A Killer in the Family Tree | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] I really like to solve puzzles and genealogy kind of is like that. It offers you this endless stream of blanks
to fill in. My name is Chelsea Rustad and in 2013 I began my search for my own family
history and it took me down lots of unexpected paths along the way. In 2015, I saw on Ancestry's
Facebook page they were running a contest and uh two winners would receive an Ancestry DNA kit. They contacted me
and said, "Chelsea, you're one of the winners." The ancestry DNA kit arrived. You just kind of spit in a tube and seal
it up and then it was on its way. Did you have any idea just what kind of story your DNA would tell? I really
didn't. I was a genealogy hobbyist like millions of other people in the United States. I kind of accidentally fell into
it. I'm Cece Moore and I'm an investigative genetic genealogologist and that means I use DNA to try to help
law enforcement find violent criminals. When the Golden State Killer suspect was
identified through investigative genetic genealogy, there were many people who said this wasn't a tool that would be
used commonly in law enforcement, and I wanted to prove them wrong. And genetic genealogy has exposed a lot of secrets
that people had hoped would remain secret. Yes. Often times it's someone's deepest, darkest
secret. All I'm thinking is, oh, it's it's going to confirm my ethnic background and maybe I'll get to connect
with some cousins. I was excited. I was just really optimistic about like maybe it will uncover something cool.
A young Canadian couple takes a road trip from Vancouver Island to Seattle in November 1987.
18-year-old Tanya Van Kylenborg and her 20-year-old boyfriend Jay girlfriend disappeared during a round trip from
Scadget County has the first half of this puzzling case. In May of 2018, I got a knock on the door and it was two
investigators from Scadget County and I was so confused. What are they investigating? The murder of 18-year-old
Tanya Van Kylinborg. Her body was found in a ditch near the town of boyfriend Jay Cook dead. His body found near
Monroe a few days ago. Strangled with some kind of ligature. They let me know that they are investigating a family
member of mine for murder, a double homicide from 1987. This was a person who was in my family tree.
Did that name appear on any of the suspects list? No, that name had never been across my desk ever. Without
genetic genealogy, would we know who killed Tanya and Jay? No, I know that my DNA played a a big part of that. It's
been a learning curve. This was all brand new. It's the web of matches. It's putting those puzzle pieces together
little by [Music] little. [Music] [Laughter] Heat. Heat. [Music] I have a problem that I'm
relentless and I don't give up. There may be no more dogged investigator than Snomish County cold case detective
Jim Sharp. Especially when it came to the murders of Tanya Van Kylenborg and Jay Cook.
It was probably the most horrendous unsolved case that we had. Tanya Van Kylenborg was an 18-year-old girl. She
just graduated from high school. She was in a new relationship with Jay Cook. On
November 18th, 1987, the young couple left British Columbia in Jay's parents' van, heading for Seattle, Washington.
Jay was going to go to Jen's Co Heating in Seattle to pick up some furnace parts
for his dad. They planned to sleep in the van near the store and drive back to Canada the next day.
So, when they didn't show up that evening, the families became concerned. We just had no idea where where they
might be or what might have transpired. Tanya's big brother, John, was at college when he got a call from his
worried father. John, would your sister ever just go off and not call your parents? No, that I don't think that had
ever happened. If the plans had changed and she was going to spend another night, she would have called my parents.
After Tanya and Jay were reported missing, law enforcement began looking for them. Desperate for answers, John
and his father joined the search in Seattle. Something was gravely wrong. I mean, the
obvious things in terms of them being in hospital or something or just simply with a flat tire somewhere, all those
more innocent explanations were pretty much vanishing. On November 24th, 6 days after the
couple disappeared, John's worst fears were confirmed. Tanya's body was found at the
bottom of a ditch in rural Scadget County, some 80 mi north of Seattle. She wasn't wearing any pants or panties,
and her bra was pushed up over her breasts, so it obviously looked like a rape murder. Tanya had been shot in the
head at close range. She rolled down the hill. It was a quick execution. Later that evening, John had to identify
his sister's body. Such a a crushing feeling that all of a sudden you see her lying there. It's
definitely horrific. But we had no idea still about where where was Jay, where was the van, how did this happen, why
did it happen. The next day, Tanya's wallet, the keys to the van, some bullets, and a number
of other items turned up 16 miles away in Bellingham. They have been discarded under the porch of a local tavern next
to the Greyhound bus [Music] station. Police located the van in a nearby parking lot, but Jay was still
missing. The following day, Jay's body was found here underneath Highbridgeidge.
