Colonial Parkway Killer
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Colonial Parkway Killer is a label assigned to an apparent serial killer believed to have murdered at least eight people along Virginia's Colonial Parkway or nearby between 1986 and 1989. During that time period, four separate couples were either murdered, or in the case of one pair, are missing and presumed to be dead.
The first two known victims were Cathleen Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Ann Dowski, 21. A lesbian couple, the two liked to park on the Colonial Parkway for privacy. On October 12, 1986, their bodies were found inside their car, which had been pushed down an embankment on the parkway near an area of the parkway that was popular with gay couples. Autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, and their throats had been slashed. Their purses and money were found inside the car, and there were no signs of a struggle. Both women were found fully clothed and there was no evidence of sexual assault. As an aside, Thomas was one of 100 women in the United States Naval Academy class of 1981, which was the second graduating class that was coeducational at federal service academies.
In September, 1987, David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were found murdered in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge, on the south shore of the James River in Isle of Wight County, near Smithfield, Virginia. Knobling's truck was found parked at the Refuge several days prior to discovery of the bodies.
On April 9, 1988, Cassandra Lee Hailey and Richard K. Call were reported missing after going on a first date together. Call's vehicle was found, unoccupied, parked on the Colonial Parkway the following day. Neither body has ever been found, but both are presumed to be dead.
In October, 1989, the bodies of Annamarie Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were found in New Kent County by a hunter in the woods near a rest area on Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. They had been missing since the previous month.
In 1996, the unsolved case of the Colonial Parkway Killer was presented on national television on the program "Real Stories of the Highway Patrol", a TV series which aired from 1993-1999. Actor Steve Altes portrayed the serial killer.
As of November, 2005, the person believed responsible for these murders has not yet been identified. Activities surrounding the murders have led investigators to speculate that the suspect may be a law enforcement officer, someone impersonating one, or perhaps a rogue operative from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which reportedly has a major training facility nearby at Camp Peary in York County.
