Hes made it a point to make himself available to the public, in case the right tip comes in. He said extremely graphic crime scene photos were leaked to the public, fueling the familys anguish. In the late 1980s, the murders spanning three years brought eight families together through the shared grief, frustration and denial that only they could understand. Virginia's Colonial Parkway. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. At night its dark and isolated,making it an ideal spot for couples to be romantic discreetly. (Oxygen), "She had been very sorry to leave the Navy after five years, but she didnt feel that it was welcoming for her as a gay woman," said Thomas. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Their bodies were so decomposed, investigators were unable to determine a cause of death. Maps of crime scene. He explained it might be easier to wrap ones mind around one killer, not four or even more different ones. Did The Colonial Parkway Victims Know The Killer? The brutal crimes claimed the lives of eight young people, including one couple whove never been found. They could be related, he said, adding that he doesnt see links among all four. Their throats had been viciously slashed and they had been strangled to death. [30], Last edited on 16 September 2022, at 11:09, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "Colonial Parkway Murders Remain Unsolved", "Fred Atwell, Controversial Figure In Colonial Parkway Murders, Arrested In Georgia", "Part 1 | Agent stalks dark path of serial killer", "Part 2 | Serial Killer's Trademark: Colonial Parkway Murders", "Part 3 | Scores of suspects but no serial killer", "Sensitive FBI photos from Colonial Parkway murders leaked to the public", "FBI takes new approach in hunt for Colonial Parkway killer", "A cold case heats up: The Colonial Parkway murders", "The Colonial Parkway Murders | Dark Minds", "After 30 years, relatives of victims in Parkway Murders hope for break in cases", "Colonial Parkway Murders: Help Find a Killer", "10 Disturbing Facts About The Colonial Parkway Murders", "Authorities have 'potential perpetrator DNA' in Colonial Parkway murders, family says", "Dateline Crime Capsule: The Colonial Parkway Murders", "Former deputy's death leaves Parkway victims' families wondering what he knew", "Sooner or Later Your Cousin's DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder", "Victims, Families and America's Thirst for True-Crime Stories", "Lovers' Lane Murders Sets Out to Solve the Infamous Colonial Parkway Murders", "Why Would Law Enforcement Not Release All Records On A Case Like The Colonial Parkway Murders? The second Annamaria and Daniel were reported missing, the red-flags went up, and the district devolved into a panic. This month marks the 35th anniversary of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowskis murder, the first homicides in what would later be called the Colonial Parkway Murders, which resulted in the deaths of three couples and the disappearance of another. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. On April 10, 1988, two kids from Christopher Newport University both perfect in-synched with the killers victim profile were reported missing after attending a party in Newport News during their first date together. They were both in top physical condition. to the spots logistics and that particular set of prey. The brutal crimes claimed the lives of eight young people, including one couple who've never been found. I feel like for my husband and my sister-in-laws sake well, really the whole family just wants to know what happened to their loved one, Jennifer Phelps, Annamaria Phelps sister-in-law, told Richmond.com. 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. ", "Who Committed The Lovers' Lane Murders? However, Cathy moved on and pursued a thriving career as a stockbroker. According to the special, gays and lesbians were banned from the Navy at the time and she had reportedly been investigated by nine agents. None had been robbed or sexually molested, stumping investigators as to what the possible motive that galvanized the murders might have been. For the families linked by the Colonial Parkway Murders, it means that DNA discovered at the crime scenes could, one day, solve the cases. Oct. 26, 2018. She was fascinated by the circus and had dreams of running off with Ringling Brothers. 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. Tying them all together helps in a way because, if they put a title to it and people want to put together a show, Paula Hailey said. ", EMILIE MORRIS, THE FORMER STUDENT WHO DIED AFTER ACCUSING HER COACH OF ABUSE, BECOMES FOCUS OF TRUE-CRIME DOC. A man named Bill Thomas had reached out on their new Facebook page, What happened to Richard Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey?. 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. Edwards had struggled with her mental health and was prone to running away and some reckless behavior. Dowski was younger and still a student at the College of William and Mary. I think the offender was targeting Cathy, Dr. Laura Pettler, a forensic criminologist, told Lovers Lane Murders. He dealt with the body with a lot more contempt.. Stephen's bedroom crime scene. This question of serial killer or coincidence is explored in Oxygens new limited series. The killer could have been lying in wait specifically for them. When did it happen, and whos the culprit? Building awareness of the Colonial Parkway Murders, in which 8 young people were killed in series of unsolved crimes in and around the. Seven years after the final fatalities, another case reignited the investigation. She was brilliant, beautiful and well-educated, but she was also thoughtful, modest and a deep thinker. Although it is compelling and plausible, there is no evidence that it was law enforcement, said former prosecutor and series co-host Loni Coombs. The linking of the four crimes is circumstantial, and no suspects have ever been publicly identified. A small caveat before we spring forth into the latest horror room, the third couples link to the Parkway Murders is somewhat debatable. Find nearby businesses, restaurants and hotels. The understanding, years later, that his parents had to make three separate phone calls to him and his two brothers; one, in New York at the time, took an entire day to reach. The women were bound with rope and strangled. All of the victims were young, White, and were either a romantic couple or could resemble one to an outsider. The outlet noted that there were no clear signs of robbery or rape for any of these cases. What the investigators uncovered was a horrid tableau of deprivation. