Braae soon will be sentenced to as many as 56 years in prison after his conviction for raping and murdering Lori Jones in Lacey in 2001. But investigators think he eluded justice for years after killing at least three other Oregon and Washington women whose deaths are officially unsolved.

Braae, 48, denies killing Jones, and he’s unlikely to provide any information that would offer closure to the grieving families of the other women, said Thurston County chief deputy prosecuting attorney Jon Tunheim.

“If he was a guy that had a conscience, I might have some hope of that,” Tunheim said. “But he’s a guy that has no conscience or empathy. He does what’s in his best interest. It’s only going to happen if he sees a benefit for him.”

Braae’s sentencing is set for July 24. Tunheim said Braae’s attorneys haven’t approached him with any requests for a recommendation of a reduced sentence in exchange for offering information about other crimes.

Investigators think Braae also is responsible for the deaths of:

 • Velina Larson, 37, who was dating Braae around the time of her 1997 disappearance in Oregon.

 • Deb VanLuven, 45, who dated Braae when she lived in Lacey and was reported missing in 1997.

 • Susan Ault, 39, who disappeared from a friend’s trailer in Wahkiakum County in southwestern Washington in 2001.

VELINA LARSON

Larson’s skeletal remains were found in an overgrown field Jan. 31, 1998, near a self-storage facility where a witness saw Braae and Larson arguing in late 1997, said Clackamas County sheriff’s Sgt. Wendi Babst, who investigated Larson’s death.

When Braae was arrested on suspicion of rape in El Cajon, Calif., in December 1997, he had Larson’s identification card, Babst said. He denies killing Larson. Larson’s remains were identified from her dental records, but forensic experts were unable to determine a cause of death from her skeleton, Babst said.

DEB VANLUVEN

There was a history of domestic violence between Braae and VanLuven when she lived in Lacey, Babst said. Babst found out about VanLuven’s disappearance in 1998 while trying to locate her for an interview in the investigation of Larson’s death.

VanLuven’s mother reported her daughter missing in 1997, but because VanLuven had a warrant out for her arrest, it was unclear whether she had disappeared or was hiding.

Babst said she later learned that Braae was being investigated as a suspect in a rape in Douglas County, Ore. At the time, Braae was using false identification he’d obtained by using a birth certificate that belonged to VanLuven’s dead brother, Kim, Babst said.

Ultimately, the rape charge against Braae in Douglas County was dismissed – a bitter pill for Babst, who’d hoped the case might put Braae in jail.

Babst said she has no doubt that VanLuven is dead; friends and family members haven’t heard from her since 1997.

SUSAN AULT

Ault disappeared from a friend’s trailer in Wahkiakum County where she was staying in 2001, said her father, Bruce Ault. The friend saw Braae and Ault arguing shortly before she went missing, Bruce Ault said. Her purse, with identification, was found at a rest stop, but she has never been found.

Bruce Ault, 71, said he thinks his daughter is dead and added that “I have no doubt” Braae is responsible.

“My other daughter really would like them to find her body so it can be given a proper burial,” he said.

Wahkiakum County sheriff’s detective Mike Balch, who investigated Ault’s disappearance, said the case is “very near and dear to me” and confirmed that “we still consider Braae the most significant person of interest.”

OTHER ALLEGED CRIMES

Babst said she heard stories from numerous women who say Braae abused them. She said she learned that Braae was arrested on suspicion of a rape in Napa, Calif., in 2000, as she tried to keep tabs on his whereabouts, but the case was never brought to trial.

Braae also faced charges on suspicion of shooting Marchelle Morgan, 50, of Yelm, in the head in Yakima in 2001, but the trial ended in a hung jury. A judge in Braae’s Yakima County attempted murder case ruled that Morgan was incompetent to testify because of her brain injuries from the shooting.

Thurston County court records show that Braae was named as a respondent in at least two domestic violence petitions in the 1990s. Babst has said that during her investigation, she discovered numerous assaults in which women identified Braae as the culprit.

Lacey police detective Bev Reinhold said that several years ago, Sacramento police contacted her after they received a “hit” on Braae’s DNA in a 1999 cold-case rape investigation of a woman at a bus depot. The investigation stalled after investigators learned that the victim was unable to stand trial because of serious injuries she suffered in a subsequent car crash.

Babst interviewed Braae twice, and she said his arrogance and contempt for police made an impression.

“He’s calm, kind of a cocky guy,” she said. “He thinks he’s pretty important, and he doesn’t like the police very much.”

TRIAL IN JONES’ DEATH

Braae testified in his own defense when he stood trial in Thurston County in June in Jones’ rape and strangulation death. Tunheim said part of his strategy was to give Braae enough leeway to pontificate about his prowess as a country singer whom women could not resist.

“A part of my strategy was to get the real Michael Braae to come out,” Tunheim said. “He’s self-serving, narcissistic, and has no regard for anyone but himself.”

Tunheim said he felt a strong sense of responsibility in prosecuting Braae.

“I literally thought this could be a life-or-death case for somebody,” he said.

After Braae’s trial ended, Tunheim called him the most dangerous person he’s ever prosecuted. Tunheim has worked as a prosecutor in Thurston County since 1990.

Braae is completing a prison sentence in Idaho for crimes stemming from his 2001 arrest on suspicion of killing Jones. He was captured in Idaho after leading police on a chase that ended after he abandoned his pickup – a vehicle that was registered to Susan Ault, according to her father – and jumped off of a 40-foot bridge into the Snake River.

Tunheim has said that Braae’s testimony about the chase was a rare moment of honesty and reveals insight into Braae’s unwillingness to take responsibility for his actions.

“I’m just not the type that gives up easily,” Braae said about why he led police on the chase. “I’m not a quitter; it’s not in my makeup.”