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Born in United States · Nationality American — Crime / mafias / terrorism / criminal cases

Robert Lee Yates

Violent crime and serial killers

Documented profile covering 11 controversies, including “Washington State abolishes death penalty: sentence commuted to life without parole” and “Multiple unsuccessful post-conviction challenges to guilty pleas and sentences”.

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Profile No. 2462 · Updated on 13 October 2026

11Documented controversies
11Sources
2 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

Case · 3 documented stages

Washington State abolishes death penalty: sentence commuted to life without parole

Conviction
01

11 October 2018

Washington State abolishes death penalty: sentence commuted to life without parole

Conviction

When the Washington Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was applied arbitrarily and with racial bias, making it unconstitutional under the state constitution, the eight prisoners on death row, including Yates, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment without parole.

State of the evidence
Documented

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Washington Courts archive / Associated PressWashington Supreme Court declares death penalty unconstitutionalCourt recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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03

27 September 2007

Washington Supreme Court upholds convictions and death sentence

Conviction

The Washington Supreme Court rejected Yates's main grounds of appeal and upheld the two Pierce County convictions and the death sentence.

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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04

September–October 2002

Pierce County conviction for aggravated murders of Melinda Mercer and Connie Ellis

Conviction

A Pierce County jury found Yates guilty of two aggravated first-degree murders, those of Melinda Mercer in 1997 and Connie LaFontaine Ellis in 1998. Following the special sentencing phase, he was sentenced to death.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Seattle Post-IntelligencerYates convicted of aggravated murder in Pierce CountyPressHigh reliability
  3. [3]
    Washington State Digital ArchivesCapital Punishment Case Status Report — Robert Lee Yates Jr.Official documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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02

2008–2017

Multiple unsuccessful post-conviction challenges to guilty pleas and sentences

Conviction — against a third party

Protagonist not prosecuted — these proceedings are not counted in their formal charges or convictions.

Yates initiated several proceedings challenging the death penalty, the proportionality of his treatment and the wording of certain Spokane sentences. The courts rejected his applications to overturn the convictions and guilty plea while ordering a technical correction to two earlier sentences.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Protagonist is the complainant
Role of the person profiled
Protagonist not prosecuted

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaIn re Personal Restraint of Yates (2013)Court decisionVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaIn re Personal Restraint of Yates (2014)Court decisionVery high reliability
  3. [3]
    Washington Court of Appeals / JustiaState of Washington v. Robert Lee Yates, Jr. (2019)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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Case · 6 documented stages

Melody Murfin's body buried in the garden of his former home

Conviction
05

1998–October 2000

Melody Murfin's body buried in the garden of his former home

Conviction

During plea negotiations, Yates told authorities where he had buried Melody Murfin, beneath a flowerbed in the garden of his former family home. Recovery of the body enabled the agreement to be finalised.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    The Spokesman-ReviewYates Will Admit 13 Murders TodayPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Los Angeles TimesDecades of Killing Yield 408-Year SentencePressHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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07

19–26 October 2000

Guilty plea to thirteen murders and one attempted murder; 408-year sentence

Conviction

To avoid the death penalty in the Spokane, Walla Walla and Skagit cases, Yates pleaded guilty to thirteen murders and one attempted murder. He received a combined sentence of 408 years.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Legal status — source text
408-year prison sentence
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability
  2. [2]
    Los Angeles TimesDecades of Killing Yield 408-Year SentencePressHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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08

1996–1998

Series of murders of women in and around Spokane

Conviction

Between 1996 and 1998, Yates killed several women, most of them connected with prostitution and drug use, in the Spokane area. Ten Spokane murders were included in his 2000 guilty plea.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    The Spokesman-ReviewYates Will Admit 13 Murders TodayPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

09

1998

Attempted murder of Christine Smith, survivor of one of his attacks

Conviction

Christine Smith survived an attack by Yates in the Spokane area. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder under the 2000 agreement.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    ABC NewsWash. Serial Killer Pleads GuiltyPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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10

1988

Murder of Stacy Hawn in Skagit County

Conviction

Yates also admitted killing a woman in Skagit County in 1988, another historical homicide added to the plea agreement reached with prosecutors in eastern Washington State.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    The Spokesman-ReviewYates Will Admit 13 Murders TodayPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Los Angeles Times / Associated PressMore Victims of Washington Serial Killer SuspectedNews agencyHigh reliability
  3. [3]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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11

13 July 1975

Double murder of Patrick Oliver and Susan Savage near Walla Walla

Conviction

In 2000, Yates admitted shooting a young man and woman near Walla Walla in 1975. These long-unsolved murders were included in his overall plea agreement.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Personally implicated

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    The Spokesman-ReviewYates Will Admit 13 Murders TodayPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Los Angeles Times / Associated PressMore Victims of Washington Serial Killer SuspectedNews agencyHigh reliability
  3. [3]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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06

18 April 2000

Arrest following investigation into Spokane murders

Investigation

Yates was arrested after investigators linked his vehicle and other physical evidence to several victims in the Spokane murder series.

Attribution
Accused

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    ABC NewsWash. Serial Killer Pleads GuiltyPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Washington Supreme Court / JustiaState v. Yates (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

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