He was about 70 miles south of where Tanya had been found. It was a horrible scene.
Her 20-year-old boyfriend had been strangled. A pack of cigarettes stuffed down his throat. What did most
investigators think about this killer? I mean, who does something like this? Right. That was the big question. This
was a person who was a real predator and it was believed at the time that it was
probably a serial killer or an ex-convict. But finding that predator would be challenging. Investigators and
forensic scientists had four crime scenes scattered over three counties, but few clues. A bullet casing found on
the hillside near Tanya's body matched those bullets collected at the tavern in Bellingham, but a gun was never
found. This surgical glove was discovered under the porch. Investigators believe the killer wore it
to avoid leaving fingerprints, but he may have been careless. There was a palm print on the back of
the van that they believed hopefully belonged to the suspect. Inside the van, they found what would ultimately be the
most important piece of evidence, the black pants Tanya had been wearing. They found that there was semen on Tanya's
pants. And when they examined the semen, they learned that it couldn't be left from Jay. The sample matched the DNA
found inside Tanya's body and would later be known as individual A. But the only evidence that connected all four
crime scenes, these plastic zip ties found near Tanya and Jay's bodies, under the porch, and inside the van. According
to Detective Sharp, they were part of the killer's rape murder kit. This was a predator that was hunting for a victim
that he wanted to rape. And maybe in his mind, he decided that he was going to kill him,
too. They were two mildmannered, soft-spoken kids. They weren't out to pick a fight with anyone. I mean, both
families were just so devastated. Hoping to find the killer, Tanya's family offered a $50,000 reward for
information. Tips came in, but none panned out. The police, to their credit, were
trying to chase down every sort of theory. Over the years, the theories and false leads would grow, and more than
200 names would fill the case file. Some were convicted felons and then there was Charles Sinclair.
He was believed to be a serial killer across the western United States. There was also an anonymous writer who sent
threatening letters to Jay and Tanya's families claiming to be the killer. Yeah, it was just unfathomable to think
that, you know, somebody not only had done these murders but then was going to continue taunting the families with
these letters. But every suspect's DNA was compared to individual A's profile and none matched. The goal was to try to
figure out who did this seaman sample belong to. Lisa Collins, a forensic scientist
with the Washington State Patrol, uploaded individual A's profile to COTUS, the FBI's national offender
database. As the years went by, just complete silence. It's disheartening. You just um are afraid that this might
be one of those cases that's never going to be solved. And then more than 30 years after Tanya and Jay were killed,
there's a break in the case. I was skeptical. I was hopeful, but I was skeptical. And I I'm a believer now.
[Music] We had those original semen samples from the pants and then from Tanya's body
trying to figure out who this sample may belong to. That was the tedious and hard
part. The man police believe killed Tanya Van Kylenborg and Jay Cook left behind a
forensic calling card, says Lisa Collins, but still managed to elude capture for
years. And then in 2017, detective Jim Sharp heard about an innovative tool developed by Parabon
Nanolabs that uses DNA evidence to predict the genetic traits of an unknown suspect. It's called snapshot
phenotyping. They gather all that information and they end up making a snapshot of what an
individual with all those traits might look similar to. Parabon was hired to use individual A's DNA to create this
composite sketch which gave Sharp some clues as to what the suspect could look like at the ages of 25, 45, and 65. But
he still didn't have a name. Investigators in California say DNA evidence led them to one of the
country's most notorious serial killers. And then in 2018, a stunning arrest in California opened new doors for law
enforcement. The so-called Golden State Killer. The man responsible for numerous
rapes and murders was finally apprehended after 43 years using genetic genealogy.
