lovers' lane murders solved
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. (Photo by Scott Neville/ For The Washington Post via Getty Images). They didnt use that expression much back then, but that was the idea. The Colonial Parkway is a 22-mile long thoroughfare that cuts through the Colonial National Historical Park and connects Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. It was their first date. [28], On July 30, 2019, The Washington Post ran a story on the search for answers in the Colonial Parkway murders and other cases titled Victims, Families and America's Thirst for True-Crime Stories [29], On September 17, 2020, the publication Forensic Genomics published an article by family member Bill Thomas covering the Colonial Parkway murders entitled "The Family Perspective. During Kalitzke's autopsy in 1956, coroners had taken a vaginal swab, which had been preserved on a microscopic slide in the years since, according to the Great Falls Tribune report. Kadner was able to reach out to Kalitzkes and Bogles surviving relatives to deliver the news. Still, he cant help but wonder what might have been. "Because it was all theories up to that point we finally had a match and we had a name. Newspaper reports at the time say she was fully clothed, but a vaginal swab was taken, even though there was no sign of sexual assault. Its like it just happened yesterday, Ms. McCarthy said. Their bodies were badly decomposed when hunters found them covered in a blanket from Daniel's car. "Yes, this is a tragedy, but hope never dies," he shares. Then they partner with labs and search public DNA databases, usually used to help adoptees or children born via donor sperm or egg to discover biological family members. High school classmates David Faraday and Betty Lou Jenson had stopped on Lake Herman Road, a popular spot for "parking" at the time. at 2:00 a.m. on August 18, only hours after they were last seen. But I knew the key was going to be DNA.. Three days later, the bodies of Knobling and Robin Edwards, 14, washed ashore on the James River at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge. 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. She was determined She was also a Russian scholar. All rights reserved. Kalitzke had definitely been raped, and that rapist had left a DNA sample. He had married another 16-year-old girl in 1952 and eventually had five children. DOOMSDAY MOM LORI VALLOW IS AN EVIL MONSTER WHO OBSESSED OVER END OF TIMES BEFORE CHILDREN'S DEATHS: DOC. | Crime News, Do not sell or share my personal information. One attack caused two fatalities, another resulted in one fatality, and the other attack caused no fatalities. Psychic Pam Coronado felt that the killings were all related but that the locations of the cars were not where the actual violence occurred. They had both been shot several times in the back of the head. Ski and Lloyd waited sixty years for justice: a time they could have spent building a whole lifetime together. When she did not turn up for work on March 10 her stepfather reported her missing. Someone had attacked them as they necked in Bogles car on that lovers lane. In September 1987, a truck belonging to David Knobling, 20, was found abandoned by the James River Bridge. ", EMILIE MORRIS, THE FORMER STUDENT WHO DIED AFTER ACCUSING HER COACH OF ABUSE, BECOMES FOCUS OF TRUE-CRIME DOC. CallLess's wallet and Hailey's purse were found inside the car along with most of their clothing. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. On Tuesday, the Cascade County Sheriffs Office announced that it had cracked the case. How to look regal by the experts the royals rely on:Tinned mackerel for youthful skin, walking through a Want better sleep? Although there are suspects, the murders remain unsolved. The next morning, three boys hiking by Sun River found Bogles body near his car on lovers lane. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Thomas described the Colonial Parkway as a popular spot to travel along the river. "In those first classes at the service academies, they were subject to such levels of hatred and harassment. She was brilliant, beautiful and well-educated, but she was also thoughtful, modest and a deep thinker. [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. Cathys throat was slit so deepthat she was nearly decapitated. (Oxygen), "She had been very sorry to leave the Navy after five years, but she didnt feel that it was welcoming for her as a gay woman," said Thomas. For decades, the Cascade County Sheriff's Office continued to work on it, with multiple detectives attempting to make progress over the years. Rebeccas body was found in the backseat of the car, while Cathys was found stuffed into the hatchback. Police dogs tracked the two students scent to the York River shoreline. Then he shot her, like her boyfriend, on her knees. There was only one problem: Gould had died on May 31, 2007. There was no evidence of burglary or sexual assault in any of the cases. [1] In each incident, a young couple sitting in a vehicle was targeted and both were killed. Police found dirt and grass stains on the vehicles underside, suggesting the car recently drove through the woods. Even without that complication, Singer explained to NPR, the success rate depends heavily on how well the evidence has been preserved over the years. 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 . 