A Double Murder From 1987 Was Just Solved Thanks To The Genealogy Website Used For The Golden State Killer

“The significant matches were at about the second cousin level,” the genealogist on the case said.

Forensic genealogy has cracked a second major case less than a month after the arrest ofJoseph James DeAngelo, alleged to be the Golden State Killer.

At 11 a.m. PT in Washington state, the Snohomish County Sheriff announced the arrest of a 55-year-old man from the Seattle area for the 1987 double murder of a young Canadian couple, Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg. He is William Earl Talbott II, a local truck driver.

On Nov. 18, 1987, Cook, 20, and Van Cuylenborg, 18, drove from Saanich, British Columbia, to the Seattle area in a van owned by Cook’s father. It was supposed to be an overnight trip, and when they didn’t return, they were reported missing.

Then, on Nov. 24, Van Cuylenborg’s body was found in a ditch in rural Skagit County, Washington. She had been raped and shot. Cook’s body was found two days later more than 50 miles away, covered with a blue blanket. He had been strangled and beaten.

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