Authorities initially believed they had gone swimming and drowned, but an extensive search of the river turned up no sign of them. Camerons book alleged that Edwards had also killed JonBenet Ramsey and Jimmy Hoffa. It worked: DNA testing led investigators to a man named Kenneth Gould. Legal Statement. Fly the flag in style: JO ELVIN's got red, white and blue Coronation style covered. But when you put everything together, theres no doubt in my mind that hes the suspect.. The officer found the black Ford Ranger with both doors open and the drivers window partially rolled down which caused police to believe that the perpetrator had possibly been posing as or was some sort of uniformed officer. Weiss had been shot in the head, while Hajek had been stabbed seven times in her upper torso. His hands had been tied behind his back with his own belt. Both victims had been shot; Robin in the back of the head execution-style, and David twice, once in the head and once in the shoulder like he had been running from the killer. ", JONBENET RAMSEYS 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. Then they sift through death certificates, newspaper clippings, and other public records to construct a family tree which can lead to the killer. "Because it was all theories up to that point we finally had a match and we had a name. He was forced to kneel in the dirt next to his car, then shot, execution-style, in the back of the head. "Lovers' Lane Murders," Oxygen's new two-night special event airing February 11 . Thats when we really started looking at what evidence we had, and if we could potentially do the same thing, Sergeant Kadner said. Now that the authorities have a suspect, it conclusively allows to us to stop wondering, she said. 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. Traci Rosenbaum/USA Today Network via Reuters Co. 'Lovers lanes they are places that killers target. "It was difficult," Thomas admitted. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a red bandana hanging from the rear-view mirror, and another loosely tied around the clutch. Someone had attacked them as they necked in Bogles car on that lovers lane. With the killer finally identified, Kadner was able to reach out to the victims' surviving relatives and deliver the closure that had taken more than 60 years to procure. New clues in grisly Lover's Lane Murders | khou.com From 1986 to 1989, four double homicides occurred either on or near the scenic, seemingly safe road. Lovers Lane Murders - Forensic Tales However, the string of murders that followed their deaths made them wonder whether a serial killer was involved. Cameron's book alleged that Edwards had also killed JonBenet Ramsey and Jimmy Hoffa. They didnt use that expression much back then, but that was the idea. Theyre excited, but at the same time, it has brought up a lot of memories, Kadner said. A new documentary is exploring a string of unsolved double homicides that occurred at a 'lovers' lane' in Virginia more than three decades ago, as experts try to figure out if the murders were the work of a serial killer or just a gruesome coincidence. Phelps was dating Lauer's brother at the time. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, PrettyLittleThing - Offers on women's clothing, Get inspired by the newest styles and offers, Click through for ASOS promo codes this Autumn, Spend less with Missguided's exclusive codes, Treat yourself to offers on make-up and accessories, Check out the latest Wayfair sale to save on furniture. Andy's body was discovered tied to a nearby tree. Long stretches of the road are devoid of streetlamps or road lights and are extremely isolated, making it a popular lovers' lane location frequented by many young adults. On April 10, 1988,Christopher Newport University students Richard CallLess, 20, andCassandra Hailey, 18, vanished after attending a party together in Newport News. His expensive camera had not been taken. Their bodies have never been found, but both are presumed dead. Inside the terrifying mystery of Virginia's 'lovers' lane' murders 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.. 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. The Kalitzke/Bogle case is one of the oldest criminal cases that has been solved using forensic genealogy, and authorities are hopeful that they'll be able to use this ever-advancing technology to solve cold cases dating back even further although new state legislation restricting forensic genealogy could complicate matters. Thomas described the Colonial Parkway as a popular spot to travel along the river. Both women were fully clothed and there was no evidence of sexual assault. 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. An autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, their throats had been slashed so deeply that they were nearly decapitated, and the killer had covered the bodies and vehicle with gasoline, but not actually lit them on fire. The Oxford English Dictionary records use of . The second night airs Friday at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. John M. Butler, an expert on forensic genetics at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said while he was not aware of any group that officially tracks cold cases, Certainly, 1956 is the oldest that I have heard about up to this point.. 