On September 5th they were reported missing when their car was found abandoned at the New Kent rest stop on I-64. Another man, David Rice, was acquitted after circumstantial evidence, including a pair of restraints and location history, put him on trial for the Winans-Williams murder, according to Historic Mysteries. Some don't believe this pair can be counted in the Colonial Parkway murders because we don't know what happened to the victims, whereas others believe the case bears a convincing resemblance to the others. Becky Dowski near the time of her murder. Regardless, the murders shook the state and instilled an insidious fear during the decade when each killing cropped up within a few years of the others. Nonetheless, inconclusive MRI scans appear to show that at least one of the bodies might have suffered knife wounds. I'm just throwing this out there without research, but the isolated areas, where was Hilton at this time? Both victims were students at Christopher Newport University, not quite of legal age to drink, who were out on their first-ever date. I think we understand where it came from. "It's an unsolved crime, number one. As it appears today from the road, this is the lonely trail leading back into the woods where the victims had been taken and killed. The only evidence of any wrongdoing was the discovery of Calls red Toyota Celica, unoccupied at the York River Overlook. Knobling had taken Edwards out with his little brother and cousin that day. One long night turned into four long years for [Read More], Famous Rock Stars, TV Celebrities, Stone Cold Conmen, A Daring Rescue of Kidnapped Kids, And More! At least eight of these killings comprise the Colonial Parkway murders. "I took them to the FBI and the state police, and nobody has done nothing.". While the FBI and the Virginia State Police looked into the Colonial Parkway cases, the families of the victims joined together to support each other and conduct their own investigation into the cases. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Their bodies were so decomposed, investigators were unable to determine a cause of death. A killer who prowled dark roads at night, who slashed and shot, who has remained a shadowy spectre for two decades. Yet no one has come forward and said they saw them. Why did it take so long before authorities were willing to admit there was a possible serial killer? Cathy Thomas And Rebecca Dowski Rebecca Dowski and Cathy Thomas The First Victims For two decades, the crime-scene pictures have. JavaScript is disabled. Thank you for writing this book. ", "He wanted authority and probably did not have it," she said. This unwholesome section is grisly and malignant Youve been warned. On October 19th, a month and a half after their disappearance, hunters along interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond stumbled onto the skeletonized remains of both kids. Her brother Keith was killed on a first date with Cassandra Hailey. You cant exactly finger a suspect and develop a viable culprit on car displacement and fascination with couples. The bodies were covered in a blanket from Daniels car and were badly decomposed, which made it impossible to determine either the cause of death or whether there had been sexual assault. Daniel Lauer and Annamaria Phelps Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. I thought for sure they wouldve been solved by now. A typically tranquil area, no one expected the Parkway to be the setting for a gruesome string of murders. This image shows the James River Bridge and the roadway leading from the parking area to the river. Less than two years later, Annamarie Phelps, 18, and a friend of Phelps' boyfriend, 21-year-old Daniel Lauer, disappeared over Labor Day weekend in 1989. Less than a year later another young couple went missing. A Virginia State Police photo of the rest area on I-64 where Daniels car was found abandoned. By that time, local police were well aware that there was a predator on the loose, and they had a somewhat bivouac profile to work-off. Naval Academy in 1981, as part of its second class to admit women. Current day image of where Cathy Thomass car was discovered. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It is unclear whether Annamaria and David pulled over and were killed at the rest stop or if they were killed elsewhere and the killer moved their car. However, her sister, Janette Santiago, told Lovers Lane Murders that Edwards, who she described as full of energy and not afraid of anything, had entered therapy and made remarkable progress in the months before her death. Or could it be that four separate criminals were executing young people in the area? All of the victims were young, White, and were either a romantic couple or could resemble one to. They show how the Colonial Parkway Killer stalked couples in cars, stabbed some and shot others, and then discarded their bodies. As with everything in her life, her career as a stockbroker was a stunning success. In the center of the image is Danny Plott, standing next to Dr. Marcella Fierro of the Virginia State Medical Examiners office. Atwell's discovery of the 84 graphic photographs brought a lot of much-needed media attention back to the unsolved homicides. David Knobling at Christmas in 1986, a few month prior to his death. A number of people saw this on the parkway after the party, including his brother Chris. Of course, these are Spingola's musings, and they have yet to be proven. And with Stealing Manhattan, a book that details, as the author proclaims, a "mega-heist" that involved the taking of [More], On an unseasonably warm April evening in 2001, the headless body of a tiny girl was found discarded in a makeshift dump site in the woods on the southeast side of Kansas City, Missouri. Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were not a romantic couple. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. We select them regularly, so sign up NOW! Was it a serial killer or a coincidence? I had never heard it before. Over the years, many theories have surfaced regarding the person or persons responsible. Maybe you're reminiscing about sparks that flew during a chemistry-laden conversation, maybe your cheeks are feeling flushed from the back-and-forth banter that lifted you to the clouds, or maybe you're prepping to fog up the windows a little bit. The Gloucester County whistleblower who last year revealed how the FBI leaked crime-scene photographs from the Colonial Parkway killings now says he's a suspect in the murder investigation. