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in: Virginia, 1996, Murder,
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Julianne Marie Williams and Laura Winans

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Laurie and julie

Julianne Williams (left) and Laura Winans

Real Names: Julianne Marie Williams and Laura Salisbury Winans
Nicknames: Julie (Julianne); Lollie (Laura)
Location: Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Date: May 24, 1996

Case[]

Details: On May 19, 1996, twenty-four-year-old Julianne Williams of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and her twenty-six-year-old girlfriend, Laura Winans, of Unity, Maine, went on a camping trip in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. They took their golden retriever, Taj, with them. They went on the trip so that Julianne could enjoy some free time before she began a new job in Lake Champlain, Vermont. Sadly, she never had the chance to start it.
Julianne and Laura were last seen alive on May 24 in the park. On May 31, their families reported them missing. 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. Laura was found inside the tent. Julianne was found in her sleeping bag on an embankment about forty feet away. Their hands were bound, their mouths were gagged, and their throats were slit. Both were partially undressed, but it appeared that neither had been sexually assaulted. Taj was later found alive near the Whiteoak Canyon Trail.

Darrell rice1

Darrell David Rice

Suspects: Maryland resident Darrell Rice was once the prime suspect in the murders. In July 1997, he was arrested for the attempted abduction of a female bicyclist in Shenandoah National Park. In that case, he ran her off the road while she was on her bike and then tried to drag her into his truck. When he was unsuccessful, he tried to run her over. Fortunately, she was able to escape. He pleaded guilty to the crime and received an eleven-year sentence.
In April 2002, Rice was charged with Julianne and Laura's murders. Investigators claimed that he killed them because he hated women and homosexuals. He made statements to investigators that he "hated gays" and preyed on women "because they are more vulnerable than men". He also stated that Julianne and Laura "deserved to die because they were lesbian whores". He reportedly had poor relationships with female coworkers, often verbally harassing them. He had also allegedly committed numerous physical and verbal assaults against randomly selected women. He was also seen on videotape entering the park on May 25 and 26, 1996; he denied being in the park at those times. Furthermore, a witness saw him there around the time of the murders.
However, investigators failed to connect forensic evidence from the crime scene to Rice. DNA from a hair attached to Laura's bindings did not match him. Other DNA found at the scene also did not match him. In February 2004, the charges against him were dropped due to a lack of evidence. He was later connected to the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds and the attempted abductions attributed to the Route 29 Stalker. In 2005, he pleaded no contest to the attempted abduction of one of the "stalker" victims. However, he was never charged in Alicia's case.
Richard Evonitz is also considered a suspect in the murders. He committed suicide in 2002 as police were about to arrest him for three other murders. It is not known if any evidence connects him to this case.
The FBI also investigated whether Julianne and Laura's murders were related to the 1986 murder of another lesbian couple, Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Ann Dowski, that took place in eastern Virginia. In that case, the victims were similarly bound and slashed. It is also considered by the FBI to be the first of a possible series of murders in that state, the others involving heterosexual couples. It is known as the Colonial Parkway murders.
Extra Notes:

  • This case was not featured on Unsolved Mysteries; however, it has appeared on Haunting Evidence.
  • It is believed that their murders are connected to the death of Alicia Showalter Reynolds, who was featured on the show.
Walter jackson

Walter Leo Jackson Sr.

Results: Solved - In 2021, an FBI investigative team was assigned to review Julianne and Laura's murders. The team sent several pieces of evidence to a private lab. The lab recovered DNA, which was submitted to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The profile was matched to Walter Leo Jackson Sr., a convicted rapist from Cleveland, Ohio. The FBI then compared more DNA taken from evidence to Jackson's DNA. Once again, it was a match.
Jackson had a lengthy criminal history, serving time for several kidnappings, rapes, and assaults. He was an avid hiker and was known to visit Shenandoah National Park. He died in an Ohio prison in March 2018. He was seventy.
On June 20, 2024, the FBI announced that they had identified Jackson as Julianne and Laura's killer. They also asked the public for help in determining if Jackson was involved in other unsolved crimes. At the time of Julianne and Laura's murders, he was driving a 1984 Chestnut Brown AMC Eagle 30. He later drove a 1979 Ford Econoline 250 van. He was known to use temporary tags, alter license plates, and frequently change vehicles.
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