Guy Rasmussen is a Washington man convicted in 1999 of the aggravated first-degree murder, kidnapping, and rape of nine-year-old Cynthia “Cindy” Allinger, who disappeared from Lakewood on July 4, 1996. A Pierce County jury found him guilty on all counts but could not unanimously agree on the death penalty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has maintained his innocence, and in 2013 the Innocence Project Northwest petitioned for modern DNA retesting of the evidence used against him.
The Murder of Cindy Allinger
Cindy Allinger left her home near McChord Air Force Base on foot on July 4, 1996. Her mother, Rhonda Plank, reported her missing to 911 at 11:00 p.m. that night.1CaseMine. State v. Rasmussen, No. 24470-5-II The search that followed drew hundreds of investigators and volunteers and a $5,000 reward, with the tip volume large enough to occupy up to a dozen agents.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
On July 17, 1996, her body was found rolled in a carpet remnant on a grassy lot near her home, off 49th Avenue Southwest near 123rd Street Southwest. An autopsy showed she had been burned with cigarettes, struck hard enough to fracture her jaw, raped, and asphyxiated by gagging on her own clothing.3Seattle Times. Man Charged in Girls Death The killing became one of the most notorious crimes in Pierce County history.
How Rasmussen Became the Suspect
Witnesses said that on the afternoon of July 4, Cindy had been seen holding hands with a man who matched Rasmussen, a former neighbor known as “Razz.” He was thin with long, curly hair and played bass in a local band. At least one neighbor told police he was a registered sex offender and might be involved.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
By July 6, investigators had learned that on the day of the disappearance, Rasmussen showered and changed clothes at his trailer before going to the Rainbow Valley Music Festival.1CaseMine. State v. Rasmussen, No. 24470-5-II Police obtained a telephonic search warrant on July 7 and seized clothing from his mobile home. A blood drop on one of his tie-dyed T-shirts was tested and found consistent with Cindy’s blood. Rasmussen also failed a polygraph and gave inconsistent statements about his relationship with her.3Seattle Times. Man Charged in Girls Death
He had a juvenile record that included convictions for the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl and the assault of a ten-year-old girl.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA On November 18, 1996, Washington charged him with aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree rape of a child, and filed notice that it would seek the death penalty. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.3Seattle Times. Man Charged in Girls Death
The 1999 Trial and Life Sentence
Rasmussen was tried in Pierce County Superior Court in January 1999. Prosecutors John Ladenburg, Lisa Wagner, and Barbara Corey put on a largely circumstantial case built from witness testimony, phone records, and DNA. Forensic scientist Ed Blake testified that DQ-alpha and polymarker DNA testing on the blood from Rasmussen’s T-shirt indicated it was “most likely” Cindy Allinger’s.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
Defense attorneys Fred Leatherman and Linda Sullivan attacked the search of the mobile home as illegal, accused sheriff’s detectives of misconduct in obtaining the warrant, and told jurors Rasmussen had an “air-tight” alibi. Leatherman used a computerized timeline built from phone records and witness accounts to argue it was “utterly impossible” for Rasmussen to have committed the crime. The defense also noted that Rasmussen had voluntarily given investigators samples of his hair, saliva, and blood during the original investigation.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
The jury convicted him on all counts. It could not agree unanimously on death, and on February 21, 1999, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.4Seattle Times. Man Gets Life Without Parole for Killing Tacoma Girl in ’96
Appeals
Rasmussen appealed to the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division Two. On October 10, 2002, the court affirmed his conviction and rejected every ground he raised, including challenges to the telephonic search warrant, claimed omissions by Detective Teresa Berg in the warrant affidavit, his request for the DNA laboratories’ underlying test strips, a Fifth Amendment claim about testimony that he had not contacted police during the music festival, and an objection to the prosecution’s use of juror background records.1CaseMine. State v. Rasmussen, No. 24470-5-II A separate 2003 challenge to the admissibility of the DQ-alpha and polymarker DNA methods was also rejected, with the court finding those methods generally accepted in the scientific community at the time of trial.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
The 2013 Petition for DNA Retesting
The Innocence Project Northwest took Rasmussen’s case in 2011 and moved to preserve the trial evidence. In December 2013, attorney Anna Tolin filed a 61-page petition for post-conviction DNA testing under RCW 10.73.170, a Washington statute enacted in 2000 that permits new testing when modern technology is “significantly more accurate than prior DNA testing or would provide significant new information.”2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
Tolin argued that the DQ-alpha and polymarker tests used at trial had “limited discriminatory power,” so the genetic profile matched to Cindy was not unique to her and could have belonged to other people. Modern Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis, she said, could determine “to a scientific certainty” whether the blood on Rasmussen’s shirt came from the victim, and FBI offender databases that did not exist in 1996 could potentially point to a different perpetrator. Beyond the blood drop, the defense asked to test hairs, nail clippings, and sexual-assault kit swabs.2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff heard preliminary arguments in December 2013 and signaled he was open to authorizing at least some testing, especially of the T-shirt blood. He said that if Rasmussen committed the crime the blood would likely confirm it, while a result pointing to someone else would be “an extremely powerful bit of evidence.”2Washington Courts. The Double Edged Sword of DNA Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said his office did not oppose retesting the shirt but would object to “meaningless testing” that wasted taxpayer money, and predicted modern results would “confirm the truth of his guilt.”5Seattle Times. Convicted Killer Seeks Retest of DNA Evidence As of February 2014, Tolin and deputy prosecutor Lisa Wagner were still negotiating which items would be retested, subject to a judge’s formal authorization before anything went to a lab.
Where the Case Stands
The research contains no public record of whether the retesting was completed or what any results showed. Rasmussen remains incarcerated at the state prison in Monroe, Washington, serving life without the possibility of parole.