For more than 20 years, the Colonial Parkway Serial Killer has kept his secrets. The back seat of Daniels car, filled with his hastily packed personal belongings for his move to the beach. I often wonder if he knows something he is not telling us, Bill Thomas, the brother of one of the first victims, told the Huffington Post. One long night turned into four long years for [More], Coming March 28, 2023 About the Book In the spring of 1853, a family of eight drove their wagon to the wharf in Bergen, Norway. This recent image shows the only marker at Ragged Island, a gunshot sign. -K.L. Were these crimes the work of one perpetrator, or unrelated slayings that happened to fall close togetherboth chronologically and geographically? Theories The pavement itself lacks the usual lane markers, while bridges that cross the road are made of brick and built to look as if they were constructed during the colonial period for which the parkway is named. Atwell agreed to take a look - and he made copies. "They took him and Sandra and they put his clothes back in the car, just tossed them. With Bill's coaching, Colonial Parkway Murders families begin hammering the FBI in media interviews on the leak and lack of resources. A Virginia State Police photo of the rest area on I-64 where Daniels car was found abandoned. For the second time in a month, authorities in Virginia are investigating a former deputy sheriff who has ties to the Colonial Parkway murders -- a series of unsolved homicides that began in. On October 12, 1986, a jogger found Cathy Thomas's white Honda Civic pushed down an embankment just off of the Colonial Parkway and called the police. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. The First Murders. Becky Dowski near the time of her murder. Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski Keith Call's car. He went from gadfly on the case to suspect, then, as seen in these, True Crime Uncensored with Burl Barer and Mark Boyer. ', Break down: Former FBI profiler Jim Clemente suggested the killer may have posed as law enforcement and reenacted what that would have looked like, Loss: Nearly a year after the first double homicide, David Knobling, 20, (L) and Robin Edwards, 14, (R) were found shot in the head along the bank of the James River in September 1987, 'Statistically, a lot of the personal attacks that we have on victims close to their faces are someone they knew,' she says. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Copyright 2022 Crime Museum, LLC - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy |. Most serial killers use the same methods each time. This post examines four murders of young couples along the Colonial Parkway in Virginia during the 1980s, as well as a fifth homicide, which may be related, in 1996. He did it again with a Toyota, and one final time at a rest area with a Chevy Nova. Fred Atwell, a former deputy from Gloucester, began informing the family members of victims that valuable crime scene photos - containing images of the . Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years. Yes! "They told me there was no crime. One of the two died with her bra around her neck, suggesting she may have been strangled as well. Mentions of the deaths have even found their way into some TripAdvisor reviews. Over 30 years later they remain unsolved. Do you hate foreplay? 'Urban legends usually come out of some seed of truth,' former prosecutor and Lovers Lane Murders co-host Loni Coombs explains in a preview clip. Queen Letizia of Spain cut an elegant figure in a matching pink skirt and top as she Who Were The Colonial Parkway Murder Victims? The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. And they show exactly how the unknown killer left the bodies. Visiting the Crime Scene at of the Fourth and Final of the Colonial Parkway Murders - New Kent County On July 16, 2017 By Author and Historian Blaine L. Pardoe In True Crime The start of the logging trail where Annamaria and Daniel's remains were found some distance back. The police believed that the murders had happened elsewhere, and the bodies had been dumped in the car since there was not much blood in the car itself. Oct. 12, 1986: Cathleen M. Thomas, 28, left, and Rebecca A. Dowski, 21, were found strangled with their throats slit in the back seat of Thomas' car along the Colonial Parkway. wtkr.com This is to collate clues and evidence and assemble them into a comprehensible whole; in doing so revealing more clues that could potentially lead to new evidence that unmasks the culprit. Throughout the '80s, this thoroughfare was home to what's believed to have been 10 murders. None of these murders have been solved, and the photographs are out in the public. The Colonial Parkway is a historic and scenic road that links together the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktow. The only couples that had anything in common seemed to be the first pair and the (potentially connected) final couple, Lollie Winans and Julianne Williams, both of which Historic Mysteries says were lesbian couples, but the others were perceived to be straight couples. Virginias Colonial Parkway runs a relatively short 23 miles, from Jamestown to Yorkstown, passing through Williamsburg and thereby connecting all of Virginias famous Historic Triangle. Part of the Colonial National Historic Park, the scenic route is designed with sightseeing in mind. Keith took her for a drive down the Colonial Parkway in his red Toyota Celica. After he dropped her off that night, she snuck out to meet him. In her brother's case, "all his belongings were thrown back into the car -- his clothes, wallet, eyeglasses, watch, and her bra and purse. Crime: Eight people were murdered at the Colonial Parkway over a four-year span, starting with the slaying of Cathy Thomas, 27, (L) and Rebecca 'Becky' Dowski, 21, (R) in October 1986, Loss Thomas and Dowski had been dating for several months and went missing on October 9, 1986, after they were seen leaving the College of William and Mary computer lab together, Murder: Thomas's white 1980 Honda Civic, had been pushed down an embankment off of the Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg. One big name in the case has always been Fred Atwell; he was a deputy at the time of the initial cases. After Atwell spoke to NewsChannel 3, we called the FBI. I can tell you that we recovered all the copies from the folks that we've contacted that had them. There was no sign of sexual assault, and the womens purses were still in the car, with all their money still inside. 'As a forensic criminologist, we take everything we know and we reconstruct the scene, each piece of evidence, breaking it apart, analyzing everyone individually, and then reassembling them into the mosaic that is the crime,' Pettler explains. 'There is no toll or charge but it is run by the Forest Service so dont get caught speeding and you might want to keep a lookout for the Colonial Parkway Murderer of the 80s He was never caught,' one person wrote in 2013. The Colonial Parkway Murders - Revisiting The Crime Scenes Mobile Instinct 370K subscribers Subscribe 10K 264K views 1 year ago Virginia's beautiful Colonial Parkway has a dark history. Fred Atwell, a friend of the Call family and a former deputy sheriff in Gloucester County, said he learned that the photographs had been leaked in November 2008 and reported it to the FBI and Virginia State Police. Colonial Parkway Murders? Rebeccas body was found in the backseat of the car, while Cathys was found stuffed into the hatchback. 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. Current topics are Colonial Parkway Murders, Liberty German and Abigail Williams (aka Libby & Abby) from Delphi, Child Neglect, Abuse and Guardians Who Kill. He had some legal problems involving a marriage to an underage girl but was preparing to move on with his life. Their bodies were found by hunters that came across the bodies weeks after they disappeared. These contemporary photographs show the parking area where Keiths car was discovered. . [1] During that time, three couples were murdered and one couple is missing and presumed to be dead. Like Thomas and Dowski, Winans and Williams were bound and had their throats slit nearly to the point of decapitation. Diesel fuel had been poured over the bodies and their car, but it failed to ignite. Then we come to the latest, and presumed to be the final, set of victims: A pair of women who'd been camping together in 1996. But couldn't find them in a search here. David always backed his vehicle in, never left it unlocked, and it didnt require the keys turned to accessories to play the radioall signs that his vehicle was staged for theft the calling card of the Colonial Parkway murderer. Whatever the details, you're enjoying alone time, thinking this night is as delightful as any date can be, when a third, uninvited individual shows up and turns your romantic date into a horror show. Again and again, young people in the prime of their lives were targeted. Lauer's gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova was found abandonedat the I-64 New Kent rest stop in New Kent County. Dowski worked as a daycare provider and a clerk. The killer (s) drove Daniel and Annamaria back here in the darkness, killing them and covering their bodies in an electric blanket. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Theres no hint of the horror that took place herefrom the brutal murders to the attempts to burn then submerge her car. This blog contains theories and speculation from the writer. Though located several miles to the south of the Colonial Parkway itself, the unsolved killings of Knobling and Edwards are often grouped together with the other Colonial Parkway murders. Once again, despite the best investigative efforts of the police, the case went cold. No charges were ever filed in relation to any of the killings, and to this day they all remain unsolved, despite numerous investigations into the various deaths which took place along the scenic route. Their trip home on Labor Day weekend was only for a fewhours. The other two happened in the mid-'90s, and their connection to the originals remains a highly debated topic. Ortega, 55, is charged . Apparently, she's also known as "Verna White". In the center of the image is Danny Plott, standing next to Dr. Marcella Fierro of the Virginia State Medical Examiners office. Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com. Each pair was romantically involved in some way, a couple the killer likely saw as a lustful duo. 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. The Colonial Parkway Murders The Colonial Parkway is a historic and scenic road that links together the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. But he says he says the FBI did take this breach seriously, even if they didn't take action until a few days ago. This contemporary photograph shows part of the boardwalk from the Ragged Island parking area to the beach area near where the bodies of David and Robin were found. Two Christopher Newport University students on their first date were the next victims on the list in 1988, and the fourth set of victims included Daniel Lauer, who was in the process of moving in with his brother. See bottom of post for update. "Well, we looked into it. The first pair of victims, Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, were a romantic couple who were last seen alive going out to dinner in 1986, as Oxygen points out. Keiths red Toyota. It doesn't seem as if they knew each other in the slightest. 