, Mitchell Gaff pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the deaths of two Everett women four decades ago.
This comes after DNA evidence connected Gaff, 68, to both cold cases. In May 2024, prosecutors charged Gaff with aggravated first-degree murder after DNA from a piece of gum linked him to the 1984 death of Judith “Judy†Weaver. In January, prosecutors submitted amended information, charging Gaff with first-degree murder in addition to the previous charge.
In March, prosecutors charged Gaff with an additional aggravated murder and first-degree murder in connection with the 1980 death of Susan Vesey.
On Thursday, Gaff pleaded guilty to the amended charges of two counts of first-degree murder with premeditated intent, one for each victim, in Snohomish County Superior Court before Judge Edirin Okoloko.
As part of the plea, Gaff to read out loud in the courtroom detailed statements on how he killed both women. Sitting between two attorneys at the defense table, Gaff showed no emotion as he spoke.
“On or about the first June, 1984, I, Sam Price, formerly known as Mitchell Gaff, was out looking to rape women or burglarize them.â€
Gaff, a level 3 sex offender, had been living in Olympia under the legally changed name, Sam Price.
In his reading, Gaff described how both women were strangers to him, and he arrived at their residence with no weapons, later taking a knife from both kitchens to cut their clothing.
In the case of Weaver, 42, he told the court he went back and forth, ringing the doorbell and knocking on the back door, until he was tired and dizzy.
“I then stood between the back door and the bedroom window until Miss Weaver started to open the back door,†he said. “I spun towards the door and kicked it hard enough to knock her to the ground.â€
He described binding and raping her before setting a corner of the bedspread on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime. Gaff was drunk and high at the time, he told the court.
“Miss Weaver died because of my actions,†he concluded.
Additionally, Gaff described the events that led to the death of Vesey on July 11, 1980.
“I was trying random doors and found the victim's door unlocked in Everett,†he said.
When Vesey went downstairs to lock her front door, Gaff described moving from his hiding place in the kitchen to her bedroom closet. When she came to the bedroom, he grabbed her from behind, “menaced†her with a knife, bound, raped and strangled her.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 13 at the Snohomish County Superior Courthouse.
The case
Two years ago, undercover detectives posing as representatives from the gum industry asked Gaff to participate in a survey on gum flavors. That chewed piece of gum became the last piece of DNA evidence investigators needed to solve Weaver's murder.
On June 1, 1984, Weaver, a bar manager at the Bell-Ness Cafe in Everett, had been working since 6 a.m. when she asked the bartender to call her a cab around 9:30 p.m. due to her being too intoxicated to drive, court documents said. When the taxi hadn't arrived 20 minutes later, she decided to walk.
En route to her Rucker Avenue apartment, Weaver stopped for ice cream at a Dairy Queen, court documents said. A witness reported that Weaver appeared to be with a young man at the restaurant. It was the last time anyone saw her alive.
Gaff was 26 years old when prosecutors said he entered Weaver's apartment. Ligatures, consisting of draw strings and telephone extension cords, around Weaver's throat ultimately caused her death, court documents said. Gaff removed the batteries from the fire alarm and set fire to the apartment.
Sometime after midnight, a witness walking down Rucker Avenue saw smoke billowing from the apartment. He pounded on her door, but no one answered.
Initially, firefighters entered through an unlocked back door, but they had to back out due to heavy smoke. Upon re-entry, they discovered the fire was contained to the bedroom, where they found Weaver.
In 2020, investigators took another look at the case using newly available DNA technology. Three years later, investigators received a DNA report from the crime lab stating DNA in the wrist ligatures turned up a match in CODIS: Mitchell Gaff.
Gaff was in CODIS for breaking into the home of two teenage sisters in Everett and raping them the same year Weaver was killed. He was convicted and sentenced in 1985. Prosecutors moved to legally detain Gaff under the state's sexual predator law.
In 1994 and 2000, juries found Gaff to be a sexually violent predator who could be legally confined to receive treatment. During Gaff's Sexually Violent Predator trials, he admitted to sexually assaulting numerous others. At one point, Gaff was reportedly attempting to attack up to 30 women a day.
Following the discovery of DNA evidence, law enforcement identified Gaff as a suspect in Vesey's murder.
On July 12, 1980, Ken Vesey, the victim's husband, had returned from working a night shift when he found Vesey murdered in her home on Casino Road. It was the morning after her 21st birthday.
Vesey's 2-year-old daughter and infant son were found in the residence unharmed.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan
