Authorities have successfully cracked the case of an 18-year-old woman discovered deceased on a riverbed in Washington state over three decades ago — yet, unfortunately, it’s too late to hold her murderer accountable.
John Guillot Jr., who was identified as the suspect in the 1988 murder of Tracy Whitney, was named only two years ago, following his death eight months prior. New DNA analysis has definitively established his involvement in the case.
“It’s kind of an empty feeling because now we know who did it. … But we’ll never find out the true story of what actually happened,” said Whitney’s father, Ronald Whitney.
In August 1988, Tracy was spotted leaving a Burger King in a huff following a dispute with her friends. On the following day, a fisherman discovered her lifeless body in a gravel area at the confluence of the Puyallup and White rivers close to Sumner, roughly 12 miles east of Tacoma.
Officials reported that Whitney was strangled and is suspected to have been sexually assaulted.
The mystery surrounding her homicide baffled investigators for years, but in 2022, fresh DNA evidence and genetic genealogy pointed to Guillot as a suspect. However, he had already died, having succumbed at the age of 65 eight months prior, as reported by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Recent DNA testing has definitively identified Guillot as the perpetrator, according to officials.
“If John G. Jr. had been alive today, law enforcement would have probable cause to arrest,” Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Lindsay Kirkegaard said. “From our standard, he was the suspect, and he would have been arrested for the crime.”
No established links were found between Whitney and Guillot.
Guillot faced inquiries regarding the passing of his girlfriend in 2010 and the death of his wife in 2020, yet he was never formally charged in relation to either incident.
Ronald Whitney shared with King5 News his observations of the progress in DNA technology, which has led to the resolution of numerous cold cases over the years. This development has instilled in him a sense of hope that the person responsible for his daughter’s death will ultimately be identified.
“When the Golden State Killer got busted, I said, ‘This is it, this is the break that we’ve been waiting for,’ ” he said of the technological gains.
Ronald expressed that discovering the identity of his daughter’s murderer has provided the family with a sense of closure.
However, with Guillot’s passing, the family will forever remain unaware of the complete narrative, he noted.
The devastated father expressed that the anguish of losing his daughter continues to linger in his mind.
“It’s something that never leaves your mind, every day, I don’t think the grief will ever go away,” he said. “It’s the first thing I think about in the morning, it’s the last thing I think about at night.”