More Charges Expected Against Yates Dna Evidence Due Back On Nine More Victims Of Serial Killings

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker expects to file nine more murder charges against accused serial killer Robert Lee Yates Jr. by Wednesday.

DNA tests from the state’s crime lab are expected to be handed over to investigators on Monday and could be in Tucker’s hands later that day, he said.

Yates, 47, has already been charged with the 1997 killing of 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph. He is being held in the Spokane County Jail on $1.5 million cash bail.

After Yates was arrested, Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk said eight other victims have been strongly linked by investigators to Yates. They were Michelyn Derning, 47; Linda Maybin, 34; Sunny Oster, 41; Shawn McClenahan, 39; Laurie Ann Wason, 31; Shawn L. Johnson, 36; Melinda Mercer, 24, and Darla Sue Scott, 29.

All were found in Spokane, except Mercer whose body was found in Pierce County in December 1997.

Tucker wouldn’t say who the 10th victim tied to the upcoming round of charges against Yates might be.

The sheriff’s office says it believes DNA and other evidence is strong enough to charge Yates with 12 killings, including two in Pierce County.

Another six killings in Spokane are being reviewed by homicide detectives. More charges could be filed if investigators link other deaths to Yates.

“We were hoping to have the DNA back today (Friday) but they weren’t quite ready yet,” Tucker said. “But we’re confident we’ll have them by sometime on Monday.”

Tucker left his office at 11 a.m. and left town shortly thereafter to get a head start on the weekend.

“Next week should be pretty crazy, I don’t think I’ll get a chance to do this again anytime soon,” he said.

DNA samples were sent to the Washington State Patrol’s crime lab in Seattle on May 2.

Tucker and his deputies will look for any aggravating circumstances that might be tied to any of the murders. Death-penalty laws in the state require aggravating circumstances with murder.

Tucker has said if Yates is guilty, then it could be difficult to pursue a death sentence if aggravating circumstances are not there.

“I was reminded by the appellate (court) that such charges alone don’t necessarily meet the qualifications for a death sentence,” Tucker said.

Tucker’s staff of deputy prosecutors, Jack Driscoll and Larry Steinmetz, has been studying the state’s death penalty laws since the case developed.

Washington’s death penalty was patterned closely after Georgia’s, which also requires aggravating circumstances to fulfill a death sentence, Tucker said.

Spokane County Public Defender Don Westerman said attorneys for Yates received a 750-page report from the Homicide Task Force and Tucker’s office earlier in the week.

“It was a very initial report that contained more background information about the cases than anything,” Westerman said. “It didn’t shed any light on the charges. We know that there will be a lot more paperwork to come.”

Attorneys for Yates started their own investigation last week into the death of Joseph. Public defenders are using their own investigative staff, police and past media reports of the murder.