Documents Reveal Cold Case Murder Suspect's Other Crimes

SEATTLE, WA — On Thursday, 27 years after the killing of Federal Way teen Sarah Yarborough, prosecutors charged Patrick Leon Nicholas with first-degree murder. Charging documents show eight years before the killing, Nicholas had already served time for another disturbing crime.

In 1983, Nicholas approached a young woman in her car, armed with a knife in Benton County. He forced her to remove her clothes and walked her toward a river. She was able to jump in the water and escape, but Nicholas left the area and booked a flight out of town. After he was found Nicholas was charged with first-degree attempted rape and plead guilty.

In late 1993, just two years after Sarah's murder, Nicholas was arrested again — this time in King County — on suspicion of molesting his six-year-old stepdaughter. That case was eventually pled down to a fourth-degree assault charge.

The prosecutor's office says Nicholas' DNA was never entered into CODIS, a national FBI database that tracks violent crimes. Following this week's arrest, detectives will upload his samples and learn whether he may be connected to any other unsolved cases.

Charging documents also reveal how investigators were able to get DNA from Nicholas over the weekend, leading to the positive match and, ultimately, his arrest. Detectives said they staked out a Kent laundromat and saw him smoke two cigarettes outside, which they carefully collected, along with a discarded napkin. The samples were the final piece in the puzzle and soon a DNA profile was complete.

Citing his pattern of fleeing crime scenes, and a lack of community ties, the prosecutor's office asked the judge to set bail at $5 million. Nicholas' next scheduled court appearance will be an arraignment hearing on October 17th at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Read the full charging document below (some events described are graphic):