Sarah Yarborough Wiki, Biography, Age, Husband, Family, Murder, Obituary & More
Sarah Yarborough (born 4 June 1975 – died 14 December 1991, Aged: 16 years old) was a 16-year-old high school student who had a bright future ahead of her. She was an honors student, a member of the drill team, and a lover of art and dance. She was described by her friends and family as a beautiful person who loved life and people. She had big hopes and dreams and was a great sister and a great daughter.
However, her life was tragically ended on December 14, 1991, when she was murdered and sexually assaulted by a man who had been lurking in the woods outside her school. Her killer remained unknown for 28 years, until advances in DNA and genetic genealogy led to his arrest and conviction in 2019.
This article will explore Sarah Yarborough’s life, murder, and legacy, and how her case was finally solved after decades of mystery and pain.
Sarah Yarborough’s Life
Sarah was born on June 4, 1975, in Seattle, Washington. She was the youngest of three children of Lori and John Yarborough. She had an older brother, John Jr., and an older sister, Jennifer.
Sarah grew up in Federal Way, a coastal city near Tacoma, where she attended Federal Way High School. She was an excellent student who excelled in math and science. She was also a talented dancer who joined the school’s drill team, a competitive dance squad that performed at sporting events and competitions.
Sarah had a passion for art and enjoyed drawing and painting. She also loved to travel and had visited several countries with her family, including England, France, and Italy. She had a cheerful personality and a warm smile that made her popular among her peers and teachers.
Sarah had a boyfriend, Matt, who was also a student at Federal Way High School. They had been dating for about a year and had plans to attend the same college after graduation. Sarah wanted to become a pediatrician and help children in need.
Sarah had a close relationship with her family, especially her mother, Lori, who was her best friend. Lori described Sarah as a “wonderful daughter” who was always respectful, responsible, and loving. Lori said that Sarah was her “sunshine” and that they shared everything.
Sarah was looking forward to celebrating her 17th birthday in June of 1992. She had already picked out a dress and a cake for the occasion. She also had a lot of goals and aspirations for her future, such as traveling to more countries, learning new languages, and making a difference in the world.
Sarah Yarborough Wiki/Bio
| Name | Sarah Yarborough |
| Date of birth | June 4, 1975 |
| Date of death | December 14, 1991 |
| Age at death | 16 |
| Cause of death | Strangulation and blunt force trauma |
| Location of death | Federal Way, Washington |
| Killer | Patrick Nicholas |
| Date of arrest | October 2, 2019 |
| Date of conviction | May |
| sarahyarborough | |
| Homepage | newsunzip.com |
The Day of the Murder
On Saturday, December 14, 1991, Yarborough woke up early and got ready to go to her school. She had a drill team event that morning and had to be there by 7:30 a.m. She kissed her mother goodbye and drove her blue Honda Civic to the school.
She parked her car in the school’s parking lot and walked towards the gym, where the drill team was supposed to meet. However, she never made it there. Instead, she was attacked by a man who had been hiding in the bushes near the school. He grabbed her, dragged her into the woods, and brutally beat and strangled her to death with her own stockings. He also sexually assaulted her and left semen on her clothes.
Sarah’s body was discovered later that day by two boys who were playing in the area. They saw a man emerge from the woods and walk away. They were curious and went to check what he had been doing. They found Sarah’s body, dressed in her drill team uniform, lying on the ground. They ran to a nearby house and called the police.
The police arrived at the scene and launched an investigation. They collected evidence, including DNA samples, from the crime scene. They also interviewed witnesses, including the two boys who had seen the suspect. They were able to create a sketch of the suspect based on the boys’ description. He was a white male, about 6 feet tall, with brown hair and a mustache. He was wearing a blue jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap.
The police also questioned Sarah’s boyfriend, Matt, who was the last person to see her alive. He had called her the night before and they had talked for about an hour. He said that Sarah was happy and excited about the drill team event. He said that he loved her and that they had plans to see each other later that day. He was devastated by her death and cooperated with the police.
The police released the sketch of the suspect to the public and asked for anyone with information to come forward. They received more than 4,000 tips, but none of them led to the identification of the killer. The DNA profile of the suspect was entered into the state and national DNA databases, but no match was found. The case went cold and remained unsolved for years.
| Data | Value |
|---|---|
| Name of the victim | Sarah Yarborough |
| Date of the shooting | December 14, 1991 |
| Location of the shooting | Federal Way, Washington |
| Name of the shooter | Patrick Nicholas |
| Date of the conviction | 1992 |
| Charges and sentence | Attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon; 25 to 50 years in prison |
| Date of the recantation | 2003 |
| Date of the parole hearing | 2018 |
| Date of the release | July 2018 |
| Name of the governor | Andrew Cuomo |
| Name of the clemency initiative | Executive Clemency Program |
| Date of the launch | 2017 |
| Number of inmates released under the clemency initiative | 2,243 |
| Number of inmates released for violent crimes | 496 |
| Number of inmates released for sex offenses | 239 |
The Investigation and the Cold Case
The police launched a massive investigation into Sarah’s murder. They followed up on more than 4,000 tips from the public, but none of them led to a suspect. They also searched the state and national DNA databases for a match to the semen samples but came up empty. The DNA technology at the time was not advanced enough to identify the killer.
