A man described as a “sexual deviant” has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the 1980s murders of two women — and an unusual chewing-gum sting provided the key evidence to finally solve the cold case.
Susan Vesey and Judith Weaver were sexually assaulted and killed in separate attacks, in 1980 and 1984. Investigators later identified Mitchell Gaff as the perpetrator.
After attacking Weaver, Gaff set fire to her bedroom in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence. Vesey was raped and murdered while two young children were inside the home.
Both cases remained unsolved for decades, until investigators made major progress in January 2024.
Detective Susan Logothetti, accompanied by two colleagues, went to Gaff’s home in Everett, Washington, wearing t-shirts promoting a fake chewing gum brand as part of a covert plan to obtain his DNA.
Gaff reportedly answered the door wearing only pajama pants and agreed to sample several sticks of gum, unaware he was interacting with undercover law enforcement.
When offered another flavor, Gaff — who already had a prior rape conviction — discarded the chewed gum into a small dish, leaving behind the saliva sample investigators had been seeking. In court documents, the tactic was referred to as the “gum ruse.”
Speaking to CNN, Logothetti described the moment she realized the plan had worked.
“I remember watching him spit the first piece of gum into the ramekin and seeing the saliva, and it was very hard for me to contain my excitement,” the detective said.
Authorities had already begun connecting Gaff to the murders in 2023 because his DNA was in a database tied to the 1984 rape of two teenage sisters, which occurred roughly three months after Weaver was killed. He had previously served a 10-year sentence related to those attacks.
The 2024 “gum ruse” then provided confirmation linking him to the two murder investigations.
Gaff ultimately pleaded guilty in the deaths of Vesey and Weaver. On Wednesday (May 13), he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
He entered guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree murder on April 16. According to ABC News, he admitted to the killings in open court and gave details that aligned with law enforcement findings.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via
online.rainn.org