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. The friends were last seen three days before, leaving the College of William and Mary campus, where Dowski was a student. Their bodies were found over a month later on October 19th by hunters on a logging road about a mile away from the rest stop. Crime-scene photos from Parkway murders in public domain. 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. Was this a breadcrumb she had dropped, was it cut off during her struggle, or was it some sort of symbol that the killer left behind for investigators? on the unsolved Colonial Parkway Murders. ', Unsolved mystery: A team of experts delve into the Colonial Parkway murders in Virginia in the 1980s in Oxygen's two-night true-crime special Lovers' Lane Murders, Deep dive: Forensic criminologist Laura Pettler explains in a preview clip that her job is to 'take everything we know and we reconstruct the scene', The site: The Colonial Parkway in Virginia - a 23-mile stretch of road known as Lovers' Lane (pictured) - was the site of four double homicides in the 1980s, all of which remain unsolved. A crime blog referencing unsolved criminal cases. The color photos show bullet and stab wounds, clothing, vehicle interiors and other aspects of the unsolved slayings or the disappearance of eight people in Tidewater Virginia from 1986 to 1989, all believed to be the work of a serial killer or killers. Top Posters; Top Donors : Documenting Reality True Crime & Artistic Endeavors True Crime, Cold Cases, & Death Investigations: Colonial Parkway Murders? Look for Book Three in 2023! A month and a half later, hunters found the remains of Annamaria Phelps, 18, left, and Daniel Lauer, 21, of Amelia County in nearby woods. A serial killer took the lives of at least eight people near the Colonial Parkway of Virginia in the late '80s. When the FBI and VSP failed to follow up, Atwell went to the media, specifically WTKR channel 3 TV News in Norfolk. "Incredibly intrusive. He had a young pregnant girlfriend and was just starting a new career. 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. From about October 1986 to September 1989, 8 people are presumed to have been murdered near Colonial Parkway in Eastern Virginia. Biden honors 20 years of the Homeland Security Dept. Yet no one has come forward and said they saw them. "I was floored. The wooded isolation here is not dissimilar to that of the Colonial Parkway. "Here's What Happens When You Mess With Me!" From pull-offs featuring lush foliage, to memorials, tunnels, and bridges charged with centuries of American history, there's a little something for everyone. . On Memorial Day weekend 1989, Daniel Lauer, 21, was driving to his brothers house in Virginia Beach with his brothers girlfriend, Annamaria Phelps, 18. They were brothers, sisters, sons, daughters,' says Joyce Call. The Colonial Parkway Murders were a series of homicides that occurred between October 1986 and September 1989. Both victims were students at Christopher Newport University, not quite of legal age to drink, who were out on their first-ever date. Becky's wound isn't as deep as Cathy's wound. The grim finale came just five months later. However, Atwell had his own skeletons, and soon had several brushes with the law. Janzen Robinson is no longer a man torn between two worlds, [More], Punch Stanimirovic insists: "My father, known as Mr. Stan, is the greatest gentleman thief who ever lived-a true genius." She added:'The fascination depends on the level of publicity.'. You know, all his belongings.". You can cancel at any time. And why did the horror stop as abruptly as it had begun? And that's it," Atwell said Tuesday. Young couple Julie Williams, 24, and Lollie Winans, 26, were camping in the park over Memorial Day weekend. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Her brother's car is in a crime-scene photo never meant to be public. One long night turned into four long years for [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. Less than a year later another young couple went missing. So they DO taste different! Then, just as mysteriously, the killing stopped. Check out the "Lover's Lane Murders" true crime TV Series . Hair that had been found in Cathys hand and a biological sample found on Robin have never been tested, but with advances in DNA technology and resources like GEDmatch, the families of the victims are hopeful they will finally get answers. In total, 4 pairs of people were targeted, resulting in eight murders and six bodies found. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, PrettyLittleThing - Offers on women's clothing, Get inspired by the newest styles and offers, Click through for ASOS promo codes this Autumn, Spend less with Missguided's exclusive codes, Treat yourself to offers on make-up and accessories, Check out the latest Wayfair sale to save on furniture. She had been strangled with a [More], About The Book Retired from a big-city homicide beat to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-detective Woodrow "Mountain" Bell yearns only to fade away. No worries now, although I wouldnt go there at night.'. Dotted with impressive bridges and blanketed by thick trees, it usually provides year-round beauty and convenience for travelers. Listen Now Episode Info Where Keith's car was found Photo Source Joyce Call's brother was one of the victims. However, the car was. "They said they are going to review the case top to bottom. These killings, known as the Colonial Parkway murders, remain unsolved. Were found by hunters that came across the bodies and Williams were bound and had their slit... Atwell said Tuesday one final time at a rest area with a,! Policy | from about October 1986 and September 1989, 8 people are presumed to have been 10 murders abruptly... Were murdered and one final time at a rest area with a Nova. 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