DNA Tests Underway in Wash. Killing

By JOHN K. WILEY, Associated Press Writer

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - In a medical lab in western Washington, DNA tests were under way that police say could connect a National Guardsman to the slaying of a prostitute - and possibly as many as 17 others.

Detectives have linked the murders of at least 10 prostitutes in Spokane and Tacoma in 1997 and 1998 to a single killer and say eight others are possible victims.

They would not release the name of the victim in the case that led to Robert L. Yates Jr.'s arrest Tuesday, but the victim is believed to be one of the 18.

Yates, 47, was to make an initial court appearance Wednesday on the single count of first-degree murder.

Detectives spent Wednesday searching for clues behind a fence of blue tarpaulins surrounding Yates' two-story home.

Yates, a National Guard helicopter pilot, worked at a Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NYSE:KLU - news) smelter and has lived in the house with his wife and five children since March 1997.

A sample of Yates' blood was obtained with a search warrant, Spokane County sheriff's Cpl. Dave Reagan said. The results will be compared with DNA taken from sites where the bodies were found.

``We're focusing on the one homicide at this point because that's what the evidence suggests,'' Reagan said. ``If we find evidence that supports his involvement in other case, then that's a bonus.''

The DNA test results were expected by Thursday.

Police seized seven vehicles, including a white 1976 Corvette and two vans formerly owned by Yates. Evidence found in the Corvette, which was seized last week, ``heightened our interest'' in Yates, Reagan said, but he refused to say what was found.

No attorney had been appointed for Yates on Wednesday, and his family had been moved to an undisclosed motel and could not be reached for comment.

Detectives began 24-hour surveillance of Yates after he returned to Spokane on Sunday from a two-week Army National Guard summer camp at Fort Lewis. Officials would not say when or why he became a suspect.

Records show Yates left the Army in 1996 after an 18-year career. He joined the National Guard as a pilot with the 66th Aviation Brigade, which trains once a month at the base near Tacoma, spokesman Lt. Col. Rick Patterson said.

While in the Army, Yates was stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., and Fort Rucker, Ala.

People who lived near the house Yates rented in 1996 and 1997 before moving to his present home said he frequently tinkered with cars.

``He washed his cars incessantly,'' said former neighbor Judy Kauffman. ``He was always out in the front driveway, changing the oil'' of the Corvette. She described him as cordial, but said other members of his family kept to themselves.

``It's a neighborhood where if you reach out, people will pull you in, and they didn't really reach out,'' she said.