In 2002, Yates was convicted of killing two women in Pierce County and sentenced to death, but it was commuted to life without parole after the Washington Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional in 2018.
[3] In October 1977, Yates enlisted in the United States Army, where he became certified to fly civilian transport airplanes and helicopters.
He earned several commendation and service medals during his military career, including the US Army Master Aviator Badge.
[3] Yates left the active duty Army in April 1996, apparently a year and a half short of being eligible for his full retirement benefits and pension.
At this time, the military was reducing its numbers, so he received full retirement despite being short of the customary 20 years served.
[6] Yates initially solicited the victims; after having sex with them, often in his Ford van, he would kill them and dump their bodies in rural locations.
[8][9] On September 19, 1998, Yates was asked to give a DNA sample to Spokane police after being stopped.
Yates confessed to picking up Hawn, who was working as a sex worker, in his van nearby.
Her partially nude body was badly decomposed and dumped in a wooded area near a school bus stop.
Scott, who had a history of drugs and sex work, died of a gunshot wound to the head, likely in September or October.
At Yates' trial, he revealed that even after he shot her in the head, Mercer had chewed through two of the bags before succumbing to her injuries.
Wason, who was last seen on November 3, was the devoted mother of a 12-year-old son until a relapse with heroin unravelled six years of sobriety; she began working as a sex worker to fund her substance use.
McClenahan had a passion for Winnie the Pooh and loved to attend auctions and yard sales.
Her sister, Kathy Lloyd, a teacher in Spokane, said an addiction to painkillers Shawn took for an arm injury led to heroin and a life on the streets.
In early December 1997, Lloyd received a birthday card from her sister, telling her how hard it was on the streets.
But the card bore good news, too: Shawn had been accepted into a methadone program and was determined to leave her life of drugs.
She grew up a military brat, graduating from high school in Virginia and attending Palomar College in California before moving to nearby San Diego to be an executive secretary.
His vehicle was described as a 70s era black van with an exterior yellow/orange stripe, bucket seats, wood panelling, and a raised bed.
Ellis lost both her sons in childhood - one as a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the other to a heart condition at age 11, in 1996.
[48] After searching the Corvette, police discovered blood that they linked to Jennifer Joseph, and DNA from Yates that they then tied to 12 other victims.
[1] As part of a plea bargain, Yates confessed to the murders to avoid the death penalty.
Following his sentencing hearing, Yates made a statement apologizing to the families of all the victims he had killed.
[49] On September 19, 2002, Yates was convicted of those murders and subsequently sentenced to death by lethal injection on October 3, 2002.
[51] A September 19, 2008 execution date was stayed by Chief Justice Gerry L. Alexander pending additional appeals.
"I don't think Mr. Yates helps his cause by relying on the fact that he's a necrophiliac," said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
Inslee cited the high cost of the appeals process, the randomness with which death sentences are sought, and a lack of evidence that the penalty serves as a deterrent to other criminals.
[55][54] In July 2015, the Washington Supreme Court once again rejected an effort by Yates to overturn his conviction and death sentence.