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. Weve got amazing investigators working on our case. Legal Statement. ", NASHVILLE TV PRODUCER VERONICA BOZZAS MURDER EXPLORED IN TRUE CRIME DOC: THE WHOLE THING WAS SENSELESS, The James River as seen from College Creek Beach on the Colonial Parkway. But no one was ever charged, and the case went cold. Cathy Thomas (left) andRebecca Ann Dowski were dating at the time of their murders. Phelps was dating Lauer's brother at the time. Published: 17:47 BST, 11 February 2021 | Updated: 19:53 BST, 11 February 2021. The case eventually went cold. In 2008, E! ', Unsolved mystery: A team of experts delve into the Colonial Parkway murders in Virginia in the 1980s in Oxygen's two-night true-crime special Lovers' Lane Murders, Deep dive: Forensic criminologist Laura Pettler explains in a preview clip that her job is to 'take everything we know and we reconstruct the scene', The site: The Colonial Parkway in Virginia - a 23-mile stretch of road known as Lovers' Lane (pictured) - was the site of four double homicides in the 1980s, all of which remain unsolved. The perfect ingredients for a juicy scandal and fascinating investigation are presented in this masterful graphic novel retelling of an unsolved murder from the 1920s. 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. 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. It was the first of several gruesome murders. Dowski, 21, was found in the backseat of the car while Cathy, 27, was stuffed into the hatchback. Thats when we really started looking at what evidence we had, and if we could potentially do the same thing, 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. "They're excited, but at the same time, it has brought up a lot of memories," Kadner said. 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. [18], In 2013, the Colonial Parkway murders were profiled in the Investigation Discovery television series Dark Minds, with host and true crime author M. William Phelps. On the evening of September 14, 1922, Reverend Edward Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills take a stroll in the New Brunswick town park. Cathy has been gone longer than she was with us. After forensic genealogy was used to finally nab the Golden State Killer the year prior, law enforcement officials were becoming increasingly aware of the potential to use that technology to solve cold cases even decades-old cases like Kalitzke and Bogle's. But the resolution, she said, had also reopened pain from that era, particularly for an older generation that knew Mr. Bogle as funny and charming the one that everybody in my family loved. She said her aunt had been in tears all week. Bogles killer didnt bother to steal his valuables or money or even turn off his car, which was found with its ignition engaged, its headlights lit, and its emergency brake on. Still, he hopes that it can be used to help law enforcement improve public safety and "[prevent] tomorrow's victim.". Kenneth Gould, who has been identified as the suspect in the 1956 killings of two teenagers in Great Falls, Mont., died in 2007. It was their first date together, and Hall's first date since he broke up with his girlfriend of nearly four years. But it definitely reopens old wounds that have had a chance to crust over.. The note, which was undated and purportedly written by Phelps, indicated that she was to meet someone in a blue van at a rest stop. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. "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. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a red bandana hanging from the rear-view mirror, and another loosely tied around the clutch. [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]. Some people just have secrets that they never told anybody, the sergeant recalled. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 18 year-old Lloyd Duane Bogle, from Waco, Texas, was a Christmas guest at the Kalitzke home, and had stayed over the new year. Phil Matteson, a now-retired detective with the sheriff's office, sent that sample to a local lab for testing in 2001, and the team there identified sperm that did not belong to Bogle, her boyfriend, the paper reports. But the case still sat cold. At the time of her death, Cathy was dating Dowski, a student at the College of William and Mary. The wallet had contained at least $20 in cash. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed: the keys were on the driver's seat, and a watch and eyeglasses were on the dashboard. We feellike we could be just as close to start to solve these cases. Knobling had taken Edwards out with his younger brother and cousin that day. They had also been shot to death. We have forensic genealogy available.". 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.. Plot. 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. Knobling's black Ford Ranger pickup truck was discovered on Monday September 21, 1987, by a patrolling police officer at the refuge parking area next to the James River Bridge with the wipers, engine and radio still running and some articles of clothing inside near the Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area about two miles upriver from where their bodies would eventually be discovered. Find Lovers' Lane Murders on NBC.com and the NBC App. 'Lovers lanes they are places that killers target. Mentions of the deaths have even found their way into some TripAdvisor reviews. He remained undeterred when Edwards DNA didnt match Kalitzkes rapist, saying the sample had come from a bungling medical examiner. Neither of them has been seen again. Premiering on February 11,Oxygen's two-night true-crime special Lovers' Lane Murdersfocuses on the slaying of eight men and women at the Colonial Parkway, a 23-mile stretch that linksthe historic towns of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. The same gun, a .38 caliber pistol, was used in all three shootings, which suggested that a single perpetrator was responsible for all . They drove west of Great Falls to an area now known as Wadsworth Park, along the Sun River: a notorious lovers lane. While Phelps was stabbed, Lauers body was too decomposed to determinea manner of death. [10][11] Detective Steve Spingola who was asked to investigate the Colonial Parkway murders as a private investigator believed that the murders of Cathy and Rebecca were not related to the other Colonial Parkway murders at all and were, in fact, connected to the double homicide that occurred in Shenandoah National Park in 1996. She had everything going for her. Each had been shot in the head. 