The 1991 Murder Case Of Sarah Yarborough Was Resolved Due To Discarded Cigarette Leads to Man’s Conviction

A cold case of Sarah Yarborough has been resolved due to Patrick Nicholas discarded cigarette, he was found guilty Wednesday of felony first-degree murder and second-degree murder in connection with Yarborough’s murder in 1991.

The 1991 Murder Case Of Sarah Yarborough Was Resolved Due To Discarded Cigarette Leads to Man’s Conviction (PHOTO: People)

The 1991 Murder Case Of Sarah Yarborough

On Wednesday, Patrick Nicholas, 55 years old from Washington has been found guilty of killing a high school honors student and drill team member  Sarah Yarborough. Yarborough was found beaten and strangled to death with her own stockings while trying to rape her in 1991.

The jury deliberated also most two days before finding Nicholas, guilty of first-degree felony murder for killing 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough. Furthermore, Jurors also determined that the motives of the crime were sexual gratification.

In October 2019 Nicholas was arrested for using advances in DNA and genetic genealogy, the people reported.

READ ALSO: Pomona High School Denies Accountability Despite Suspects Trespassing, Attacking Student Inside Campus

DNA And Genetic Genealogy

During the 1991 murder case, Nicholas was still 27 at the time of  Yarborough’s Dec. 14, 1991, murder. Sarah Yarborough disappeared on December 14 while she was on her way to school to attend a drill team event.

Later that day Sarah Yarborough’s body was found in the woods outside Federal High School in Federal Way, by two boys, in a coastal city near Tacoma.

Back then the police had no suspects though they were able to create a sketch of a possible suspect leaving the woods and recover DNA evidence to establish a profile because the field of genetic genealogy at the time was non-existent, so the case went cold. Even though several tips came but still the course of the investigation, none of them yielded a suspect.

But over the years, the police had re-examined the DNA evidence several times based on advances in technology. In 2019 began working with a forensic genetic genealogy company and they were given Nicholas’ name.

Since then the Detectives started surveilling Nicholas and picked up cigarette butts and a paper napkin he tossed outside a strip mall.

The police use pitched cigarettes of Nicholas and submitted them to the state crime lab to compare the DNA  found at the scene nearly three decades earlier. It was found that the DNA matches to crime scene evidence.

Finally, it takes nearly three decades before Nicholas was identified as a possible suspect through genetic genealogy from the DNA found in discarded Cigarettes, and on May 25, Nicholas will be sentenced.

A conference was held after the conviction of Nicholas, Lori Yarborough the 1991 victim’s mother said that she never forget her daughter and always thought about her daughter every day.

READ ALSO: Car Dealership Manager At Crestwood Nearly Hit By Woman Stealing A Cadillac Sedan