The Colonial Parkway Murders

The Colonial Parkway Murders were committed by an apparent serial killer believed to have murdered at least eight people along the Colonial Parkway of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia (or nearby) between 1986 and 1989. During that time, three couples were murdered and one couple is missing and presumed to be dead. The killer has not been identified, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Victims

First couple

The first two known victims were United States Naval Academy Class of 1981 graduate Cathleen Thomas, 27, and College of William & Mary senior Rebecca Ann Dowski, 21. On October 12, 1986, Columbus Day weekend, their bodies were found inside Thomas' white 1980 Honda Civic at the Cheatham Annex Overlook along the Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg, Virginia.  An autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, their throats had been slashed, and diesel fuel was poured over the bodies and the car but the car failed to ignite. Their purses and money were found inside the car. It appears that Thomas may have struggled with her attacker as a clump of hair was later found between her fingers. Both women were fully clothed and there was no evidence of robbery or sexual assault. It was considered a murder.

Second couple

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. Knobling's black Ford Ranger pickup truck was found at the refuge parking area next to the James River Bridge with the wipers and radio on and some articles of clothing inside. Three days later, the two bodies were discovered by Knobling's father and a search party along the water's edge of the James River.

Third couple

On April 10, 1988, Christopher Newport University students Cassandra Lee Hailey, 18, and Richard Keith Call, 20, were reported missing after attending a party in the University Square area in Newport News during their first date together. 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. Their bodies have never been found but both are presumed dead.

Fourth couple

On September 5, 1989, just after Labor Day weekend, Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, vanished while en route to Virginia Beach. Phelps had been dating Lauer's brother at the time they went missing. Lauer's car, a gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova, was soon found abandoned on the I-64 New Kent rest stop in New Kent County and it was discovered to have been heading in the wrong direction, away from their intended Virginia Beach destination. 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. The hunters discovered the bodies on a logging road about a quarter-of-a-mile from Courthouse Road, a location about a mile from the I-64 New Kent rest stop where Lauer's car was found. At least one of the badly decomposed bodies appears to have suffered knife wounds.

Media coverage

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 1993-1999. Actor Steve Altes portrayed the killer.

In 2007, the disappearance and presumed murder of Cassandra Hailey and Keith Call were 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 show mentioned that this disappearance may be part of the Colonial Parkway Murders. Psychic Pam Coronado felt that the killings were all related but that the location of the cars was not where the actual violence occurred.

In 2008, E! Entertainment Television presented a full-length documentary, THS Investigates Serial Killers on the Loose, which features a segment on the Colonial Parkway Murders.

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.

In October/November 2015, the Colonial Parkway Murders were featured in a three-part podcast series produced by student journalists at College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

in February to May, 2016, the Unsolved Podcast in Baltimore, MD did a four-part podcast series, each episode focused on one of the double homicides in the Colonial Parkway Murders.

In October 2016, there was extensive coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Colonial Parkway Murders, including an 8 part multimedia presentation by the Daily Press newspaper.

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.   Former WTKR investigative reporter Mike Mather found that much of the evidence stowed for over two decades, had yet to be tested for DNA and other trace evidence.

In 2010, a team from FBI Norfolk and FBI Headquarters met with the victims' families.

Spingola profile

In June 2010, the victims' families requested the assistance of a retired Milwaukee Police Department homicide detective Steve Spingola.  In 2010, Spingola published Predators on the Parkway, a 29-page magazine article that detailed his findings.

Spingola proposed that the murders are the work of different killers, especially the slayings of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski. Spingola believes the Thomas-Dowski crimes are directly linked to the deaths of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams who were found with their throats slashed in the Shenandoah National Park, 180 miles west of the Colonial Parkway, in 1996.

2010 note

In 2010, a note was discovered in a box taken years earlier from Annamaria Phelps' apartment. The note, which was undated and purportedly written by Phelps, indicated that she was to meet someone in a blue van at a rest stop.  While the Virginia State Police claim the information in this note was previously examined, one of the state police investigators working during the 1989 Phelps-Lauer murders told a television reporter from WAVY-TV that he was "unaware of the existence of the note."