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. at 2:00 a.m. on August 18, only hours after they were last seen. Afterwards, the murderer forced her to dress. She was determined She was also a Russian scholar. [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. "I look around now and there are all of these amazing women in the United States and around the world doing incredible things," said Thomas. Theirs is believed to be the oldest case ever solved with forensic genealogy. With the help of partnering labs, forensic genealogists are able to use preserved samples to create a DNA profile of the culprit and then use that profile to search public databases for any potential matches. 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. In that case, the victims were similarly bound and stabbed. And in these 34 years, she would have done amazing things.". 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 Interstate 64 New Kent rest stop where Lauer's car was found. Gould, born and raised in Great Falls, lived there with his wife and children in 1956, a little over a mile from Kalitzke. "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. Had she been killed? In 2010, a note was discovered in a box taken years earlier from Annamaria Phelps's apartment. "[33], On February 9, 2021, Access Hollywood presented a television series about the Colonial Parkway murders. Clippings from the Great Falls Tribune were part of the Cascade County Sheriff's Office investigative file into the 1956 murders of Patricia Kalitzke and Lloyd Duane Bogle. We feellike we could be just as close to start to solve these cases. CNN After 65 years, a grisly double murder case of two teenagers in Great Falls, Montana, was solved with DNA evidence, according to investigators. Dowski, 21, was found in the backseat of the car while Cathy, 27, was stuffed into the hatchback. Kidnapped? Julianne was found in her sleeping bag about forty feet away, down an embankment. Meghan Markle's ex-BFF Jessica Mulroney visits the National Gallery and treats herself to a Who Were The Colonial Parkway Murder Victims? Even without that complication, Singer explained to NPR, the success rate depends heavily on how well the evidence has been preserved over the years. It's unclear what they were doing together. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. Naval Academy graduate and her girlfriend are . 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. On Sunday morning, October 12, 1986, Columbus Day weekend, a pedestrian jogger saw a car down an embankment at the Cheatham Annex Overlook on the Colonial Parkway seven miles east of Williamsburg, Virginia and a mile from the Cheatham Annex Naval Base where it was obscured from the view of the road. 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. They're the 'guilt-free' doughnuts with the same calories as a glass of milk - but are they any good? The vehicle had veered off the beaten path and into thick, dense shrubbery, only a few feet from a 15-foot drop into the York River. On May 31, their families reported them missing. Lovers' Lane Murders will examine both, and it's all kicking off Thursday, Feb. 11 with a two-night special premiere. But two years before, in 2012, Detective Sgt. Foul play is suspected. He said extremely graphic crime scene photos were leaked to the public, fueling the familys anguish. The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the contemporary press, was a series of four unsolved serial murders and related violent crimes committed in and around the Texarkana region of Arkansas and Texas in the late winter and spring of 1946. Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson: Lover's Lane murders still unsolved Three days later, over Columbus Day weekend, their bodies were found bound with rope inside Thomas's white 1980 Honda Civic, which had been pushed down an embankment off of the Colonial Parkwayin Williamsburg. We're essentially going backwards. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, [2] The lesbian couple had been missing since the evening of October 9 after they had been seen leaving a computer lab at William & Mary College. [34], On July 23, 2021, The Daily Beast published an article about the Colonial Parkway murders, primarily focusing on the murder of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, the first known victims of the Colonial Parkway killer.[35]. Authorities immediately linked the double-murder of Knobling and Edwards to the murders of Dowski and Thomas eleven months previously because although their deaths did not occur on the Colonial Parkway, police connected the cases due to the fact that both sets of victims were couples who had been killed at or around lovers' lane areas, and the two locations were only about a thirty minute drive apart. On April 10, 1988, Christopher Newport University students Cassandra Lee Hailey, 18, and Richard Keith Call, 20, were reported missing. Release date. Mentions of the deaths have even found their way into some TripAdvisor reviews. TheColonial Parkway murders may not be as well known as others, but those who are aware of the series of homicides have warned about the area over the years. 