On September 20, 1987, Knoblings truck was found abandoned by the James River Bridge, Richmond.com reported. This car, along with their mangled bodies, found at the Cheatham Annex Overlook in Williamsburg, Virginia, had been doused in diesel fuel. Will mock murderers with glee. Naval Academy in 1981, as part of its second class to admit women. The remains were too decomposed to reveal the manner of death. Cathys throat was slit so deepthat she was nearly decapitated. Three days later, their bodies washed up onto the beach at Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge. The women were bound with rope and strangled. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. They were couples in cars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_Accountability_Project, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Aamodt, https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/features/murder-woods-shenandoah-national-park/. The cases are now the subject of a new four-part true-crime docu-series on Oxygen titled "Lovers Lane Murders." Dowski was younger and still a student at the College of William and Mary. Investigators have spent decades puzzling out the Colonial Parkway murders. Its a roadway and state route, partly manned by the National Park Service, that interlocks Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Explore! Oxygen's two-night true-crime special Lovers' Lane Murders focuses on the slaying of eight men and women at the Colonial Parkway in Virginia. The sun begins to set Tuesday evening September 27, 2016 near an overlook along the Colonial Parkway. If he receives what he believes to be a credible tip, he will then turn it over to the FBI. At least one of the badly decomposed bodies appears to have suffered knife wounds. It helps explain how the killer could take control of two people at once. Both women were found with rope burns on their neck and wrist with signs of strangulation. The Colonial Parkway Murders families have been told by law enforcement (FBI and Virginia State Police) that they may have perpetrator DNA in 3 of the 4 crime scenes in the unsolved Colonial Parkway Murders. Virginia's beautiful Colonial Parkway has a dark history of unsolved murders and disappearances. Fred was considered something of a hero when he uncovered a slew of photographs leaked from the FBIs office in Norfolk. They didnt use that expression much back then, but that was the idea. "She discovered after graduating from the Naval Academy that she was a lesbian. The killer tried unsuccessfully to set it on fire. The analyzed DNA can then pinpoint the exact relation between those tested, allowing law enforcement agencies to narrow down their suspect pool and make an arrest. The eeriest part,. Why not just tell us that our case will never be a priority? Advocate. The series was published again by the paper in 2010. It's difficult to imagine something as gruesome and shocking as a string of murders occurring on this seemingly safe road but that's exactly what happened decades ago. [14], On June 25, 2018, editors at Listverse released a new article, "Ten Disturbing Facts About the Colonial Parkway Murders. He told Lovers Lane Murders that there may be links between the first and third murders, which are firmly tied to the Colonial Parkway. The burden gets a little easier, but in such a small incremental way that you dont realize it at first, Thomas said. The only thing found was Calls car on the parkway. For the families linked by the Colonial Parkway Murders, it means that DNA discovered at the crime scenes could, one day, solve the cases. His investigation came to the startling conclusion that the murders were committed by multiple assailants and arent tied together. Author of Unburied: True Crime Shorts https://www.amazon.com/Unburied-Crime-Shorts-Quinn-Zane-ebook/dp/B0BK5BGSYY, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60693940, https://www.amazon.com/Unburied-Crime-Shorts-Quinn-Zane-ebook/dp/B0BK5BGSYY. Just after Labor Day weekend 1989, Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Later, 21, vanished while en route to Virginia Beach. The bodies of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski were found near this location in October of 1986. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The vision behind the Murder Accountability Project. who has spent more than 20 years looking into the murders. This section is going to be macabre, scatological, and disturbing. Were reverse engineering the family tree of this unknown person, and eventually their identity through the family tree with who they share DNA with one or two genealogy databases that we have access to, said Moore. She worked two jobs while studying, caring for toddlers at a daycare center and at the colleges English department as a clerk, Cassandra Hailey and Richard Keith Call, For more on the Colonial Parkway murders, watch Oxygens new limited series. They are both presumed dead, and evidence points to the same madman or madwoman responsible for the other killings. Their bodies uncovered in Virginias Shenandoah National Park. Thomas had also entered a relationship with Dowski, and the two were known to regularly visit the area where they were murdered. Market data provided by Factset. Thomas said the families were devastated by the sudden, brutal deaths. Why are they still a hot button topic? The killer has never been caught.Oct. He explained it might be easier to wrap ones mind around one killer, not four or even more different ones. The remains were too decomposed to reveal the manner of death. However, Cathy was unafraid to try things that no one else had done before. The Colonial Parkway. Months later, they were found murdered, wrapped in a blanket in the woods. Im the older brother of Cathy Thomas who together with her girlfriend Rebecca Dowski were the first two victims in the so-called Colonial Parkway Murders, he wrote. Their throats had been viciously slashed and they had been strangled to death. Both women were fully clothed and there was no evidence of robbery or sexual assault. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Unlike OConnell, Coombs doesnt see the work of a serial killer. If she had not been killed, Bill Thomas is sure she would have gone on to accomplish anything she wanted. Justice is found here. Weve got amazing investigators working on our case. William F. Thomas stands under an old oak tree at the Cheatham Annex pull off along the Colonial Parkway near Yorktown Tuesday afternoon, August 16,2016, holding a photo of his sister, Cathleen Thomas, a Naval Academy graduate who with Rebecca Dowski were the first of the murders along the Parkway that became known as the Colonial Parkway Murders. It was known, not only by the homosexual community, but by the haters of the homosexual community, he said. "He was always washing it, his sister, Joyce Call-Canada, told The Virginian Pilot. Steve Spingola, former Milwaukee homicide detective, investigated the murders on behalf of the families. "Cathy was somebody that could more than hold her own in any situation," he said. Inside the Maddening Search for Virginia's Colonial Parkway Serial Killer COLD CASE Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Courtesy Bill Thomas Four brutal double homicides near. This year, he would have been 53. All rights reserved. What were the Colonial Parkway Murders? If they are smart enough not to get caught, theres very little we can do.. This is an ongoing criminal investigation, we are not in a position to discuss what evidence we are working with as part of the case, said Corrine Geller, public relations director for VSP. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Three days later, the bodies of Knobling and Robin Edwards, 14, washed ashore on the James River at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge. [3][4][5], In 1996, the unsolved case of the Colonial Parkway murders was presented on national television on the program Real Stories of the Highway Patrol, a series that aired from 19931999. Thomas Hargrove, researcher, and archivist. [9], In 2013, the Colonial Parkway murders were profiled in the Investigation Discovery television series Dark Minds, with host and true crime author M. William Phelps. The odds of four double homicides in as many years are extremely rare, which is why the slayings are. Each had been shot in the head. Maps of crime scene. The car had been pushed down an embankment off the Colonial Parkway In Virginia. While genetic genealogy offers the family members a new prospect, they have never given up hope that their siblings cases will be solved. She was fascinated by the circus and had dreams of running off with Ringling Brothers. Within the past three and a half years, genetic genealogy has been responsible for solving approximately 350 cases. In 2010, a note was discovered in a box taken years earlier from Annamaria Phelps's apartment. . 2023 Copyright Colonial Ghosts. Cathy has been gone longer than she was with us. They all died at night. The autopsy was inconclusive and could not determine whether a blade had slashed their throats or if they had been strangled to near decapitation. [Thomas] could hold their own from day one. However, just before her death, she had left the Navy. Multiple reports alleged Edwards had snuck out to meet Knobling before they were killed. The Colonial Parkway murders were the slayings of at least eight people apparently by a serial killer along the Colonial Parkway of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia between 1986 and 1989. Hailey, meanwhile, was a college freshman who modeled and taught gymnastics, according to the outlet. They were never found. Despite the moniker the Colonial Parkway Murders, the time frame and proximity of the deaths, law enforcement has never conclusively linked the cases, leaving many, including the family members, to believe that some or all of the cases are connected or none at all. Their bodies have never been found, but both are presumed dead. ", "We told her upfront and we express concern that going to the Naval Academy was going to be very tough," he continued. After their parents died, Call-Canada and her brother took up the effort to prod investigators. The thoroughfare is partially maintained by the National Park Service because it's an iconic piece of pavement that connects some of the country's most historic cities. You saw Dr. Pettler in the four part true crime TV series, "Lovers Lane But is it possible they are tragic, separate events? They show how the Colonial Parkway Killer stalk 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays Virginia State Police, who are handling the Knobling and Edwards and Phelps and Lauer cases, declined to comment if they had DNA in either of the cases. The Colonial Parkway is a 23 mile (37km) scenic landscape/thoroughfare that links Virginias Historic Triangle. She had a soft side but there was a toughness, too, her brother, Bill Thomas, told the producers of Lovers Lane Murders.. Series co-host Maureen OConnell, a former FBI special agent, sees telltale signs to support this theory. Authorities discovered Cathleen and Rebecca on Columbus Day weekend, 1986, inside a white 1980 Honda Civic. 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