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The car had been pushed down an embankment off the Colonial Parkway. Edwards family members, meanwhile, grieved the lost opportunity to know the woman the teenager was becoming. Now, it is up to the victims siblings to carry the torch. [But] we certainly were worried about harassment. Im proud to know them. Knobling had taken Edwards out with his little brother and cousin that day. Victims were in cars and all were young and killed in pairs. "[21], On January 15, 2021, the Oxygen Network announced that a four-part true crime series, Lovers Lane Murders would cover the Colonial Parkway murders. Still, some investigators are on the fence and dont want to definitively classify their disappearance as part of the serial killers cycle. The killer has never been caught.Oct. "I look around now and there are all of these amazing women in the United States and around the world doing incredible things," said Thomas. The pair went on a date, seeing a movie and attending a party, on April 9, 1988. 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. Thomas and her girlfriend Rebecca Dowski were both killed in an incident that many believe was the first killing in the Colonial Parkway Murders. The Parkway is surrounded by woods and has far fewer entries and exits than a typical highway. A more micro look reveals that victims werent all killed in the same way. On October 19, 1989, the skeletonized bodies of Phelps and Lauer were found in a wooded area by hunters along Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. After Lauers, car a gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova, was found abandoned on the I-64 New Kent rest stop, investigators combed the countryside looking for what was no doubt a fresh crime scene. He dropped Edwards off at her home, but later that night she snuck out to meet him. Chilling and eerie similarities connected the four cases, but no one has ever been arrested for the crimes. "She discovered after graduating from the Naval Academy that she was a lesbian. Colonial Parkway is a 23-mile (37 km) scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown.It is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park.Virginia's official state classification for the parkway is State Route 90003. In 1986, a 23-mile scenic road run by the National Park Service in Virginia became indelibly linked with a series of double homicides that came to be called the Colonial Parkway murders. He and Cassandra Hailey vanished while on their first date in 1988. [23] and "Was the Colonial Parkway Killer Pretending to be Law Enforcement? Cathy Thomas would drive up from Virginia Beach to visit her girlfriend, Becky Dowski, at the College of William and Mary on Thursday nights. The keys were still in the ignition, the door was open, and the windshield wipers were going. Now, a team of former FBI special agents led by former FBI Profiler Jim Clemente intends . This unwholesome section is grisly and malignant Youve been warned. Her brother, better known to his friends and family as Keith, had aspirations of becoming a computer programmer and spent his free time toying with his new at-home computer. Thomas had also entered a relationship with Dowski, and the two were known to regularly visit the area where they were murdered. The sightseeing is prime. The violence suggests, Pettler said, that the killer may have been someone who knew Thomas. The remains were too decomposed to reveal the manner of death. On September 5, 1989, their car was found abandoned at an I-64 rest stop strangely, the rest stop was on the opposite route of their way back to Virginia Beach. Gays and lesbians were banned from the Navy at that time, and she had been investigated by nine agents regarding her sexuality, her brother told producers. The burden gets a little easier, but in such a small incremental way that you dont realize it at first, Thomas said. 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. Still, as crime writer David Lohr of the Huffington Post tells us, the stretch has seen its share of bloodshed in the shape of a suspected serial killer. After their parents died, Call-Canada and her brother took up the effort to prod investigators. At first, Thomas said his family suspected Cathy and Dowski were victims of a hate crime. Joyce Call-Canada is the older sister of Keith Call. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Thomas said Cathy was "very upbeat and excited." Weve got amazing investigators working on our case. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! And its still certainly a possibility. "The families are determined to see this through. Nonetheless, to me, this is the work of a serial killer, said OConnell, who views variances among the dual homicides as an eerie sort of shapeshifting. We have forensic genealogy available.". ET on Oxygen. ", NASHVILLE TV PRODUCER VERONICA BOZZAS MURDER EXPLORED IN TRUE CRIME DOC: THE WHOLE THING WAS SENSELESS, The James River as seen from College Creek Beach on the Colonial Parkway. Every couple weeks, he hears from someone new. Finally, there was no evidence of sexual assault pre or post mortem; the pair were fully clothed and sexually intact. Within the past three and a half years, genetic genealogy has been responsible for solving approximately 350 cases. ET. "When Cathy and Becky were killed, we thought it might be a hate crime. While genetic genealogy offers the family members a new prospect, they have never given up hope that their siblings cases will be solved. The Colonial Parkway is a scenic, 23-mile stretch in Virginia that links the historic towns of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Each had been shot in the head. After their parents died, Call-Canada and her brother took up the effort to prod investigators. 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. The cases are now the subject of a new four-part true-crime docu-series on Oxygen titled "Lovers Lane Murders." (Oxygen). Cathy Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Dowski, 21, were strangled and had their throats cut in 1986; David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were shot in 1987; Keith Call, 20, and Cassandra Hailey, 19, disappeared after a college party in 1988 and are still missing; and the remains of Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were found by hunters in 1989. Cassandra Hailey, left, with her sisters Paula Hailey, center, and Teri Hailey, right in December 1986. He told Lovers Lane Murders that there may be links between the first and third murders, which are firmly tied to the Colonial Parkway. Annamarie Phelps, top right, and Daniel Lauer, bottom right, disappeared Sept. 5, 1989. For the the other half, the parents who have died, they will never see justice for their childrens deaths. Were still in the ignition, the third couples link to the Parkway Murders. small caveat before we forth! The killer may have been up, and Teri Hailey, right in inbox... 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