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 . Known as the "Lover's Lane Murders", the brutal killing of 22-year-old Cheryl Henry and 21-year-old Andy Atkinson in August 1990 shocked the Houston, Texas area and is considered one of Houston's most brutal slayings. The victims were. Three days later, the bodies of Knobling and Robin Edwards, 14, washed ashore on the James River at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Dowski, 21, was found in the backseat of the car while Cathy, 27, was stuffed into the hatchback. Julianne and Laura were last seen alive on May 24 in the park. Laurie was not scheduled to be at work on March 9 and her family assumed she was staying with a friend. Investigators have never been able to locate their bodies, but they're presumed dead. Remember, this was over 30 years ago in Virginia, which is a very conservative, military area. But instead, theyd lived through a nightmare and never woken up. It was only three days into 1956 when three boys from Montana, out for a hike on a normal January day, made a gruesome discovery they were unlikely to ever forget. The canvas top of the jeep had been rolled up and pinned back even though it had rained over the weekend. "She had martial arts training from the Naval Academy and she was incredibly athletic. About the Case And a lot of fantastic work has gone into the Colonial Parkway murders. 'People are attracted to spots of strong emotion,' she said. Cathy Thomas, a 27-year-old graduate of the Naval Academy, and Rebecca 'Becky' Dowski, a 21-year-old student at the College of William and Mary, were the first two known victims in the homicides that have been dubbed the Colonial Parkway murders. 'Lovers lanes they are places that killers target. Authorities ruled out robbery as a motive, since both womens purses were located within the vehicle, and no money or jewellery had been taken. "It was such a big case. Had she been killed? The linking of the four crimes is circumstantial, and no suspects have ever been publicly identified. He remained undeterred when Edwards DNA didnt match Kalitzkes rapist, saying the sample had come from a bungling medical examiner. There was no trace of Hailey or Call at the overlook. Both were involved in a lesbian relationship and on May 19, 1996, the two young women went on a camping trip in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. After forensic genealogy was used to finally nab the Golden State Killer the year prior, law enforcement officials were becoming increasingly aware of the potential to use that technology to solve cold cases even decades-old cases like Kalitzke and Bogle's. She added:'The fascination depends on the level of publicity.'. "My first impression was that the only way we're gonna ever solve this is through the use of DNA," Kadner said. Naval Academy graduate and her girlfriend are . Cathy Thomas (left) andRebecca Ann Dowski were dating at the time of their murders. In 2014, retired Great Falls police Detective John Cameron wrote a book claiming Edward Wayne Edwards, a serial killer implicated in several murders similar to Kalitske's and Bogle's, had done the deed. Thomas said that over the years, there have been moments where he was frustrated with the investigation of his sisters murder. She was determined She was also a Russian scholar. Phelps had been dating Lauer's brother at the time they went missing. Ski and Lloyd waited sixty years for justice: a time they could have spent building a whole lifetime together. It was the first of several gruesome murders. Afterwards, they did what many teens at the time would have done. The shocking lovers' lane murders in Virginia's Colonial Parkway have never been solved. The two victims were last seen on September 19, 1987, after the young couple had met at an arcade and Robin had snuck out later that night to meet up with David. There was no evidence of burglary or sexual assault in any of the cases. JONBENET RAMSEY'S HALF BROTHER STILL WANTS TO FIND HER KILLER: 'THIS CASE CAN BE SOLVED' Part 1 and 2 of Oxygen's 'Lovers Lane Murders' airs Thursday night. Cheryl's body was found underneath a fence not too far from Andy's abandoned car. And it pains me to think that 34 years have gone by now. According to the special, gays and lesbians were banned from the Navy at the time and she had reportedly been investigated by nine agents. After the killings, he left the area and was seen living in two other Montana towns before moving to Alton, Mo., in 1967. Our duty is to make sure that we solve these cases, said Sheriff Jesse Slaughter That long, long distance between the lovers lane murders and its resolution didnt matter. Both had Demerol, a narcotic sedative in their systems. In most cases, those profiles can end up linking to distant relatives of the culprit say, a second or third cousin. 