Did a little light bulb go over your head at that moment? Oh yeah, big light bulb. The Golden State Killer DNA had
been uploaded to Jed Match, a genetic database that allows users of various consumer test kits to share and compare
their DNA. This is fantastic. I need to get on this. [Music] Parabon agreed to upload individual A's
DNA to Jed Match and called in genetic genealogologist CC Moore. She's known for her work on the PBS show Finding
Your Roots. So then what did you do? DNA. DNA. So all we have is DNA. We're going to turn and she's famed for skills
at mapping family trees. But this was her first criminal case. I had had a lot of doubts whether this was the right
thing for me to do and I finally made the decision, okay, I'm I'm going to do this, but a lot was writing on that
case. It was a case she had been following for years and felt a personal connection to Moore's parents were from
the Pacific Northwest and she was the same age as Tanya Van Kylinborg. She was killed right when I was
graduating high school and going on to college and my life was just really beginning and hers ended so tragically.
And so I think it always stuck with me. On Friday, April 27th, 2018, individual A's DNA file was
uploaded to Jed Match. It's compared against everyone that's participating in that database. And so what they're
looking for are long segments of identical DNA between two people. Sometimes the match list will show up
right away and sometimes it takes a couple days. So I stayed up really late that Friday night. I kept checking and
there was no matches. The next morning, Moore logged on to see if there was a list and there was. And so we're hoping
for at least a second cousin or closer at the top of that list. And we used to call that being struck by lightning.
Were you struck by lightning in this case? Twice. We were struck struck by lightning twice.
On the list were two people who shared enough DNA with individual A to be his second
cousins. And what was that? What was that feeling like? It was pretty exciting and scary.
In this case, the cousins shared DNA with individual A, but not with each other, which meant they're related to
him on different branches of his family tree. But to figure out who he was, Moore first had to find out who they
were. Now, fortunately, one of the people at the top of that list had a really unique
name. And what was her name? Chelsea Rustad. Remember, Chelsea Rustad had taken that
ancestry DNA test and then went a step further. You can download your raw DNA file to your computer and then upload it
to Jed Match. I just had no inkling at all that there were secret relatives I didn't know about or mysteries to
uncover. Neither did the other second cousin whom Moore was also able to identify but has
chosen to remain anonymous. And then I built the family trees of those top two matches. And surprisingly quickly I
discovered how they converged. It only took me 2 hours to come to the identification of who I believed to be
Tanya and Jay's killer. [Music] This is a person who had eluded capture investigation for 31
years and you were able to identify this person in 2 hours. That's the power of genetic genealogy. Yeah. But how how
sure were you? I was very sure. But isn't that scary, Cece? Because your work might end up with this person in
prison, right? And at that moment, I'm the only person in the world who knows that he's probably guilty of this crime,
other than him, of course. And so, it is a super heavy burden. Monday morning, April 30th, Detective Jim Sharf got the
news. We've got it narrowed down to one guy. And I'm thinking, I don't believe this. And my first thought is, who's the
[Music] guy, 30 plus years, dozens of dead ends, hundreds of false leads. And then in April 2018, Cece
Moore got on a computer and out of the billions of people on Earth identified through genetic genealogy, the one man
she believed killed Jay Cook and Tanya Van Kylenborg. Who was the person you identified? William Earl Talbett
II. William Earl Talbot II. When detective Jim Sharp heard the name, he ran it through the system and was
surprised to learn that Talbot had no felony convictions. It was a new name that we'd never heard
of before, but it was sure nice when we found out that he only lived 7 miles from the bridge where Jay's body was
found. Sharf also learned that in 1987, Talbet, 24 at the time, worked as a delivery
driver and made stops near where Jay and Tanya were headed to pick up that furnace part and says that Talbot was
fired a few months before the murders. So, it makes sense that he was down in that area prowling around and probably
ran into Jay and Tanya. But Sharf needed more than old work records and genetic genealogy.
It's really just a tip. It's an investigative lead. To make an arrest, Sharf needed to
be sure that the DNA left at the crime scene by the man they knew only as individual A matched William Talbett's.
