Discarded chewing gum helped convict serial rapist over 40 years on from brutal murders

A 'sexual deviant' has been sentenced to 50 years to life behind bars following the murders of two women in the 1980s — and a small piece of gum helped law enforcement close the decades-old cold case.

Susan Vesey and Judith Weaver were sexually assaulted and murdered by Mitchell Gaff in 1980 and 1984 respectively.

Gaff set Weaver's bedroom on fire after attacking her to destroy any evidence, while Vesey was raped and killed by him while two young children were in the house.

The investigations regarding both women went unsolved for years, but there was a huge break in the cases in January 2024.

Detective Susan Logothetti and two colleagues visited Gaff's home in Everett, Washington, sporting t-shirts to promote a fake chewing gum company.

Mitchell Gaff will spent the rest of his life behind bars (Everett Police Department)

Gaff's said to have opened his front door in just his pyjama pants and sampled different sticks of gum from Logothetti and her colleagues, completely unaware that he was stood in front of uncover law enforcement.

When it came to trying a new flavor of gum, Gaff – who is already a convicted rapist – spat the chewed piece into a small dish after sampling it and gave police the salvia sample they'd long been waiting for. An affidavit dubbed the whole operation as the 'gum ruse'.

Speaking to CNN, Logothetti recalled the moment she saw Gaff spit the gum onto a dish.

"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.

Gaff had been linked to the crimes in 2023 as he was already in a database for the 1984 rape of two teenage sisters. These rapes were carried out around three months after Weaver's death. He has previously served a 10-year sentence for the attacks.

It was then the 2024 'gum ruse' that confirmed his ties to the violent murders of Weaver and Vesey.

Gaff ultimately pleaded guilty to killing Vesey and Weaver and on Wednesday (May 13) he was sentenced to 50 years to life imprisonment.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the first degree back in April. Gaff went on to admit to his crimes in open court, ABC News reports, and provided details consistent with the determinations of police investigations, according to police.

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