– Suspect identified in double murder at national park campsite
– Suspect in women’s 1996 double murder at national park campsite.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
(RICHMOND, Va.) — After nearly three decades, a convicted serial rapist has been identified as the suspect in the 1996 double murder of two women in a Virginia national park, federal authorities said.
However, the suspect in question will not face charges as he passed away in prison six years ago, according to authorities.
The tragic incident occurred on May 24, 1996, when Laura “Lollie” Winans, 26, and Julianne “Julie” Williams, 24, were brutally sexually assaulted and killed at their Shenandoah National Park campsite, revealed Christopher Kavanaugh, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, during a press conference held on Thursday.
Winans and Williams had connected through an organization that offered outdoor adventure and educational programs for women, Kavanaugh disclosed.
The pair entered the park on May 19 and were last seen alive on the evening of May 24, according to Kavanaugh.
Concerned relatives contacted the National Park Service when the women did not return home, and their bodies were discovered a week later, as per the FBI.
Unfortunately, the case remained unsolved for many years until 2021 when a new FBI team was assigned to investigate the matter. This team identified crucial evidence that could be retested, stated FBI Richmond special agent in charge Stanley Meador.
Recent DNA analysis conducted on several pieces of evidence led to a match in the national law enforcement DNA database known as CODIS. The DNA profile was confirmed to belong to Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr., a convicted serial rapist and frequent visitor to Shenandoah National Park, as announced by the FBI.
“Despite the DNA match, we took additional measures by comparing evidence from the murders of Lollie and Julie directly with a buccal swab containing Jackson’s DNA,” Meador remarked. “The results definitively confirmed his involvement in this heinous crime, bringing closure to the victims’ families.”
Records show that Jackson had a significant criminal history, including charges of kidnapping, rape, and assault.
Just days after the tragic events in Shenandoah National Park, Jackson kidnapped and raped a woman at knifepoint in Ohio on June 5, 1996, as disclosed by Kavanaugh. A month later, he committed a similar crime against another woman in Ohio.
Jackson was last incarcerated in 2011 and died in an Ohio prison in March 2018, according to the FBI.
Kavanaugh also highlighted that 22 years ago, a federal grand jury had indicted another individual for the murders of Winans and Williams. However, the case was not built on forensic evidence.
During the trial preparations in 2003, prosecutors moved to postpone the case after government experts determined that the DNA at the crime scene did not match the defendant. Subsequently, the case was dismissed.
Through the retesting of the crime scene evidence and the development of the DNA profile uploaded to CODIS, Jackson was identified as the perpetrator, explained Kavanaugh.
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– Suspect identified in 1996 double murder at national park campsite
– FBI investigates suspect in 1996 double murder at national park campsite.
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