So somehow Sharf had to obtain a fresh DNA sample from Talbot himself. We were going to follow him until he
dropped or threw away anything that had touched his mouth because we wanted his saliva on it as the best type of DNA
source. Investigators learned Talbot now drove a semi and they began tailing his
truck. One day about a week later, they watched as Talbot stopped at a red light
and opened the truck door. The light changes to green. He slams the door and drives away. And there's a white paper
cup laying on the street. It's blowing around in the wind. So, they jump out. They go over and they collect the cup
and they call me. Sharf rushed the paper cup to forensic scientist Lisa Collins with the Washington State Patrol. They
wanted me to test this cup and just see if I could get a DNA profile from it. Sharf left the cup at the lab to await
the results. CC Moore had already begun searching for Talbot online and quickly found his sisters and father on social
media. I couldn't find hardly anything about him. You know, no marriages. I could find very little footprint online
at all. And that was a little unusual. Years earlier, someone else who knew nothing about the investigation had made
a similar search. Chelsea Rustad. In 2013, long before she submitted her DNA to any websites, Chelsea Googled her
grandpa's sister, Blanch, and found a lot of information online. Her daughter was uh Patty Talbot, and Patty had three
daughters and one son, and the son was William Earl Talbot the second. These were Chelsea's second cousins, the
Talbetts. Chelsea friended two of the sisters on Facebook, but their brother William was a mystery. This guy was just
kind of a question mark, off the grid. Chelsea figured William was estranged from his family, but didn't give it much
thought, even after she uploaded her DNA to ancestry.com and then Jed Match. So, she
was stunned that day in 2018 when those investigators showed up on her doorstep and asked to see her research.
And I'm just kind of like, wait, one of you're saying one of my family members is connected to a murder. And they're
saying, you know, yeah, it's uh from 1987 and the person of interest is William Earl Talbot.
and I'm just kind of grasping the scope of this and, you know, sickened thinking
about it. The investigators wanted to know her impression of William Talbot. I told them my theory that I think he's
estranged. Detective Sharf got more details from Talbot's friends and family. He had a history of anger and
violence when he was younger. He was a really angry kid. In audio taped interviews with Talbot sisters, Sharf
learned Williams troubles began when he was 11 and his father was seriously hurt
in a motorcycle accident. The sisters say William began to lash out. He beat me up, uh, broke my telephone, and I had
to go to the hospital. Another sister says William hurt her, too. Still, she said she didn't think he was capable of
murder. Yeah, he could be a bone head, but not to the point of attacking or killing somebody. No.
But would the DNA on the paper cup tell a different story? That was on Detective
Sharp's mind when he returned to the police lab and Lisa Collins shared the results of her testing. I said, "The
profile from the cup matches individual A. It was just an amazing moment. Yeah. What did that feel like, Jim? I got
tears in my eyes. I'm like, I can't believe it. It's so emotional. And then I'm like, yeah, we
got him. And so on May 17th, 2018, nearly 31 years after two carefree teenagers set out on a road trip and
never returned, Detective Sharp arrested William Talbett. And he says, "John, we've got him." Sharp called Tanya's
brother, John, right away, saying that at long last, individual A was in handcuffs.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean that's when it really sent a chill down my spine. It was pretty overwhelming to think that it had
all culminated in that moment right there of 31 years later. The next day, William Talbot was charged with Tanya's
murder. Charges for Jay's murder soon followed. Jay's sister spoke at a press conference. It's hard to put into words
this feeling of relief, of joy, of of great sorrow that this arrest brings. Jay's mom said the moment was
bittersweet. On one hand, we're close to closure, and on the other, we're still at a loss, and
I don't have my only son, Jay. Detective Sharf told the group he was grateful for breakthroughs in DNA
technology. If it hadn't been for genetic genealogy, we wouldn't be standing here today. But would evidence
obtained through genetic genealogy be allowed in court. [Music] [Music] Okay, let's go.
More than three decades had passed since those dark November days in 1987 when Jay and Tanya were found murdered.
William Earl Talbot is now accused of killing both. Now with William Talbot's arrest, Tanya's brother, John Van
Kylenborg, was finally able to face the man suspected of his sister's murder. And what did you think the first time
you saw him? He just reviled. I mean, it it's hard to control your emotions. Talbet pleaded not guilty to two counts
of aggravated murder. And so, in June of 2019, his trial began in the Snowomage County Superior Court. It was the first
case ever to go to a jury trial where the suspect had been identified through investigative genetic genealogy.