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. Mr. Bogles family contended for years with crazy stories about what might have happened, including rumors that he might have been mixed up with the mob, said Caryn Bogle McCarthy, 54, whose father, James Bogle, was Duane Bogles younger brother. I wasnt sure how they were going to react when I come to them saying, Hey your dads a suspect in this case, but they were great to work with, he said. The series made its debut on February 1112, 2021. Phelps' purse was found inside the car, once more ruling out robbery as a motive. When Detective Sgt. According to the synopsis of 'Lovers' Lane Murders', "In the premiere episode, after US Naval Academy graduate Cathy Thomas and her girlfriend Becky Dowski are murdered in a . However, the car was. Not every murder gets solved. Her death certificate stated unknown for date and place of injury. These areas range from parking lots in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. In most cases, those profiles can end up linking to distant relatives of the culprit say, a second or third cousin. ", 16 things to know about the brutal 1984 murder of a West End couple, People sharing tips about 1984 murder of young couple in West End woods. Mike also had defensive wounds and a comparatively lower dosage of Demerol in his system. His expensive camera had not been taken. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. He had no criminal record and was never interviewed in connection with the crime in fact, theres no known connection between him and the couple. They're very, very different in force and intensity to the victim.'. 'My skin was so bad I stopped going out': Expert reveals his 3 top skincare tips as women tell how an Kate and William's tribute to Aberfan: Solemn royals pay their respects in poignant visit 57 years after the Kate the climber! There was just years and years of documentation and numerous suspects that had been looked into, the sergeant said. Kalitzkes parents had their answer: their daughter hadnt eloped. She was wearing a purple pullover, cotton shirt with a white collar, purple and cream coloured pants, and a dungaree jacket. They were last seen attending a party in the University Square area in Newport News, Virginia at 1:30 a.m. on April 10. By the next morning, they had disappeared. They found him on the ground near his car, and someone had used his belt to tie his hands behind his back, according to a report from the Great Falls Tribune. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. 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. ", "Was The Colonial Parkway Killer Pretending To Be Law Enforcement? In 2007, the disappearance and presumed murder of Cassandra Hailey and Keith Call was featured in the Investigation Discovery program Sensing Murder, whereby investigators brought in psychics Pam Coronado and Laurie Campbell to gain new insights into the crimes. Go outdoors: TV presenter Gethin Jones reveals the one lesson he's learned from life. 'As a forensic criminologist, we take everything we know and we reconstruct the scene, each piece of evidence, breaking it apart, analyzing everyone individually, and then reassembling them into the mosaic that is the crime,' Pettler explains. "My first impression was that the only way we're gonna ever solve this is through the use of DNA," Kadner said. But because a few sheriffs doggedly refused to give up, Ski and Lloyd have finally found the peace that they and their families deserved since that terrible day in 1956. Kalitzke died approximately an hour after Bogle. "[33], On February 9, 2021, Access Hollywood presented a television series about the Colonial Parkway murders. Authorities initially believed they had gone swimming and drowned, but an extensive search of the river turned up no sign of them. LA County Criminal Prosecutor Loni Coombs and former FBI Special Agent Maureen OConnell are seen here speaking with Bill Thomas. ', Still missing: Christopher Newport University students Richard CallLess, 20, (L) and Cassandra Hailey, 18, (R) vanished in April 1988 after attending a party together, Last: In September 1989, Daniel Lauer, 21, (L) and Annamaria Phelps, 18, (R) went missing on their way to Virginia Beach, but their bodies weren't found until a month late. EXCLUSIVE: Peter Thurgood and his lover Lindy Benstead were blasted at point-blank range in Rake, West Sussex, in April 1986. The comments below have not been moderated. On the evening of August 22 (or possibly the 23rd), an abandoned car was found on Enclave Round, a secluded road often used as a lover's lane. At the time, she was also thinking about going to grad school and possibly studying international relations. They had their answer on January 4th, when a county road worker found Kalitzkes body 7 miles north of the murder scene, at the bottom of a steep embankment on a lonely Cascade County highway. Moderated by former FBI Special Agent Maureen O'Connell, the panel featured family members and advocates Joyce Call and Bill Thomas along with Blaine Pardoe, coauthor of a book on the case, A Special Kind of Evil: The Colonial Parkway Serial Killings. She added:'The fascination depends on the level of publicity.'