EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A lab report that was unsealed after a jury convicted a Sea-Tac trucker in the 1987 killings of a young Canadian couple shows investigators found more DNA evidence linking the suspect to the crime.
Tests conducted after jury selection found the DNA of William Earl Talbott on zip ties discovered near the bodies of 18 year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Jay Cook.
It was also on a zip tie in the couple’s van that was found in Bellingham.
The Daily Herald reports that prosecutors didn’t present the evidence at Talbott’s trial out of an abundance of caution, but they did share it with jurors to help put their minds at ease after they delivered a guilty verdict last month.
Talbott’s attorney has asked for a new trial and a judge will consider the request Wednesday.