Last Monday, a 73-year-old Everett man who brutally murdered two men over 40 years ago entered two "Alford pleas" to charges of manslaughter. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgement that there is most probably enough evidence for a jury to convict at trial. Alford pleas are counted as convictions.

Both killings, a 1968 stabbing and a 1972 shooting, are believed to have had robbery as the primary motive. One of the killings, according to sources, was the oldest cold-case homicide solved by the Seattle Police Department.

Last year, the man was charged with first-degree murder for the 1972 killing and second-degree murder for the 1968 killing. One of those convictions came after investigators matched the man's DNA-required of him when he moved to Washington, as he is a convicted sex offender-with DNA found on the clothing of one of the victim's wife, who was raped by the man who killed her husband.

Prosecutors said that in the 1968 incident, the man shot a 58-year old man in front of his home, drove his wife to a wooded area and raped her, drove her to another area, clubbed her in the head and left her to die. Prosecutors were not able to charge the man with rape due to statutory limitations, but were able to charge for murder.

The 1972 was solved matching DNA from blood on cigarette butts and other evidence gathered from the apartment of a man murdered in his Madrona apartment. For that case, it is still unknown why the charged man had been inside the victim's apartment or the details of their connection.

The elderly could spend up to 20 years in prison for the convictions. Sentencing will take place on June 10.

Source: The Seattle Times, "Man, 73, guilty in 2 Seattle killings decades ago," Jennifer Sullivan, 9 May 2011.