10 The First Murders Photo credit: Wild Blue Press The bodies were covered in an electric blanket from Daniels car and were badly decomposed, which made it impossible to determine either the cause of death or whether there had been sexual assault. Their hands were bound, their mouths were gagged, and their throats were slit. The test results said Gould was the guy. A year later in September 1989, the outlet reported Annamarie Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, vanishedfrom a rest stop in New Kent County. Knobling, who worked at his father's landscaping business, was expecting a baby with his longtime girlfriend. that has never been solved and featured in one of . ", "We told her upfront and we express concern that going to the Naval Academy was going to be very tough," he continued. 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. The Cascade County Sheriffs Office said it appeared to be the oldest homicide case in the United States to be solved with genetic genealogy. The series made its debut on February 1112, 2021. This case, like the others, has gone unsolved, but all four double homicides remain active. 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. 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. These areas range from parking lots in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features. Part 1 and 2 of Oxygen's 'Lovers Lane Murders' airs Thursday night. Lovers' Lane Murders Will Try to Solve Colonial Parkway Murders - E! Online "[24], On July 23, 2018. 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. Investigating the terrible murders along lovers' lanes like this one in the beautiful Tuscan countryside, police uncovered a subculture that many Florentines found disturbing: these hills were. The women were bound with rope and strangled. Thomas said Cathy was "very upbeat and excited." 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. The outlet noted that there were no clear signs of robbery or rape for any of these cases. Kalitzke died approximately an hour after Bogle. [citation needed] The show mentioned that this disappearance may be part of the Colonial Parkway murders. The crimes seemed motiveless. 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. While Phelps was stabbed, Lauers body was too decomposed to determinea manner of death. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed: the keys were on the driver's seat, and a watch and eyeglasses were on the dashboard. Multiple reports alleged Edwards had snuck out to meet Knobling before they were killed. Her father established a reward fund for any tips that would lead to his daughters killer, and contributions quickly mounted to more than five hundred dollars. "If there's new technology and we are able to potentially solve something, we want to keep working at it, because ultimately we're trying to do it for the family," he said. Ms. Kalitzke was a junior at Great Falls High School. 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. Kalitzkes parents had their answer: their daughter hadnt eloped. (Oxygen). They both loved dancing and music, and he was instantly smitten with Patty when they met in December 1955, Sergeant Kadner said. She had been shot in the head and had injuries that were consistent with a struggle or a sexual assault, Sergeant Kadner said. 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 The double homicides took play over a four-year. He never returned to Montana, even to visit his family, Sergeant Kadner said. A woman's shoes and handbag were on the floorboard. Police found dirt and grass stains on the vehicles underside, suggesting the car recently drove through the woods. ', The wound to Becky's neck is nowhere near the degree that the wound to Cathy's neck is. Newspaper clippings from the investigative file into the 1956 murders of Duane Bogle, 18, and Patricia Kalitzke, 16, in Great Falls, Mont. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The killer drove his victims vehicles away from the murder sites. hide caption. [3] There were 150 partial latent prints found on and in the car, in addition to full prints but they matched to no one in the records, however. Her body was found nude, no bindings, and with multiple stab wounds to her back. 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. [citation needed], In January 2010, a team from FBI Norfolk and FBI Headquarters met with the victims' families to update them on the status of the investigation. Still, he cant help but wonder what might have been. She was last seen by him at 23:30 p.m. walking on the dark and deserted Route 614 towards Route 17 in the White Marsh area in Portsmouth, Virginia in Gloucester County. On October 19, 1989, the skeletonised bodies of Phelps and Lauer were found in a wooded area by hunters along Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. Now Peter's sons learned that key pieces of evidence have gone. When Detective Sgt. Lauer's gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova was found abandonedat the I-64 New Kent rest stop in New Kent County. 11 unsolved murder cases with ties to the Houston area - Chron Genealogy may have solved 1996 case. A few hours later, police located both their abandoned car and their bodies, brutalized and discarded near the local lovers' lane. Compton worked for the same security company where Pettinger and Edwards' mother worked at the time of her murder. 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. Documentary 2021 Newspaper headlines described the teenagers as lovers lane slaying victims and recalled a wide search for a brutal killer..