Prosecutors in Washington state have until the end of November to decide whether to seek the death penalty in the 1987 slayings of a young Saanich couple.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese approved the extension Thursday at the request of prosecutors and the defence, the Everett Daily Herald reported. A new trial date has been set for March 2019.
William Earl Talbott ll was arrested in May and charged with murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Jay Cook. Talbott, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
Cook and Van Cuylenborg boarded the Coho ferry to Port Angeles on Nov. 18, 1987, in the Cook family van. Neither was seen or heard from again.
Van Cuylenborg’s body was found days later in a wooded area of Skagit County. She had a gunshot wound to the back of her head and had been sexually assaulted.
Cook’s body was found near Monroe, Washington, covered by a blue blanket. He had been strangled and beaten.
DNA led to a breakthrough in the 30-year-old case.
Under Washington state law, there are two penalties available for aggravated murder: the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole.
