Suspect must give genetic samples

By SCOTT NORTH

Herald Writer

A young Everett-area man charged with the Dec. 11 stabbing and shooting of a woman in his neighborhood was ordered Monday to provide blood and hair samples for genetic testing.

Brandon Kenneth White, 19, appeared briefly before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Richard Thorpe. White is charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the death of Gail Jubie, 37.

Prosecutors allege White showed up at Jubie’s home along Sunnyside Boulevard in east Everett, wearing a light gray business suit and intent on robbery. He apparently was let inside and allegedly attacked Jubie, stabbing her at least 17 times and shooting her once in the head, according to court papers.

Jubie fought her attacker, and her screams and the gunshot attracted the attention of neighbors, who called the police.

It was while the woman was being taken by helicopter to a Seattle hospital that officials noticed she was clutching what appeared to be a clump of human hair in one of her hands.

The hair does not appear to match Jubie’s and is roughly the same length as White’s, deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said in court papers filed Monday.

Matheson asked the judge to order White to provide hair and blood samples. But one of White’s attorneys, public defender Caroline Mann, questioned the need. Hairs were plucked from White’s head at the time of his arrest, she said.

Matheson said he isn’t sure what protocols were followed. "I want to make sure we do this correctly," he said.

An aggravated murder charge raises the possibility that prosecutors could seek the death penalty for White.

Thorpe said it is not unreasonable to pluck more hairs and draw blood from White. He ruled that defense attorneys must be present , however.

Police zeroed in on White as a suspect after following a trail of footprints on the frost-covered ground from Jubie’s home to White’s parents’ home, two houses away.

The man allegedly had blood spatters on his shoes, his hat and on one of his ears when first questioned by police, according to court papers. A bloodstained suit jacket, trousers and other items also allegedly were found in his parents’ home.

White told police that he and a friend planned to rob Jubie, and that it was his friend who killed the woman. Prosecutors, however, say all the evidence points to a single person in Jubie’s home that morning.