EVERETT, Wash. - A Washington state man was convicted Friday in the 1987 killings of a young Canadian couple, a trial that hinged on 32-year-old DNA evidence and newly emerged genealogical technology. Jurors deliberated for more than two days before reaching their verdict against William Earl Talbott II, Seattle news station KOMO reported . Talbott was arrested last year in the deaths of 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Jay Cook. Investigators used a method that identifies suspects by entering crime-scene DNA profiles into public databases that people have used for years to fill out their family trees. After a frantic week for their families, Van Cuylenborg’s body was found down an embankment in a rural area north of Seattle.

Source: thestar June 28, 2019 20:03 UTC