Police solve 'stranger abduction' and killing 36 years after woman's body washes up

The brutal abduction, rape and murder of a Washington state woman that sat cold for over three decades has finally been cracked — but police still can't make an arrest, as the suspect died.

Tracy Whitney was 18 years old on Aug. 28, 1988, when fishermen found her nude body washed up along the Puyallup River, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Sunday.

The discovery would launch a 36-year search that eliminated potential suspects one by one, but eventually wound up with no movement. An autopsy revealed Whitney suffered blunt force injuries, had been sexually assaulted, and died from asphyxia "caused by strangulation and probable smothering," police say.

"There were a lot of suspects – potential suspects – that would come up in this investigation of current boyfriends previous boyfriends who last saw her alive," Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Lindsay Kirkegaard said in a video released by the department.

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But the case was revived following advancements in technology and a renewed push for answers after the department was awarded a grant from the state attorney general's office two years ago that allowed further DNA testing. The DNA was submitted for genetic genealogy and police eventually found a match.

“Unfortunately, our suspect, John Guillot Jr., had died a few weeks prior,” the sheriff’s office said. “Detectives matched the suspect DNA to Guillot’s biological son to confirm Guillot Jr. was the suspect.”

They added that “there were no connections between Tracy and Guillot Jr and detectives believe this was a stranger abduction, rape and murder.”

“After 36 long years, the murder of my sister, Tracy Whitney, has finally been solved,” Robin Whitney wrote in a Facebook post. “Taken from us on August 28, 1988, her case remained unsolved until recent advances in DNA technology, specifically Snapshot DNA forensic analysis.”

She added that her sister “deserves justice” and commended the efforts of police.

“We believe that John Guillot Jr. likely committed other crimes," she wrote. "However, since he is deceased and due to current legal restrictions, his DNA cannot be uploaded into CODIS (law enforcement DNA database). We hope that this policy can be reevaluated, as it could aid in solving additional cases.”

“Thank you for your support as we honor Tracy's memory.”