Kriti Mehrotra
While any loss of life is undeniably tragic, the sentiments behind it for loved ones and strangers alike grow manifold when the cause is a brutal, senseless murder. That was precisely the case for the 1980 homicide of Susan Vesey and the 1984 killing of Judith “Judy” Weaver in their respective homes in Everett, Washington. Both were harrowing in the worst of ways, yet officials had no idea at the time they were even linked – it was DNA evidence that helped in the same decades later. So, with justice finally having been served in 2026, CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Detective and the Chewing Gum Sting’ is delving deep into the matter to underscore precisely what transpired and why.
Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver Were Killed Inside Their Homes 4 Years Apart
Susan “Susie” Raynell Glaser Vesey was born on July 11, 1959, in Puyallup, Washington, to Judith “Judy” Glaser and William “Bill” Glaser as their only daughter. She grew up in the local area too, alongside her 5 loving brothers – Jeffrey, Paul, Jonathon, James, and Ronald – before relocating to Everett in 1977 at the age of 18. It was less than a year later, on March 18, 1978, that she happily tied the knot with the love of her life, Kenneth Ray Vesey, before welcoming 2 kids into their world. Their eldest was an adorable boy whom they named Joshua Vesey upon his arrival in late 1978/early 1979, followed by their beautiful daughter Debra Vesey around the spring of 1980.
Unfortunately, the Veseys’ time together as an affectionate, joyous, young family was cut terribly short when Susan was murdered inside the Casino Road home they shared. Kenneth actually returned home from work on the evening of July 12, 1980, to find his wife partially nude, unconscious on their bedroom floor, with 3-month-old Debra lying unharmed beside her. Their toddler son Joshua was also at home and unharmed, but it was obvious the newly 21-year-old was not okay – her autopsy report later confirmed she had been raped before being strangled to death. A little less than 4 years later, Judith “Judy” Weaver sadly suffered a similar fate just after returning to her Rucker Avenue home from her late shift as a Manager at a local bar-cafe on June 2, 1984.
Judy was 42 at the time, a former pageant queen, a divorcee, a newly engaged woman, and a proud mother of two adult children named Cathy Meyers and Colleen Kayser. It appeared as if she was leading her best life, but everything was snatched away from her on the fateful evening as she was forced naked, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death with a telephone cord. According to records, her assailant used a knife to cut off her jeans and blouse in a single slice before forcing himself on her body and then using a ligature to ensure she didn’t report him to the authorities. She was subsequently hogtied with the cord, and her home was set ablaze, but first responders thankfully arrived before it was too late and managed to collect a lot of physical evidence, like DNA samples.
Susan Vesey and Judy Weaver’s Perpetrator Was Apprehended Through DNA 4 Decades Later
Although investigators were determined to bring Susan the justice she deserved from the moment they were assigned her case in 1980, they could not find any concrete leads or suspects. The fact that she was raped and killed the day after her 21st birthday while her kids were at home did make them hypothesize that maybe the entire ordeal was personal, but to no avail. From what we can tell, Kenneth was also given the all-clear soon thereafter, resulting in her case going cold long before Everett police even got Judy’s matter into their hands in June 1984. However, inquiries into the latter’s homicide were different because suspicion almost immediately fell on her fiancé, who reportedly didn’t seem to have a solid alibi. On the flip side, there was also no clear evidence against him.
Judy’s fiancé thus remained under a cloud of suspicion for decades – as per records, he passed away in 1994, but many still believed he had a hand in the matter and got away with it. So, her case also went cold; that is, until 2023 came around as detectives decided to reanalyze evidence in hopes of finding new answers thanks to the technological advancements over the years. They actually got a DNA hit – a sample recovered from Judy’s crime scene was a perfect match to that of a local Everett native and convicted felon, Mitchell Gaff (also known as Sam Wise Price).
In 1979, Mitchell tried to sexually assault a 29-year-old woman after binding her, for which he was convicted of second-degree assault and second-degree burglary a year later. He then allegedly continued with his predatory, sexually deviant ways, leading to him once again being convicted of similar felony offenses in 1985 for raping two young sisters. From what we can tell, he has reportedly undergone treatment at least 6 different times for his issues and served around 33 years in prison before finally being released in 2018. He then chose to lead a rather quiet life.
After Pleading Guilty to His Crimes, Mitchell Gaff is Serving His Sentence in a Washington Prison
While investigators had Mitchell’s DNA match in Judy’s case, they figured they needed a more recent match to confirm his guilt and move forward with his arrest. They thus came up with a ruse wherein a detective would go undercover as a representative of the fictitious brand Zolt Energy Gum and ask him to test some flavors. The plan was that they would pretend as if they were doing a door-to-door survey in exchange for a gift card, and it worked as Mitchell agreed and invited them in. As per records, after some initial hesitation, he was very enthusiastic about the gum and didn’t realize it was a trap to collect fresh DNA evidence. The detective managed to have him spit the gum into a separate glass.
When DNA from that sample also came out to be a match, Mitchell was arrested on May 1, 2024, and charged with arson, kidnapping, rape, and aggravated first-degree murder. A few months later, when his DNA also resulted in him being linked to Susan’s case, additional charges of aggravated murder and first-degree murder in connection with her case were brought on in March 2025. He initially refused to plead, but over a year later, on April 16, 2016, he admitted guilt in both Susan and Judy’s cases by pleading guilty to two counts of premeditated first-degree murder.
Mitchell subsequently gave a statement wherein he declared he didn’t know Susan or Judy; he was just “out looking to rape women or burglarize them” on the fateful days. He then went into detail about both crimes, described precisely what he did and why, before explicitly declaring that his actions caused their deaths. As a result, on May 13, 2026, he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. “I am sorry, not because I was caught, but the consequences,” he said during his sentencing hearing. “No one did anything to deserve me coming into their lives.” So, today, at the age of 68, he is serving his sentence at the mixed-security Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, Washington.
Read More: Barbara Weaver Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