7 miles north of the murder scene, at the bottom of a steep embankment, the most merciless and brutal Ive ever seen, Great Falls police Detective John Cameron wrote a book, death certificates, newspaper clippings, and other public records, Theirs is believed to be the oldest case ever solved with forensic genealogy. DOOMSDAY MOM LORI VALLOW IS AN EVIL MONSTER WHO OBSESSED OVER END OF TIMES BEFORE CHILDREN'S DEATHS: DOC. Diesel fuel had been poured over the bodies and their car, but it failed to ignite. ", 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. It features LA County Criminal Prosecutor Loni Coombs and former FBI Special Agent Maureen OConnell whoconductedinterviews with law enforcement and families, as well as tracked down new leads. Go outdoors: TV presenter Gethin Jones reveals the one lesson he's learned from life. Multiple reports alleged Edwards had snuck out to meet Knobling before they were killed. The Case Was Just Solved. A popular 16 year-old junior at Great Falls High School in 1956, shed fallen head-over-heels for a handsome young airman stationed at nearby Malmstrom Air Force Base, and they were already talking marriage. The cases are now the subject of a new four-part true-crime docu-series on Oxygen titled "Lovers Lane Murders." It was the first time that Sergeant Kadner, who is 40 and grew up in small-town Iowa, had heard of Duane Bogle and Patricia Kalitzke, teenage sweethearts who had been fatally shot in January 1956, more than two decades before he was born, presumably after they drove to an area in Great Falls, Mont., known as a lovers lane. Lovers' Lane Murders: With Maureen O'Connell, Jim Clemente, Loni Coombs, Dan Matteucci. "Because it was all theories up to that point we finally had a match and we had a name. Phelps was dating Lauer's brother at the time. (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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. There was just years and years of documentation and numerous suspects that had been looked into, the sergeant said. "She discovered after graduating from the Naval Academy that she was a lesbian. Mr. Gould, who was 29 in 1956, lived just over a mile from Ms. Kalitzkes house and kept horses about 600 yards from the house where she had grown up, Sergeant Kadner said. From the November 1991 issue of Cosmopolitan, see how real-life psychic Annette Martin used her abilities to help a retiring California detective solve a cold case that had haunted him for decades.. Traci Rosenbaum/USA Today Network via Reuters Co. It was the first high-profile case to be cracked with genetic genealogy. They both loved dancing and music, and he was instantly smitten with Patty when they met in December 1955, Sergeant Kadner said. Two Montana Sweethearts Were Fatally Shot in 1956. hide caption. And remember, this was the 1980s. | Crime News, Do not sell or share my personal information. Inside The Unsolved Cases", "Inside the Maddening Search for Virginia's Colonial Parkway Serial Killer", "Murder Accountability Project: Tracking America's unsolved homicides", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colonial_Parkway_murders&oldid=1152289093, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, October 12, 1986 September 5, 1989 (Confirmed), This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 09:39. A year later in September 1989, the outlet reported Annamarie Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, vanishedfrom a rest stop in New Kent County. ET. The Atlanta Lover's Lane Murders were a series of unsolved shooting attacks on three different couples in Atlanta, Georgia from January to March 1977. [28], On July 30, 2019, The Washington Post ran a story on the search for answers in the Colonial Parkway murders and other cases titled Victims, Families and America's Thirst for True-Crime Stories [29], On September 17, 2020, the publication Forensic Genomics published an article by family member Bill Thomas covering the Colonial Parkway murders entitled "The Family Perspective. At first, Thomas said his family suspected Cathy and Dowski were victims of a hate crime. On May 31, their families reported them missing. Cathy had graduated from the U.S. She had everything going for her. Knobling had taken Edwards out with his younger brother and cousin that day. Kalitzke died approximately an hour after Bogle. Their killings went unsolved until this week when investigators announced they had cracked what is believed to be the oldest case solved with DNA and forensic genealogy. On April 10, 1988, Christopher Newport University students Cassandra Lee Hailey, 18, and Richard Keith Call, 20, were reported missing. The comments below have not been moderated. On June 1, their bodies were found at a remote campsite in the park about a quarter-mile from Skyline Drive off the Appalachian Trail. But when the other crimes started taking place, year after year, youre just shocked This person may have a law enforcement background or at least understand how law enforcement works.". Playing tourist! Then he shot her, like her boyfriend, on her knees. Pettinger also worked as a security guard and loss prevention officer for the same security services company where Colonial Parkway victim Robin Edwards' mother, Bonnie Edwards, worked as a receptionist at the time of Robin's murder.[9]. Where was their daughter? Ms. Kalitzke was a junior at Great Falls High School. Theirs is believed to be the oldest case ever solved with forensic genealogy. Hailey left her family's residence in Grafton, Virginia on April 9, 1988, when Call picked her up for their first date and they planned to spend the day together. 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. Traci Rosenbaum/USA Today Network via Reuters Co. But even as he digitized the case, he knew theyd only solve the Kalitzke-Bogle murders with that sliver of DNA. 