There is a pattern that OConnell said she cannot ignore.. I see the killer evolving, she said, not just in his methods but in his motives.. A double homicide is a rare occurrence in and of itself, so four happening so close together has naturally caused many to wonder if a serial killer is behind this series or murders. Sandy was unique. "I hope people will understand that the loss that weve suffered has not prevented us as families from continuing to focus on seeing some degree of justice done," Thomas, who serves as one of the shows producers, told Fox News. Karl Knoblings theory behind the murder of his son David and Robin Edwards in 1987 doesnt have sinister overtones -- and its all the more chilling because of that. A typically tranquil area, no one expected the Parkway to be the setting for a gruesome string of murders. From 1986 to 1989, four double homicides occurred on or near the Colonial Parkway. 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. (Oxygen). Three days later, Robin Edwards and Knoblings bodies were discovered in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge in Isle of Wight County, shot to death. There is this allure of serial killers, said, Steve Spingola, former homicide detective and author of. Knoblings father and the local constabulary spearheaded the manhunt. The car had been pushed down an embankment off the Colonial Parkway. ", "We told her upfront and we express concern that going to the Naval Academy was going to be very tough," he continued. 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. On September 20, 1987, David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were shot to death in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge, on the south shore of the James River in Isle of Wight County, near Smithfield, Virginia. Remember, this was over 30 years ago in Virginia, which is a very conservative, military area. On October 12, 1986, Columbus Day weekend, their bodies were found inside Thomas's white 1980 Honda Civic at the Cheatham Annex Overlook along the Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg, Virginia. According to Moore, this new advancement has led to hundreds of arrests across the country. This car, along with their mangled bodies, found at the Cheatham Annex Overlook in Williamsburg, Virginia, had been doused in diesel fuel. At least one of the badly decomposed bodies appears to have suffered knife wounds. The realization that his sister, Cathleen Thomas, was murdered on a scenic Virginia roadway. It was the first of several gruesome murders. There is this allure of serial killers, said Steve Spingola, former homicide detective and author of Predators on the Parkway, who has spent more than 20 years looking into the murders. Step by step directions for your drive or walk. However, Cathy was unafraid to try things that no one else had done before. Every couple weeks, he hears from someone new. WTVR News 6 in Richmond reported that there was additional DNA evidence available for testing in the Colonial Parkway murders. "He was always washing it, his sister, Joyce Call-Canada, told The Virginian Pilot. However, Thomas claimed new tips come in "every week or two," giving hope that these cold cases can be solved today. A year later in September 1989, the outlet reported Annamarie Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, vanishedfrom a rest stop in New Kent County. IE 11 is not supported. There was nobody she wasnt going to be a friend too [] She was very generous with everything, Joanne Hailey, her mother, told Lovers Lane Murders.. | by Quinn Zane | Unburied | Medium Write Sign up Sign In 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. Their bodies have never been found, but both are presumed dead. Victims were in cars and all were young and killed in pairs. Shes remained in Gloucester most of her life, just in case. The two-night special premiere of "Lovers Lane Murders" airs Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. GARY HEIDNIKS ATTORNEY TALKS INSANE HOUSE OF HORRORS KILLER IN DOC: THERE WAS A METHOD TO HIS MADNESS', Cathy Thomas (left) andRebecca Ann Dowski were dating at the time of their murders. Cassandra Lee Hailey, 18, and Richard Keith Call, 20, dropped off the face of the Earth on that Spring evening. Her son was only a year old when Robin died. She had everything going for her. 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. The killer tried unsuccessfully to set it on fire. Lauer and Phelps might have been a settlement of scores and was carried out by a professional, while Knobling and Edward were murdered following a robbery. With portions built between 1930 and 1957, it links the three communities via a roadway . This was the first time Thomas had spoken to any of the other victims family members, since his sisters death 20 years prior, but it would not be the last. And remember, this was the 1980s. Sept. 20, 1987: David Knoblings truck was found abandoned in a parking lot with the door open, the radio on and his wallet on the dashboard. [10], In October 2016, there was extensive coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Colonial Parkway murders, including an eight-part multimedia presentation by the Daily Press newspaper. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. [29] While the Virginia State Police claim the information in this note was previously examined, one of the state police investigators working during the 1989 PhelpsLauer murders told a television reporter from WAVY-TV that he was "unaware of the existence of the note". The murders associated with the series span from the area around the Colonial Parkway around Williamsburg, to New Kent . Survivor. The young woman had graduated from the U.S. After their parents died, Call-Canada and her brother took up the effort to prod investigators. There is a possibility that the murders happened at the hand of a moral enforcer who viewed homosexuality, public sex, or a 20-year-old man with a teenaged girl as punishable acts, according to Clemente. The FBI is investigating the slayings of Thomas, Dowski, Call, and Hailey, as they were found dead or went missing on federal property. It was known, not only by the homosexual community, but by the haters of the homosexual community, he said. Paula is now Paula Meehan and Teri is now Teri Barzditis. April 10, 1988: Keith Call, 20, and Cassandra Hailey, 18, went missing after a college party. David's injuries. Still, he cant help but wonder what might have been. 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. Cathleen Thomas was just starting a new chapter after leaving the U.S. Navy, when her life was cut short. Call's red 1982 Toyota Celica was found, unoccupied, at the York River Overlook on the Colonial Parkway the next day with some articles of clothing inside. The bodies of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski were found near this location in October of 1986. "When Cathy and Becky were killed, we thought it might be a hate crime. Actor Steve Altes portrayed the killer. Their purses and money were found inside the car. 