Patrick Nicholas, suspect in murder of Sarah Yarborough : Man convicted of murder in death of Sarah Yarborough at Washington high school
A man named Patrick Nicholas has been sentenced to nearly 46 years in prison for the murder of Sarah Yarborough, a 16-year-old girl who was found strangled on the Federal Way High School campus in Washington in 1991. He was convicted of first-degree murder, and the jury found that the killing was sexually motivated, resulting in a longer prison sentence. Nicholas’s defense attorney argued for the mandatory minimum 20-year sentence, but the judge determined that over 45 years was appropriate due to the nature of the crime and Nicholas’s history of sexual violence. Prosecutors presented evidence that Yarborough fought for her life before she was killed, and male DNA was found under her fingernails. Detectives were able to identify Nicholas as a suspect in 2019 using genetic genealogy, and his DNA from a discarded cigarette butt matched the DNA from the crime scene. Nicholas had a history of sexual violence, including a previous attempted rape and two rapes at knifepoint. Yarborough’s family testified at the sentencing hearing about the impact of her murder.
News Source : The Columbian
- High school murder conviction
- Washington teen homicide case
- 45-year sentencing for school killer
- Cold case murder conviction
- Legal justice for high school victim