Henry Leland of Kamloops, who died in 2007, was identified using modern forensics as the man who killed Carol Traicoff in 1986.
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On May 14, 1986, Carol Traicoff’s body was found behind a community centre in the small city of Wenatchee in north-central Washington state, the victim of a fatal assault.
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The Wenatchee Police Department gathered evidence and investigated, but no suspect was identified and the homicide went unsolved.
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Forty years later, police announced they have finally solved the cold case murder, and the culprit is a B.C. man who himself died nearly two decades ago.
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“Unfortunately, the forensic testing available at the time did not produce any leads sufficient to solve the case,” Wenatchee police said in a statement. “Since the initial investigation, numerous officers and detectives have reviewed the case, but little to no new information was developed and no arrests were made.”
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That changed in early 2023 when a now-retired detective sergeant, Ryan Weatherman, picked up the case and had the evidence reviewed by a forensic scientist using modern techniques. The tests led to the isolation of DNA from an unknown man.
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Weatherman arranged funding for further genealogical testing and, in July 2024, it was analyzed by the U.S. company Ortham. By the end of that year, testing had shown a “possible family lineage” and a rough geographical area where they lived.
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The DNA was shared with a testing facility in Canada for comparison, and those tests zeroed in on Henry Leland, a former Kamloops resident. Leland, a homeless man for whom a housing facility in Kamloops is named, died in 2007.
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Another Wenatchee police detective, Brian Hewitt, managed to track down Leland’s sister in Gold Bar, Wash. She co-operated with the investigation and provided her DNA for comparison, and it further cemented the match with her brother.
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“Based on the investigation, it is believed that on or around May 14, 1986, Henry B. Leland killed Carol Traicoff,” police said in the statement released exactly 40 years after the murder.
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“There is no current evidence to suggest another suspect and it is believed that Leland and Traicoff were alone at the time. This investigation is officially closed.”
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In 2009, a transitional housing facility in Kamloops “was renamed Henry Leland House to honour the memory of Henry Leland, an Aboriginal man who lived on the streets of Kamloops for many years,” according to a news release from the housing ministry at the time.
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“He was regarded by the community as a kind soul, and unfortunately passed away in December 2007 due to exposure.”
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ASK Wellness now operates Henry Leland House. Its executive officer, Bob Hughes, said the agency is working with First Nations in light of the surprising development.
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“We will be connecting with Tk’emlups and Skeetchestn Elders for guidance after all these years,” he told Castanet on Tuesday.
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