Home / Crime and Justice / Justice Served: Killer of Sharon Van Gilder Found Guilty
Justice Served: Killer of Sharon Van Gilder Found Guilty
14 Nov
Summary
- Serial rapist convicted 25 years after victim's murder.
- DNA evidence linked the killer to three other violent assaults.
- The convicted killer was previously deported to Mexico.
Miguel Angel Urbano-Vazquez has been found guilty of aggravated first-degree murder for the March 2002 rape and strangulation of Sharon Van Gilder. Van Gilder's body was discovered on a rural road in Pierce County, Washington, and her murder occurred nearly 25 years before the recent conviction.
Prosecutors stated that Van Gilder was the first victim in a series of violent sexual assaults between March and October 2002. DNA evidence collected in 2012 linked Van Gilder's case to three other rapes in the Tacoma area. Urbano-Vazquez was deported to Mexico at some point after the crimes.
He was apprehended abroad in 2023 and extradited in 2025, allowing for DNA comparison that solidified the link to the 2002 attacks. A jury found him guilty on November 3, with sentencing scheduled for December 11. He faces life in prison without parole.
The conviction also includes rape charges from attacks on three other women. Their courage in testifying was crucial in achieving this verdict. For Van Gilder's family, the conviction offers closure and serves as a message of hope to those with unresolved cold cases.
