FBI aids probe of unsolved 1987 killings

Published 11:28 pm Sunday, January 3, 2010

FBI profilers and other murder investigation experts recently spent a day delving into the double slaying of a young Canadian couple that has left local homicide detectives stumped for more than two decades.

Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, and Jay Cook, 20, both of Victoria, B.C., came to Washington in 1987 to run an errand for Cook’s family.

They took a ferry to Port Angeles and were last seen buying a ticket for the Bremerton-Seattle ferry.

They didn’t make it back home.

Van Cuylenborg’s body was discovered Nov. 24, 1987, on a rural road in Skagit County. She had been raped and shot to death. A couple of days later, Cook was found under High Bridge, outside of Monroe. He had been beaten and strangled.

Cook’s van was found in a parking lot at a bar in downtown Bellingham. A ferry ticket was discovered inside. Nearby, investigators found Van Cuylenborg’s driver’s license, ammunition, surgical gloves and plastic ties.

Detectives have never made an arrest in the case.

Recently, Skagit County sheriff’s detectives, along with Snohomish County cold-case detectives, presented the unsolved case to a group of FBI behavioral analysts and other experts, including some from Canada and Germany.

The federal agents were available for consultations and training as part of workshop from the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime in November.

“We wanted the chance to put the case in front of folks who this is all they do and are familiar with upcoming technology,” Skagit County sheriff’s detective Tobin Meyer said.

The double killing spans several jurisdictions. Skagit County has taken the lead in the investigation.

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives included the case in the state’s first deck of cold-case playing cards. The cards have been handed out in jails and prisons in hopes of soliciting new leads.

Meyer began digging into the 1987 case about seven months ago. Investigators had gone to the FBI for help on the case in the past, he said. “Not to this extent though, with everyone in the same room at the same time,” Meyer said.

Detectives were hoping to learn more about emerging technology that could possibly help them track down the killer.

Investigators for the first time now are acknowledging that genetic evidence, believed to belong to the killer, was discovered where Van Cuylenborg was found.

The DNA does not match any in the state and federal databases, Meyer said.

State lawmakers in 1990 ordered genetic samples to be collected from people convicted of violent and sexual crimes. In 2002 the law was expanded to include everyone convicted of any felony. More crimes were added in 2008, including misdemeanor harassment and stalking.

“We intend to pursue the DNA,” Meyer said.

Investigators also wanted to explore whether they may be able to track the killer through letters that were mailed to the victims’ families shortly after the slayings. It’s unclear who sent the messages.

“There are fresh ideas we’re pursuing,” Meyer said. “We intend to get this guy. Some day we’ll find a match with this. No case is forgotten.”

Police investigators routinely ask the FBI for advice about unsolved homicides.

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives consulted the FBI shortly after the 2006 slayings of Mary Cooper and her daughter Susanna Stodden. The Seattle women were killed along the Pinnacle Lake Trail east of Granite Falls.

Generally, the consultations are done over the phone, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Jim Scharf said.

“It’s pretty rare to have face-to-face time with behavioral experts,” he said. “It seemed to be so much better input in the one-on-one setting. We gained a lot better understanding of the information.”

Snohomish County sheriff’s cold-case detectives also attended some special training sessions to help them with their more than 60 unsolved homicides and missing-persons cases.

Scharf attended a training session on interview techniques when grilling people suspected of committing murder. Scharf declined to identify any other cases that were discussed at the conference.

The sheriff’s office is expected to begin closer inspection of dozens of cold-case investigations beginning this year.

The office received a federal grant to pay for two more detectives for its cold-case squad. The $394,000 grant also will fund more training, professional consulting and some evidence testing at private labs.

The FBI training was useful for the sheriff’s office’s renewed efforts to solve 62 cases and provide families with answers and justice, Scharf said.

“We came up with new things that can be done to help these cases along at this point,” Scharf said. “Any time you get a group of investigators together, you’re bound to come up with new ideas, and a new direction to follow.”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.