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", https://the-line-up.com/colonial-parkway-murders, "New details published in Colonial Parkway murders", "Is note a break in Colonial Parkway murders? The ignition switch, radio and headlights on his car were on, and the car was in gear. [26], On December 22, 2018, veteran reporter Mike Holtzclaw wrote an article for the Daily Press marking Colonial Parkway murders whistleblower Fred Atwell's passing titled: "Former Deputy's Death Leaves Parkway Victim's Families Wondering What He Knew. Her father, who died in 2013, had idolized Duane, as a boy, she said. In preview clips for the Lovers' Lane Murders special, forensic criminologistLaura Pettler andformer FBI profiler Jim Clemente are among the team of experts who are tearing apart the cases, looking for clues. Thomas said Cathy was "very upbeat and excited." Six weeks later, hunters found their remains. [4] 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".[5]. Mr. Gould had no known criminal history, and detectives do not know if he had any relationship with Ms. Kalitzke or Mr. Bogle. Call's unoccupied vehicle was discovered abandoned at the York River Overlook on Colonial Parkway in Yorktown, Virginia at 7:00 a.m. on April 10, but it was not reported to authorities until 9:00 a.m. It was at a lover's lane in Benicia, CA in December of 1968 where the still-unknown Zodiac killer apparently murdered his first victims. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The test results said Gould was the guy. EXCLUSIVE: Bill Thomas is adamant that in his lifetime, hell find out the identity of his sisters murderer. Fortunately, Kadner had something to work with. The series was published again by the paper in 2010. 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. In September 2009, it was discovered by CBS News affiliate WTKR that nearly 80 highly graphic crime scene photographs of Colonial Parkway murders victims were used to instruct a class by a retired and now deceased former FBI photographer. Authorities initially believed they had gone swimming and drowned, but an extensive search of the river turned up no sign of them. Over the next half century, detectives investigated about 35 potential suspects, including James (Whitey) Bulger, the notorious South Boston mobster who was convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders. But the results of Kalitzkes vaginal swab had been well-preserved on a microscopic slide. Part 1 and 2 of Oxygen's 'Lovers Lane Murders' airs Thursday night. All of the victims were young, White, and were either a romantic couple or could resemble one to an outsider. Both double murders occurred on National Park property - the historic Colonial Parkway and the Shenandoah - which were connected by Interstate 64. But two years before, in 2012, Detective Sgt. The two-night special premiere of "Lovers Lane Murders" airs Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. On August 21, 1984, the bodies of Michael Sturgis Mike Margaret, 21, a graduate of J.R. Tucker High School, and Donna Lynn Hall, 18, a graduate of Freeman High School, were found in a wooded area approximately 300 yards southwest of the Kings Crossing Apartment Complex in the 10,000 block of Patterson Avenue near Gaskins Road in Richmond, Virginia. At night its dark and isolated,making it an ideal spot for couples to be romantic discreetly. But now, a team of former FBI agents aim to bring the monster to justice. [23], On June 25, 2018, editors at Listverse released a new article, "Ten Disturbing Facts About the Colonial Parkway Murders. The Oxygen documentary 'Lovers' Lane Murders' is set to premiere on Thursday, February 11, 2021, at 9/8c and 10/9c. '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. The team of experts has reenacted the crime scene down to Thomas's wallet being found open and face down on the floorboard of the driver's side. But it definitely reopens old wounds that have had a chance to crust over.. But because a few sheriffs doggedly refused to give up, Ski and Lloyd have finally found the peace that they and their families deserved since that terrible day in 1956. The second night airs Friday at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Their murders remain unsolved today. In 2019, with the help of Bode Technology, a Virginia company that specializes in DNA analysis, another DNA profile was extracted from the sample, which enabled investigators to build a family tree that led them to Mr. Gould, Sergeant Kadner said. Now, a team of former FBI special agents intends to bringing them to justice and providing answers to the victims' families. They were last seen attending a party in the University Square area in Newport News, Virginia at 1:30 a.m. on April 10. On April 10, 1988,Christopher Newport University students Richard CallLess, 20, andCassandra Hailey, 18, vanished after attending a party together in Newport News. Thats when we really started looking at what evidence we had, and if we could potentially do the same thing, Sergeant Kadner said. And it was not for lack of trying: Early on in the case, investigators followed numerous leads, but none of them panned out. Before moving to Missouri in 1967, Gould had lived with his wife and children in the Great Falls area around the time of the murders, according to the Tribune. And Bode Technology gave him a name: Kenneth Gould. Tall, beautiful, blonde Patti Kalitzke, known as Ski, to her friends, had just crew-cut her hair like a character straight from a Dick Tracy comic book. So it wasnt like Cathy and Becky could live their lives in any kind of open fashion. "It felt great because for the first time in 65 years we finally had a direction and a place to take the investigation," Kadner told NPR. Now that the authorities have a suspect, it conclusively allows to us to stop wondering, she said. In the late 1980s, one possible serial killer in Virginia claimed at least eight lives along a certain stretch of road connecting the two historically important cities of Jamestown and Yorktown. Hall and Margaret were a young couple who were murdered in a remote area and had been stabbed to death. 