A killer who evaded detectives for decades was ultimately undone by a piece of chewing gum.

Mitchell Gaff, 68, was sentenced Wednesday, May 13, to 50 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murders of Judith “Judy” Weaver and Susan Vesey, two Washington women killed in separate cold cases in the 1980s, the Everett Police Department said in a May 13 press release.

The sentencing came more than two years after detectives tricked Gaff into participating in an undercover chewing gum “taste test” operation that allowed detectives to collect his DNA, according to ABC News, KOMO News and KING 5.

The outlets reported that undercover detectives approached Gaff in January 2024 while posing as representatives of a gum company conducting a flavor survey.

Everett Police Department

After chewing pieces of gum during the staged taste test, Gaff discarded them into a dish provided by the undercover detectives, authorities said — and the gum was later submitted for forensic testing.

The DNA extracted from the gum matched DNA evidence recovered from Weaver’s killing, according to court records cited by the outlets.

Susan Vesey.

Everett Police Department

Weaver, 42, was found dead inside her Everett home in June 1984 after firefighters responded to a blaze at the residence, according to the press release. Prosecutors alleged Gaff beat, sexually assaulted and bound Weaver before setting the home on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence, according to ABC News, KOMO and KING 5.

Court records cited by the outlets state DNA recovered from ligatures used to bind Weaver was eventually linked through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, to Gaff, who had previously been convicted in a separate rape case.

But detectives still needed a direct DNA sample to confirm the findings, according to the outlets. Detectives ultimately obtained that sample during the undercover chewing gum operation.

Judy Weaver.

Everett Police Department

The Weaver case eventually led detectives to connect Gaff to the 1980 killing of Susan Vesey, who was found dead in her home the morning after her 21st birthday, according to the press release.

Prosecutors alleged Gaff attacked, raped and strangled Vesey while her two young children were inside the home, according to the outlets.

Authorities said Gaff pleaded guilty on April 16 to two counts of first-degree murder. Police said he admitted to both killings in open court and provided details that were consistent with investigators’ findings.

KOMO reported that family members and loved ones of both women filled the courtroom gallery Wednesday as the sentence was handed down.

Gaff, who at one point legally changed his name to Sam Price, had previously served prison time for raping two teenage sisters in Everett in 1985, according to ABC News, KOMO and KING 5. The outlets also reported that juries later determined Gaff to be a sexually violent predator in separate proceedings in 1994 and 2000.

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