Although the Golden State killer had been identified first, Talbett's trial would be held before his and CC Moore
was acutely aware of how much was writing on the outcome. We didn't know at that point how genetic genealogy was
going to be treated in court because there was no precedence. The prosecution was hoping to make it a non-issue. I was
going to minimize the exposure by kind of downplaying the importance of the genetic genealogy, knowing full well
that was the part of the case that was perhaps most intriguing to people. Chief criminal deputy Matthew Baldock was the
lead prosecutor on Talbot's case. Did you? He approached the defense with a proposal. They would stipulate to the
jury that the DNA from individual A had come from William Talbot as an agreed upon fact. Much to my surprise, they
agreed. It was a major victory for the prosecution. The use of genetic genealogy to locate a suspect would not
be contested in court. That was a huge relief. Really, it was the best possible outcome. So, you admit that that is
William Talbot's DNA. Am I correct? You're correct. That was a stipulation. Talbot's attorneys, John Scott and
Rachel Ford, would argue that there's actually an innocent explanation for that DNA. Every indication of the DNA
found from my client indicated consensual sex. Yes, they admit that Talbot had sex with Tanya, but they deny
he raped or killed her or Jay Cook. They point out that Tanya and Jay were missing for several days before their
bodies were found, implying that the couple must have encountered their killer later on. Tell me what you think
then happened to Tanya and Jay. We don't know what happened. These kids were off
to an adventure. Whether they went to a bar, a restaurant, uh some sort of club to meet people, I don't know.
Tabet's lawyers say it's understandable that Talabet might not remember meeting Tanya or even where he was 30 years ago,
but it's significant. They say that investigators were unable to link Talbot to the type of gun that killed Tanya,
the pack of cigarettes, or the materials used to strangle Jay. So William Talbot's defense is basically
that he had sex with Tanya and then somehow somebody else killed her. That's not William Talbot's defense. William
Talbot's defense is that there is insufficient evidence to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But
prosecutors say they do have sufficient evidence. There's Talbot's DNA from Tanya's body and her pants. The fact
that he lived just seven miles from where Jay's body was found. and the palm print on the van that police say was a
match to Talbot. Then there are the zip ties found at all four crime scenes. Baldock
says they prove the connection between Jay's murder and Tanya's and the van. What do you believe the zip ties were
used for? I believe that Mr. Talbet had Jay and Tanya in the van for some period
of time after he abducted or kidnapped them. And I believe that he used the zip ties to restrain them. As part of his
investigation, Detective Sharf had hoped to obtain a usable DNA profile from any
of the zip ties. There had been a mixture of DNA on one of the zip ties that was found in Jay's van, and they
weren't able to discern who all the profiles belong to. But mid-trial, forensic scientist Lisa
Collins had decided to run that DNA mixture into a new software program to see if she could find a match. And to
her surprise, she did. When I compared William Talbot's DNA profile to the mixture obtained from the zip tie that
was found in the victim's van, he was included as a possible contributor. But because her discovery came during
trial, prosecutors felt it was too late to present to the jury, fearing it would
delay the trial, Talbot elected not to take the stand, and his lawyers were hopeful that the jury would agree there
was not enough evidence to prove him guilty. In their closing arguments, the defense told the jury that police were
unreasonably focused on the DNA. They never stopped to consider that perhaps the person who left the DNA was
not the murderer. Attorney Ford argued that Detective Jim Sharf had tunnel vision. Is it at all
possible that yes, that was William Talbot's DNA, but he didn't kill either one of them? Is that possible? Sure. Is
it reasonable? No. She was found without her pants or underwear. So just practically speaking is the claim that
Mr. Talbet had consensual sex with her and then she got dressed and the person who ultimately killed her undressed her.
Baldock says the only reasonable theory is that Talbot had overpowered the couple with a plan of raping Tanya and
then killed them both. He had zip ties, he had gloves, he had a firearm, he had ammunition. After a
two-w weekekl long trial, the jury began to deliberate, but they didn't come back
that first day or the second. You realize this is really going to be the moment of truth.
[Music] On that third day of deliberations, the families of Jay Cook and Tanya Van
Kylenborg finally got news. There was a verdict. [Music] We the jury find the defendant William
Earl II guilty of the crime of firstdegree murder as charged. Guilty. William Talbot had been found
guilty of the aggravated murder of Tanya Van Kylenborg and guilty of the aggravated murder of Jay Cook. Just to
hear the foreman of a jury say guilty was surreal. CeCe Moore wasn't in the courtroom, but she later saw video of
Tanya's brother John's reaction. It was as if I could see a physical burden lift
off his shoulders. He had told me how he had carried this burden for years. You know, he was the only sibling. He was
her older brother. And so that was incredible to see. Chelsea Rustad had never spoken to
either Jay or Tanya's family. But with their blessing, she decided to attend Talbot Sentencing, where she first met
John. kind of I was really nervous. He looked a little bit nervous as well. Thank you so much. She's effectively a
family member of the murderer. So, I think it was brave of her to take that risk. Thank you for for coming today.
