Nearly three decades after a Unity College student and her girlfriend were discovered with their throats slashed in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, federal authorities announced Thursday that they had identified a now-deceased serial rapist from Ohio as the perpetrator.
The bodies of Julianne “Julie” Williams, 24, and her lover, Laura “Lollie” Winans, 26, were discovered bound and gagged at their park campground in 1996. The killings sparked anxiety in the LGBTQ+ community, however, the FBI stated at a news conference Thursday that there is no evidence that the ladies were targeted because of their sexual orientation. Winans, who was originally from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, was studying outdoor recreation at Unity College and was scheduled to graduate in December. Williams, from St. Cloud, Minnesota, attended Carleton College in Minnesota. The pair met while interning at an outdoor program in Minnesota.
According to Stanley Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the Richmond FBI office, a new investigative team will look into the long-unsolved homicides beginning in 2021. A private lab recently extracted DNA from multiple pieces of evidence found at the crime scene and forwarded the genetic profile to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, a database utilized by law enforcement authorities to link DNA to a suspect.
They found a positive match with Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr., a convicted rapist originally from Cleveland, Ohio. Meador stated that the FBI obtained DNA from the original swab taken from Jackson when he was accused with another rape in Ohio, which confirmed the match. He stated that new DNA testing revealed that there is only a one in 2.6 trillion chance that the DNA collected at the crime scene was not from Jackson.
This week, FBI investigators were able to inform the families of the two women they believe committed the murders, according to Meador.
“They’ve been seeking answers far too long.” Meador explained. Jackson, a house painter, died in prison in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 2018. He was 70. He has served at least four prison terms after being convicted of kidnapping, rape, and violence.
The latest retesting of crime scene evidence revealed that both Williams and Winans were sexually assaulted, according to Christopher Kavanaugh, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. According to Kavanaugh, officials investigated whether the rapes and killings were hate crimes. However, he stated that they discovered no proof that Jackson was aware of their sexual orientation or targeted them because of it.
“Make no mistake, this crime was brutal, this crime was definitely hateful, nevertheless we do not have any evidence” that the crime was motivated by anti-gay hatred, Kavanaugh stated.
Authorities were evasive when asked if the same DNA tests might have been performed years ago and identified the perpetrator earlier.
In 2001, officials arrested another man in connection with the killings. A computer coder from Maryland named Darrell David Rice was charged with capital murder. Police say he chose Williams and Winans because he hates women and gay people.
Rice pleaded guilty in 1998 to attempting to abduct a female bicyclist in Shenandoah National Park. He was serving an 11-year prison sentence when he was accused of killing Williams and Winans. The accusations were later withdrawn after forensic testing revealed that hairs discovered at the crime scene ruled him out as a suspect as per fox23maine.
Williams, from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Winans, who grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, were both seasoned hikers with a strong interest in environmental matters, according to Kavanaugh. They were trekking with Taj, a golden retriever, when park rangers last saw them on May 24, 1996. Their remains were found on June 1, 1996, at a campground near Skyline Resort.
Meador stated that the FBI is still working with other law enforcement organizations to discover whether Jackson is responsible for any further unsolved crimes.