. "Lovers' Lane Murders," Oxygen's new two-night special event airing February 11 . Gruesome: Thomas and Dowskihad been strangled and their throats were slashed, though there was no evidence of sexual assault, Crime scene: Pettler questioned if the women knew their killer, noting that Thomas's throat wound was far more severe than Dowski's. It was a bittersweet revelation: They were grateful for answers, but for many of the older people in the family, it was a struggle to have those wounds reopened. heading in the wrong direction, away from their destination, which confused police. It s a place where instead of love, the couple met a terrible fate. In April, Paul Martin, 16, and Betty Jo Booker, 15, were found murdered after a high school dance. Obviously, I cant put the gun in his hand, Sergeant Kadner said. They used gamma-ray technology to locate six bullets and sent them to the FBI for analysis. And remember, this was the 1980s. Laurie Ann Powell Compton, 18, a Gloucester High School graduate, went missing on Tuesday March 8, 1988, after having an argument with her boyfriend which ended with Laurie getting out of his car. The teenagers were last seen at Petes Drive-In restaurant in Great Falls, just after 9 p.m. on Jan. 2, 1956. You had two young, vibrant individuals that were well-liked among their peer group investigators poured their heart and soul into this case, Kadner told one reporter. The outlet noted that there were no clear signs of robbery or rape for any of these cases. The bodies of Julianne Marie Julie Williams, 24, and Laura Salisbury Lollie Winans, 26, were found by Park Rangers at the Shenandoah National Park on June 1, 1996, after Lollies golden retriever dog - Taj - was located wandering near the Whiteoak Canyon Trail and turned over to Rangers. CNN After 65 years, a grisly double murder case of two teenagers in Great Falls, Montana, was solved with DNA evidence, according to investigators. He never returned to Montana, even to visit his family, Sergeant Kadner said. Kalitzkes parents expected them home at a decent hour: she had school in the morning. "So people knew you could go there and basically be left alone, especially at night. "She had martial arts training from the Naval Academy and she was incredibly athletic. But now, a team of former FBI agents aim to bring the monster to justice. She was raped at least once, though the location of that rape remains unknown. [16], In 2010, the Daily Virginian-Pilot ran a photo essay on the case entitled "A Cold Case Heats Up: The Colonial Parkway Murders"[17], In 2011, author Michelle McNamara, author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, on the Golden State Killer, later an HBO series, published a two-part exploration of the Colonial Parkway murders in her True Crime Diary. In 2001, it had been sent to the state crime lab for analysis, but did not lead to any matches in a national criminal database. However, Cathy was unafraid to try things that no one else had done before. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. A lovers' lane is a secluded area where people kiss, make out, or engage in sexual activity. Why Urban Legends Surround Lovers' Lanes In 1986, a 23-mile scenic road run by the National Park Service in Virginia became indelibly linked with a series of double homicides that came to be called the Colonial Parkway murders. However, Cathy moved on and pursued a thriving career as a stockbroker. On April 10, 1988,Christopher Newport University students Richard CallLess, 20, andCassandra Hailey, 18, vanished after attending a party together in Newport News. Keith Wolverton, a captain with the Great Falls sheriffs department in the late 1980s and a high school classmate of Kalitzkes, became obsessed with the bullets he was sure were in the cottonwood tree near the location of Bogles car: if he could only find those bullets on lovers lane, perhaps he could trace them to a weapon. They were headed to Virginia Beach together, but they weren't a couple. Authorities ruled out robbery as a motive, since both womens purses were located within the vehicle, and no money or jewellery had been taken. Because Mr. Gould had been cremated, investigators collected DNA from his children, which linked Mr. Gould to the sperm cell that had been found on Ms. Kalitzkes body, Sergeant Kadner said. (Photo by Scott Neville/ For The Washington Post via Getty Images), Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for February 11, 'Fatal Attraction' behind the scenes secrets from the 1980s thriller, King Charles coronation intimate guest list includes notable snubs, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry 'disloyal' for 'trashing royal family,' need to 'find their own identity': ex pal, Katy Perry says she and fianc Orlando Bloom 'continuously put in the work to keep their relationship strong, Prince William will honor King Charles in his coronation role, Willie Nelson at 90: Texas legend shares a birthday to remember with George Strait, Snoop Dogg, and others. Lovers' Lane Murders will examine both, and it's all kicking off Thursday, Feb. 11 with a two-night special premiere. 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. 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. A year and a half later, Daniel Lauer, 21, and Annamaria Phelps, 18, went missing on September 5, 1989, following Labor Day Weekend. The couple travelled in Call's red 1982 Toyota Celica. "When Cathy and Becky were killed, we thought it might be a hate crime. "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. The first two known victims were United States Naval Academy Class of 1981 graduate Cathleen Marian Cathy Thomas, 27, and College of William & Mary senior Rebecca Ann Becky Dowski, 21, majoring in business management and working as a stockbroker at the time of the murder. The causes of death included strangulation, gunshot, and stabbings. They had also not been sexually molested. Where was their daughter? On August 17, 1984, Mike and Donna told their respective families they planned to go on a camping trip together.
