Genetic genealogy testing identified Henry B. Leland of British Columbia as the suspect in Carol A. Traicoff’s killing in 1986.
WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Wenatchee Police Department announced Thursday it solved the 40-year-old cold case homicide of Carol A. Traicoff.
Traicoff, 35, was found dead May 14, 1986, behind the Stanley Civic Center. Detectives determined it was a homicide.
“This investigation has spanned four decades, crossed the country and into Canada,” a Wenatchee Police Department spokesperson said in a statement.
Police investigated Traicoff’s death for two years and couldn’t identify a suspect. Detectives collected evidence and submitted it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for analysis and canvassed the area for witnesses. Investigators conducted interviews and administered several polygraph tests.
In January 2023, a Wenatchee detective sergeant began reviewing the case and identified DNA evidence initially collected at the scene that could undergo forensic genetic genealogy testing.
The sample was submitted to Othram Labs in July 2024.
Five months later, results came back showing a match for possible family lineage in the continental U.S. and Canada. The results were run through the Canadian equivalent to the Combined DNA Index System. Washington State Patrol’s crime lab reported Feb. 24, 2025, that the suspect was identified as Henry B. Leland of Kamloops, B.C.
Leland died in December 2007.
Leland’s sister, who is his only known living biological relative, spoke with detectives in Gold Bar and cooperated with the investigation. Detectives said her DNA sample further confirmed that Leland was the person who killed Traicoff.
Police said there is no evidence to suggest there is another suspect. Investigators believe Leland and Traicoff were alone at the time of the killing.
The case was closed.
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