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. The Cascade County Sheriffs Office said it appeared to be the oldest homicide case in the United States to be solved with genetic genealogy. On August 22, 1990, Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson drove to "Lovers Lane" in a wooded area of Houston. "It was difficult," Thomas admitted. Over the years, persons of interest came and went. Plot. Newspaper reports at the time say she was fully clothed, but a vaginal swab was taken, even though there was no sign of sexual assault. All rights reserved. "They're excited, but at the same time, it has brought up a lot of memories," Kadner said. So they DO taste different! Laurie Ann Powell Compton, 18, a Gloucester High School graduate, went missing on Tuesday March 8, 1988, after having an argument with her boyfriend which ended with Laurie getting out of his car. The lovers lane murders just wouldnt be solved. Theyre excited, but at the same time, it has brought up a lot of memories, Kadner said. Why Urban Legends Surround Lovers' Lanes 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. The first two known victims were United States Naval Academy Class of 1981 graduate Cathleen Marian Cathy Thomas, 27, and College of William & Mary senior Rebecca Ann Becky Dowski, 21, majoring in business management and working as a stockbroker at the time of the murder. ", 16 things to know about the brutal 1984 murder of a West End couple, People sharing tips about 1984 murder of young couple in West End woods. The cause of death remains unknown, though forensics suggested that Phelps may have been stabbed. Lovers' Lane was the scene of four brutal double murders between 1986 and 1990. Even though the cause of death could not be determined, there were what appeared to be stab marks on Annamarias bones and to her abdomen, suggesting that she had been stabbed to death. The crimes seemed motiveless. There was only one problem: Gould had died on May 31, 2007. Keith Wolverton, a captain with the Great Falls sheriffs department in the late 1980s and a high school classmate of Kalitzkes, became obsessed with the bullets he was sure were in the cottonwood tree near the location of Bogles car: if he could only find those bullets on lovers lane, perhaps he could trace them to a weapon. WTVR News 6 in Richmond reported that there was additional DNA evidence available for testing in the Colonial Parkway murders. They first bound Bogles hand behind his back with his own belt. Mr. Bulger, who died in 2018, had lived in Great Falls in the 1950s and had been arrested in a rape there in 1951, Sergeant Kadner said. "[27], On April 25, 2019, The New York Times published a story on the use of DNA in the Golden State Killer case, the Colonial Parkway murders and other unsolved homicides titled Sooner or Later, Your Cousin's DNA is Going to Solve a Murder. Jon Kadner, who was assigned the case in 2012 his first cold case, he said during an interview with NPR. Find Lovers' Lane Murders on NBC.com and the NBC App. [8], Brian Craig Pettinger, 25, a heavy equipment operator, was last seen at a Hampton, Virginia dance club on December 4, 1987, at 11:30 p.m. Two months later on February 3, 1988, Pettingers body was found by fishermen floating in a marshy area of the James River in Suffolk, Virginia near the mouth of the Chuckatuck Creek that flows into the James River. Several other additional homicides have also been tentatively linked to the four confirmed cases. Kadner sent the rapists DNA to Bode Technology in 2019. She was raped at least once, though the location of that rape remains unknown. [6], Three days later, a retired dentist who was walking his dog in the woods behind Kings Crossing Apartments located behind Castille Court discovered Mikes Jeep backed into a depression off the trail with the passenger door open, keys in the ignition, and ashtray open. Lovers' Lane Murders A former FBI profiler and former FBI special agents gain access to the family members of victims and track down new leads in an attempt to solve the 30-year old murders of four young couples along Virginia's picturesque Colonial Parkway. Donnas body was found without shoes, no defensive wounds, and clutching pine needles leading investigators to believe that she and Margaret were actually killed where their bodies were found. 'That would give the offender the opportunity to actually get them out of the car, lean them against the car, maybe handcuff them. With the strange real estate heir Robert Durst - who has multiple ties to Houston. They're very, very different in force and intensity to the victim.'. Although there are suspects, the murders remain unsolved. Andy's body was discovered tied to a nearby tree. Author Ron Franscell joins "Mind Over Murder" co-hosts Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley to discuss his new book "Shadowman," which covers a series of 1970's Montana murders solved by the team who were first to develop criminal profiling at the Behavioral Science Unit at FBI Quantico. It s a place where instead of love, the couple met a terrible fate. Two popular kids . Could it help Kadner finally nail the lovers lane killer? '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.
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