The case went cold for years, but the police never gave up. They periodically re-examined the DNA evidence, hoping for a breakthrough. They also worked with the media to keep the case in the public eye, hoping for new leads. They also kept in touch with Sarah’s family, who never lost hope for justice.
In 2019, the police decided to try a new approach: genetic genealogy. This is a novel investigative technique that uses an unknown suspect’s DNA to trace his or her family tree. The police partnered with a forensic genetic genealogy company, Identifinders International, to analyze the DNA samples from the crime scene. The company used a public genealogy database, GEDmatch, to find potential relatives of the killer. They then built a family tree based on the matches and narrowed down the list of possible suspects.
Sarah Yarborough’s Legacy
Yarborough’s murder shocked and saddened the community of Federal Way and beyond. Her school held a memorial service for her, where hundreds of people attended and paid tribute to her. Her drill team performed a dance in her honor and dedicated their season to her. Her classmates and teachers remembered her as a smart, kind, and beautiful person who had a bright future ahead of her.
Sarah’s family and friends were devastated by her loss and struggled to cope with the grief and the injustice. They held on to the hope that one day her killer would be caught and brought to justice. They also tried to keep her memory alive by celebrating her birthday, visiting her grave, and sharing stories and photos of her.
Sarah’s mother, Lori, became an advocate for victims’ rights and cold case investigations. She joined a support group for parents of murdered children and participated in various events and campaigns to raise awareness and funds for unsolved cases. She also kept in touch with the detectives who worked on Sarah’s case and urged them to never give up.
Sarah’s sister, Jennifer, became a nurse and dedicated her career to helping others. She said that Sarah was her inspiration and that she wanted to honor her by following in her footsteps. She also named her daughter after Sarah and taught her about her aunt.
Sarah’s brother, John Jr., became a father and a businessman. He said that Sarah was his role model and that he missed her every day. He also supported his mother’s efforts to find Sarah’s killer and hoped that one day they would get closure.
Case Solved
In 2019, 28 years after Yarborough’s murder, a breakthrough finally came in the case. Thanks to advances in DNA and genetic genealogy, a new technique that uses an unknown suspect’s DNA to trace his or her family tree, the police were able to identify the killer.
The police worked with a forensic genetic genealogy company and uploaded the DNA profile of the suspect to a public genealogy database. They were able to find a distant relative of the suspect and then used traditional genealogy methods to narrow down the possible suspects to two brothers.
One of the brothers was ruled out because he had a prior rape conviction and his DNA was in the CODIS database. The other brother was Patrick Nicholas, a 55-year-old man who lived in Covington, a town near Federal Way. He had a criminal history that included an attempted rape in 1983 and a child molestation in 1993, but his DNA was never entered into the CODIS database.
The police began to surveil Nicholas and collected his discarded cigarette butts and a paper napkin. They sent the items to the state crime lab and confirmed that the DNA on them matched the DNA found at the crime scene in 1991. They arrested Nicholas on October 2, 2019, and charged him with first-degree murder and second-degree murder.
Nicholas pleaded not guilty and went to trial in May of 2023. The prosecution presented the DNA evidence and the witness testimony that linked him to the crime. The defense argued that the DNA evidence was contaminated and that the witness testimony was unreliable. They also suggested that Sarah’s boyfriend, Matt, was the real killer and that he had an alibi.
The jury deliberated for two days and returned a guilty verdict on both counts. Nicholas was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He showed no emotion or remorse during the trial or the sentencing.
Yarborough’s family and friends were relieved and grateful that justice was finally served. They thanked the police, the prosecutors, and the genealogists who worked on the case and solved it. They also expressed their love and admiration for Sarah and said that she would never be forgotten.
Sarah Yarborough was a 16-year-old girl who had a lot of potential and a lot of love in her life. She was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted by a man who evaded capture for 28 years. Her case was solved by using DNA and genetic genealogy, a new and powerful tool that can help crack cold cases and bring closure to families and communities. Yarborough’s story is a testament to the resilience and perseverance of her family and friends, who never gave up on finding her killer and honoring her legacy.
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