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! As of now, the killer (or killers) remains at large. It's hard to say for certain, but one detective believed they figured out the cause back in 2010. Just after Labor Day weekend 1989, Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Later, 21, vanished while en route to Virginia Beach. Several clothing items were found in the vehicle, as were the car keys. The first two victims were Cathleen Marian Thomas, a 27-year-old stockbroker in Norfolk and Rebecca Ann Dowski, a 21-year-old business management major from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Interest in the two-decade-old puzzle of the Colonial Parkway murders had pretty much fizzled out when the photos were uncovered. The wooded isolation here is not dissimilar to that of the Colonial Parkway. Call was a computer science major and an old soul in a way, his brother told Lovers Lane Murders.. Fred Atwell, a former Gloucester sheriff's deputy, says he has learned in the past month that his name is on a list of 130 suspects. Ready to uncover the truth behind Hollywood's elite? Fred was always vocal about the case to the point that he had strong opinions on who the killer was. Virginia's Colonial Parkway runs a relatively short 23 miles, from Jamestown to Yorkstown, passing through Williamsburg and thereby connecting all of Virginia's famous "Historic Triangle." Part of the Colonial National Historic Park, the scenic route is designed with sightseeing in mind. They had both been shot in the head, execution-style. After leaving the armed forces, she had transitioned into a successful career as a stockbroker, according to Richmond.com. The vision behind the Murder Accountability Project. Wake up to the day's most important news. The Colonial Parkway is a beautiful stretch of highway which cuts through the Colonial National Historical Park in South-East Virginia. A crime scene photograph of some of the investigator at the recovery site. A bright and driven young woman from upstate New York. Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski They detail where the knives slashed and the bullets struck. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. That October, a hunter came upon the couple's skeletal remains less than a mile from the rest area. The Colonial Parkway Murdersthe name given eight murders that took place in the Tidewater [Read More], True crime author, Burl Barer, has always possessed that all-important knack for seeking out hidden truth and finding it. [1] In each incident, a young couple sitting in a vehicle was targeted and both were killed. The car had been pushed down an embankment off the Colonial Parkway. Its proximity to where Becky and Cathy were found a year earlier should have been a clue to the park rangers but it was one they chose to ignore. Murderers tend to target solo victims. The FBI, working in unison with the regions law enforcement, had a victim criteria in their arsenal. There are few access points to the park, especially after hours. Edwards had struggled with her mental health and was prone to running away and some reckless behavior. This week Nic from the @TrueCrimeGarage podcast joins Bill and me for a roundtable discussion about the Colonial Parkway Murders. Just three days later, they were found murdered inside Thomas 1980 Honda Civic. Each pair was romantically involved in some way, a couple the killer likely saw as a lustful duo. The first set of victims from the Colonial Parkway murders were killed via a mix of strangulation and cut throats. It's a roadway and state route, partly manned by the National Park Service, that interlocks Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Their bodies were found by hunters that came across the bodies weeks after they disappeared. The Untold Truth Of The Colonial Parkway Murders, Predators on the Parkway: A Former Homicide Detective Explores the Colonial Parkway Murders. Keiths red Toyota. Things seemed to return to normal until September 22, 1987, when the bodies of another young couple were found along the bank of the James River in Virginia. This car, along with their mangled bodies, found at the Cheatham Annex Overlook in Williamsburg, Virginia, had been doused in diesel fuel. It was not enough to point to prior owl attacks on humans. The murders of all four couples occurred within a 30-mile radius, at night, on weekends or holidays, in areas that resemble lover's lanes, in cars, and in all instances, there were two victims. Its difficult to imagine something as gruesome and shocking as a string of murders occurring on this seemingly safe road but thats exactly what happened decades ago. From pull-offs featuring lush foliage, to memorials, tunnels, and bridges charged with centuries of American history, there's a little something for everyone. Thomas said he is left wondering why Atwell has had such a strong interest in the case. All of these factors are critical to understanding the mystique that the murders still hold over the national narrative. This crime scene photo shows tent erected over their remains as investigators work in the rain to recover every clue. All the investigation had to go by is circumstantial DNA evidence, a few forensic strands from a period where that whole branch was getting its wings, and a few similarities that dont help out; the proverbial needle in the haystack. Someone has leaked graphic crime-scene photographs of the most notorious serial killings in Virginia history, the Colonial Parkway murders. Cassandra Hailey and Richard Call The Colonial Parkway is a historic and scenic road that links together the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktow. Four double homicides occurred on or near the Colonial Parkway in Virginia during the 1980s. Just like the other three cases, the case eventually went cold, and the killer was never brought to justice. The pair went on a date, seeing a movie and attending a party, on April 9, 1988. Hanlon declined to explain what happened between Atwell's first complaints, and this recent scramble to retrieve the photographs. Over 30 years later they remain unsolved. What the investigators uncovered was a horrid tableau of deprivation. I was in disbelief for a while. I was acutally born at old Riverside Hospital in Newport News. I live near the peninsula and lived in Richmond, Virginia because my father lived in Norfolk, Virginia and my mother and stepfather lived in Richmond. Sign Up Log In Messenger Facebook Lite Watch She had been strangled with a [Read More], A father, his daughter, and a brave young girl thwarted criminals whose escalating hidden demons led them to bolder and more risky acts of violence in Margery Metzger's Debut True Crime.
the colonial parkway murders leaked