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 walked out of a Federal Way Burger King.
Her family would wonder for more than thirty years who took her life.
18-year-old Tracy Whitney of Federal Way was found lifeless by a fisherman at the intersection of the Puyallup and White Rivers near Sumner, according to a news 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 when someone strangled and possibly smothered her. Her injuries also indicated signs of sexual abuse.
Her younger sister, Robin, was only eleven when her big sister died. She posted a message on Facebook yesterday to honor her sister’s memory, breaking years of silence.
“Many of you may not even know I had a sister, and for those who did, I didn’t talk about her,” Robin wrote.
She also wrote that her father, Ronald, had been in contact with detectives for years to ensure Tracy’s case was not forgotten.
A photo of Tracy on Robin’s post shows a calm young woman with soft brown hair, brown eyes and a slight smile.
Her killer was recently identified as John Guillot Jr. of Puyallup, ending a 36-year investigation.
A DNA test
Investigators took DNA swabs from Tracy’s body after she was found. But technology at the time limited what they could find with that evidence.
“Detectives interviewed everyone who knew or had a relationship with Tracy in an effort to find the killer,” the release said. “Unfortunately, the case remained cold for years.”
One by one, each potential suspect was eliminated as the real killer.
More recent technological advances have led to a renewed search for a match to the suspect’s DNA profile, according to video from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. 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 solve crimes, but returned no matches.
Researchers tried again. In August 2022, Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Lynelle Anderson received the results of a forensic genealogical analysis based on the suspect’s DNA and landed on John Guillot Jr.
By this time, Guillot Jr. died of cancer at the age of 64. His remains had also been cremated, leaving no DNA to identify Guillot Jr. to be confirmed 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 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 press release stated that no connection had been found between Tracy Whitney and John Guillot Jr., leading to the conclusion that the incident was a “kidnapping, rape and murder by a stranger.”
According to News Tribune archives, an article was printed in 1989 reporting that officers 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 another victim was linked to the suspect.
Cold cases and the Pierce County Sheriff
When asked how long detectives will continue to monitor a cold case like Whitney’s, Moss said the sheriff’s department has a designated detective sergeant who works on cold cases, which the department keeps until they find more leads, evidence, witnesses or have family members who can help resolve these. .
Some cases may never be resolved, but the sheriff’s department goes through them as often as they can to see if there is anything they can do, Moss said. If that doesn’t work, they can hand out flyers asking for more information.
“What’s really sad is that the further away we are (from an incident), the less likely it is that those involved are still alive,” Moss said.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Lindsay Kirkegaard said in the sheriff’s department video explaining the investigation that she knows how important cold cases are to the community.
“Although no arrest has been made in this specific case, I hope the family can find some peace of mind knowing that Tracy’s case has finally been solved,” Kirkegaard said in the video.
