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A Washington man has been found guilty of murdering a young Saanich couple more than 30 years ago.

William Earl Talbott ll was arrested in May 2018 and charged with murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and 20-year-old Jay Cook, who were killed in November 1987.

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He pleaded not guilty to the crimes. A jury found him guilty of two counts of aggravated murder on Friday.

Photo by Handout / PNG files

DNA, which led to a breakthrough in the case, played a big role in the trial.

For more than 30 years, detectives tried to find the killer. A breakthrough came last year when DNA technology helped create composite drawings of a person of interest in the case.

Police then released images of what the man may have looked like at ages 25, 45 and 65.

Photo by Kevin Clark / The Associated Press

Cook and Van Cuylenborg boarded the Coho ferry to Port Angeles on Nov. 18, 1987, in the Cook family van.

The high school sweethearts planned to return home the next day via the Interstate 5 highway. At 10:16 p.m., they bought tickets at the Bremerton ferry dock to catch the ferry to Seattle. The pair had planned to sleep in the van near the former Kingdome stadium. A missing person’s report was filed two days later.

Photo by Ian Terry / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cook’s body was found days later dumped on the side of the road in Snohomish County, covered with a blue blanket. He had been strangled.

Van Cuylenborg was also found slain in a ditch in neighbouring Skagit country. She had been tied up with zip ties, sexually assaulted and shot in the back of the head.

With files from the Victoria Times Colonist and Kim Bolan

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Photo by Brian Kent / Vancouver Sun / PNG

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Photo by Mark van Manen / Vancouver Sun / PNG