Once Again David Stodden Cleared in Murders of His Wife and Daughter

According to KOMO 4 News (October 10, 2018):   Minutes after detectives asked if he killed his family, David Stodden walked out of the Snohomish County Courthouse Wednesday.

It was the third time Stodden had been asked to take a polygraph test in connection with the July 2006 murders of his wife, Mary, and daughter, Susanna.

“They sort of said they weren’t going to work on the case until I passed a polygraph, so I did finally decide to take it,” Stodden said.

Courtney O’Keefe, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that cold case detectives asked Stodden to take the test.

“He did pass his polygraph test today and at this point they do not believe he is involved in this case,” O’Keefe said. “At this point, there is no new information, no new suspects.”

Mary Cooper, 56, and Susanna Stodden, 27, were shot to death on July 11, 2006. The mother and daughter, a school librarian and soon-to-be teacher, had been shot while hiking in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Granite Falls.

Stodden has been frustrated with investigators. He said they tell him they’re short-staffed, or they have limited resources. He said that he has offered to drum up tips or hire a private investigator and been rebuffed.

Stodden said the demand that he take another polygraph test, even after he had taken other tests as well as submitted DNA, was “insulting.”

“It seems undignified, I guess. There’s no evidence I was involved at all. I wish they would look for more evidence,” Stodden said.

Stodden said he’s not going to stop pushing on the sheriff’s office, or trying to generate media interest in the case.
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This is a cold case. Around 40% of murders in the United States go unsolved. After detectives have exhausted all of their leads in a case, examined forensic evidence and interviewed potential suspects, there is little else that can be done until new leads are developed.

Concerning polygraphs, the American Psychological Association has stated: Polygraph testing has generated considerable scientific and public controversy. Most psychologists and other scientists agree that there is little basis for the validity of polygraph tests. Courts, including the United States Supreme Court (cf. U.S. v. Scheffer, 1998 in which Dr.'s Saxe's research on polygraph fallibility was cited), have repeatedly rejected the use of polygraph evidence because of its inherent unreliability. Nevertheless, polygraph testing continues to be used in non-judicial settings, often to screen personnel, but sometimes to try to assess the veracity of suspects and witnesses, and to monitor criminal offenders on probation. Polygraph tests are also sometimes used by individuals seeking to convince others of their innocence and, in a narrow range of circumstances, by private agencies and corporations.

The Speaks Law Firm provides comments on polygraph examinations.