At the sentencing, Jay Cook's mother told the judge about the grief she has carried all these years. Some of us
wanted a shirt or a sweater. You could wear them. You could put them to your nose and smell
him. I still have that old sweater in my dressing drawer. The sentence was mandatory. Thank you. The court's only
possible sentence on each count is to impose a sentence of life without possibility of release. Two lifetimes in
prison without parole. Chelsea says her sympathy is for Jay and Tanya's families
despite her genetic ties to Talbot. All right. His dad wasn't there. His sisters
weren't there. He had a family member in the audience and I was there supporting
the victims. Chelsea Rustad is proud that her DNA helped bring a killer to justice. But there are some who have
concerns about this new frontier in police work. It might be that you're not the Golden
State Killer, but it also might be that you don't want law enforcement scrutinizing your entire family. Law
professor Andrea Roth is head of the UC Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and says one of the problems she sees is
that the DNA used for genetic genealogy can be very revealing. This is DNA testing that tells you a lot about a
person's very sensitive information, their medical history, information about familial lines that the families
themselves don't even know. Professor Roth does agree that in cases like this, genetic genealogy can be an effective
tool for the public good. But she cautions that most states have no restrictions on its
use. There's the concern that the government could use your DNA for some reason other than a criminal
investigation that it shouldn't be using it for. Giving it to insurance companies
or using DNA to find out who was at a protest meeting. We don't have evidence right now of the government doing that,
but um those are are reasons that somebody might want to think about before they decide to upload their DNA.
Because of this lack of legal oversight, Roth has deep reservations about sharing
DNA on public genealogy websites. Would you not upload your DNA? I would not. But it may already be too late for
Professor Roth or many other Americans to truly opt out. Experts estimate that today more than 90% of white Americans
can be identified using genetic genealogy. And that's because, says CC Moore, those of European descent are
well represented on websites like Jed Match. We have enough DNA. We can identify almost anyone of Northwest
European ancestry. Even if it takes hours, dozens of hours, hundreds of hours, we'll get
there. But in this case, after more than 30 years with no solid leads, Moore was
able to use Chelsea Rustad's DNA to help locate a viable suspect in just 2 hours. Was this the fastest you've ever
found a suspect? It was to this day, 3 and 1/2 years later, hundreds of cases later, this was the most straightforward
case I've ever worked. And that is amazing. Detective Sharf believes that this case changed the face of cold case
investigations forever. Genetic genealogy is the best tool that's come around since DNA. You don't need a Cotus
database to get your match. [Music] For Jay and Tanya's families, it means they finally have some answers and a
measure of peace. On Tanya's grave, her parents inscribed the final line from a poem she wrote when she was
17. There is a place that I know of where up above there flies a dove. And slowly as it turns to dawn, she parts
her wings and then she's [Music] gone. She was growing up and and maturing and spreading her wings and
getting her feet under her and and then she was gone. You miss her still, don't you?
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. [Music] 48 hours. To miss it would be a crime. Were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case? [Music]

When a woman uploads her DNA to a genealogy website, authorities show up at her door. Is there a double murderer in her family tree? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Genetic genealogy helps solve the 1987 murders of Tanya Van Kylenborg and Jay Cook through Chelsea Rustad's DNA connection and CeCe Moore's investigation.

Key points

The DNA Discovery. Chelsea Rustad wins a DNA kit and embarks on a journey to uncover her family history.
The Tragic Case of Tanya and Jay. The disappearance and murder of Tanya Van Kylenborg and Jay Cook remains unsolved for decades.
Breakthrough in the Case. After 31 years, a breakthrough in the investigation leads to the identification of a suspect.
Guilty Verdict. William Talbot is found guilty of the aggravated murders of Tanya Van Kylenborg and Jay Cook.
The Role of DNA. The trial showcased the use of genetic genealogy in identifying suspects.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was a person who had eluded capture investigation for 31 years.

Cece Moore reflects on the challenge of identifying a long-elusive suspect.

18:01WatchApr 1, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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