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. According to Moore, there may be reasons why the DNA has not been tested yet, such as the sample size of the DNA could be too small or too severely degraded to undergo genetic genealogy analysis. Thomas said the families were devastated by the sudden, brutal deaths. Dowski was younger and still a student at the College of William and Mary. Daniel Plott, retired Virginia State Police, concurred. Easily add multiple stops, see live traffic and road conditions. 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. The Colonial Parkway Murders. Though two slayings took place on the actual parkway and two were in nearby areas, all four are tied together by the name, the Colonial Parkway Murders. Fred was considered something of a hero when he uncovered a slew of photographs leaked from the FBIs office in Norfolk. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Or could it be that four separate criminals were executing young people in the area? The FBI, working in unison with the regions law enforcement, had a victim criteria in their arsenal. 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. In 2010, a note was discovered in a box taken years earlier from Annamaria Phelps's apartment. 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. They all died at night. "So people knew you could go there and basically be left alone, especially at night. At the time of her death, Cathy was dating Dowski, a student at the College of William and Mary. Cassandra Hailey, left, with her sisters Paula Hailey, center, and Teri Hailey, right in December 1986. ", "Who Committed The Lovers' Lane Murders? While genetic genealogy offers the family members a new prospect, they have never given up hope that their siblings cases will be solved. That kind of opens up the window for somebody else to come along and pick on them., Theory: A Moral Enforcer Became A Deadly Predator, Theory: Victims Were In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time, To learn more about the case, watch Lovers Lane Murders". Hailey, 19, and Call, 20, were both students at Christopher Newport University. The four episodes were to feature former FBI profiler Jim Clemente, as well as investigators including former FBI Agent Maureen O'Connell and former prosecutor Loni Coombs, together with crime scene reconstruction expert Dr. Laura Pettler. Within the past three and a half years, genetic genealogy has been responsible for solving approximately 350 cases. And. The investigations into all eight murders are ongoing and active, the Virginian Pilot reported. 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. All of the victims were young, White, and were either a romantic couple or could resemble one to. Thomas, who was in Los Angeles at the time, had seen a story on WTKR detailing how sensitive photos in the Colonial Parkway murders were leaked to the public. 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. Now he has three children of his own. Virginia's beautiful Colonial Parkway has a dark history of unsolved murders and disappearances. Though both are presumed dead, their bodies have never been found. Psychic Pam Coronado felt that the killings were all related but that the locations of the cars were not where the actual violence occurred. However, on their way back to Virginia Beach to start a new chapter in their lives, they vanished. Lovers Lane Murders, a new four-part Oxygen series, uses fresh interviews with criminologists and victims family members as well as crime-scene reconstructions and analysis to puzzle out the still-unsolved Colonial Parkway murders. (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. In the 1980s, the Colonial Parkway was known as a gay lovers lane, according to Spingola. All the victims were from different backgrounds and demographics, making a profile an incredibly difficult task. They had been strangled with their throats cut. This year she would have turned 48. Cathy Thomas (left) andRebecca Ann Dowski were dating at the time of their murders. This murder series is the single greatest unsolved murder series in the history of Virginia and it needs attention, Thomas said. The evidence of the crime was kept intact by a fluke of fate when the diesel failed to ignite. PETER NYGARD ACCUSER EXPLAINS WHY SHE'S SPEAKING OUT IN NEW SHOCKING DOC: 'I HAVE NEVER BEEN QUIET ABOUT THIS', Bill Thomas, a producer on Oxygen's 'Lovers' Lane Murders' is seen here with a portrait of his sister Cathy Thomas. The Colonial Parkway is a 23 mile (37km) scenic landscape/thoroughfare that links Virginias Historic Triangle. Directions and Map (904) 525-8080. In 2007, the disappearance and presumed murder of Cassandra Hailey and Keith Call was featured in the Investigation Discovery program Sensing Murder, whereby investigators brought in psychics Pam Coronado and Laurie Campbell to gain new insights into the crimes. 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. "Some longtime law enforcement people have said to me that it was like the wild West out there at night because it was only patrolled every few hours," said Thomas. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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. Four cases link families, scenic parkway; Dateline NBC Crime Capsule "The Killer Could Still be out There": 30 years later, still no answers in the Colonial Parkway Murders; Investigation Discovery Crimefeed; Family: New DNA testing could crack Colonial Parkway Murders; Virginia Pilot - 3 part series Part 1 - Agent stalks dark path of . Three pairs were definitively murdered, but another couple went missing but were suspected to have been targeted by the same killer. Their bodies were uncovered after an exhaustive three-day search party. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Annamarie Phelps, top right, and Daniel Lauer, bottom right, disappeared Sept. 5, 1989. So, who were the Colonial Parkway murder victims? He dropped Edwards off at her home, but later that night she snuck out to meet him. 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 (or nearby) between 1986 and 1989. The double homicides took play over a four-year span . Steve Spingola, former Milwaukee homicide detective, investigated the murders on behalf of the families. You saw Dr. Pettler in the four part true crime TV series, "Lovers Lane You cant exactly finger a suspect and develop a viable culprit on car displacement and fascination with couples. Several clothing items were found in the vehicle, as were the car keys. 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