In 1990, the brutal murders of three women along the Spokane River baffled investigators, who mistakenly hunted notorious serial killer Robert Lee Yates Jr. for over two decades. The real predator was Douglas Perry, who later underwent gender-affirming surgery to become Donna Perry and audaciously argued in court that her transition acted as a medical firewall erasing her past crimes. Following a definitive DNA match, a jury rejected this bizarre defense, convicting her of first-degree murder and permanently unmasking the monster who hid behind a new identity. This haunting case forces us to confront an uncomfortable philosophical question: when a person undergoes a radical physical and psychological transformation, can reinvention ever truly absolve them of past atrocities?
References
Court Opinions and Legal Records
State of Washington v. Donna Rebecca Perry, aka. Douglas Robert Perry, No. 35476-8-III (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 4, 2020).
State of Washington v. Robert Lee Yates, Jr., 161 Wash. 2d 714, 168 P.3d 359 (Wash. 2007).
In re Personal Restraint of Robert Lee Yates, Jr., 177 Wash. 2d 1, 296 P.3d 872 (Wash. 2013).
Media and Investigative Reports
Ditzler, G. (2017, July 25). Donna Perry sentenced to life in prison without option of parole. KXLY.
Luck, M. (2025, November 18). Episode 4: Douglas or Donna, The Riverbank Murders. KXLY News.
The Seattle Times. (2012, November). Spokane cold case: Police identify person of interest in 1990 murders. The Seattle Times.
Reference and Case Summaries
Wikimedia Foundation. (n.d.). Donna Perry (serial killer). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Perry_(serial_killer.
Associated Press. (2017, June 29). Transgender woman convicted for slayings of 3 women who worked as prostitutes. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donna-perry-transgender-woman-murder-prostitutes-washington/
Associated Press. (2017, July 24). Killer sentenced to life without parole in slayings. The Daily Herald.
Ditzler, G. (2017, July 25). Donna Perry sentenced to life in prison without option of parole. KXLY.
KREM Staff. (2017, June 29). Transgender serial killer found guilty. KREM. https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/transgender-serial-killer-found-guilty/293-453061075
Luck, M. (2025, November 18). Episode 4: Douglas or Donna, The Riverbank Murders. KXLY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuEZBrHdxe0
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Donna Perry (serial killer). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Perry_(serial_killer