The cold-case murders of two women, who were killed in a national park three decades ago, have finally been solved.
Julie Williams, 24, and Lollie Winans, 26, who were in a romantic relationship, were last seen on a hiking trip in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia on May 19, 1996.
They were supposed to return to their summer jobs in Vermont on May 28 but failed to show, and were reported missing by Williams’ father on May 31.
Their bodies were found at a campsite the following day near the Skyland Resort, a hotel located in the national park, with their throats slashed.
In 2002, federal authorities filed capital murder charges against Darrell D Rice, a computer programmer from Maryland, in the case. Officials believed that the motive behind the killings may have been anti-gay and anti-woman rage. Surveillance also showed Rice, who had a history of violence against women, going into the park close to when the women were murdered.
But prosecutors dropped the charges against Rice in 2004, after DNA evidence from the scene ruled him out.
In 2021, a FBI investigative team conducted a review of the case. Investigators identified evidence from the crime scene to retest, and submitted it to an accredited private lab. The lab subsequently pulled DNA from several items, and a profile was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System.
A match came back for Walter Leo Jackson Sr, the FBI said Thursday in a news release.
“Even though we had this DNA match, we took additional steps and compared evidence from Lollie and Julie’s murders directly to a buccal swab containing Jackson’s DNA. Those results confirmed we had the right man and finally could tell the victim’s families we know who is responsible for this heinous crime,” said Stanley M. Meador, the agent in charge of the investigation.
Jackson Sr died in prison in 2018 at the age of 70. He was serving time for rapes, assaults and kidnappings, and had a long criminal history.
The murderer, from Cuyahoga County, Ohio, was known to be an avid hiker who frequently visited Shenandoah National Park. The FBI said he had been known to alter vehicle license plates and use temporary tags.
Williams’ father, Tom Williams, told NBC4 that FBI officials flew to his home in Minnesota to tell him that his daughter’s killer had been identified. It’s “immaterial” that Jackson Sr is dead, he said.
“Knowing that it’s truly the right person involved in the killings and other assaults, that he’s the right person, is good. It would not serve me or anybody having to sit through [a trial], legally saying ‘This is the person’ and putting him away,” Williams said.
Law enforcement offered words of condolence to the families following the findings.
“After 28 years, we are now able to say who committed the brutal murders of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams in Shenandoah National Park,” US Attorney Christopher Kavannaugh said.
“I want to again extend my condolences to the Winans and Williams families and hope today’s announcement provides some small measure of solace.”
