Who was the Colonial Parkway Killer?

Virginia’s Colonial Parkway killers from 1986 to 1989.
4 couples killed in their cars while parked in Williamsburg/Newport News area.

Never solved.

The Colonial Parkway Killer was an apparent serial killer believed to have murdered at least eight people along the Colonial Parkway of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia (or nearby) between 1986 and 1989. During that time, three couples were murdered and one couple is missing and presumed to be dead.

Victims

First couple

The first two known victims were Cathleen Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Ann Dowski, 21. On October 12, 1986, their bodies were found inside Thomas' Honda Civic. An autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, and their throats had been slashed. Their purses and money were found inside the car. It appears that Thomas may have struggled with her attacker. A clump of the suspect's hair was later captured by her fingers. Both women were fully clothed and there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Second couple

On September 22, 1987, David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were found murdered in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge, on the south shore of the James River in Isle of Wight County, near Smithfield, Virginia. Knobling's truck was found at the refuge three days before the bodies were discovered by his father.

Third couple

On April 9, 1988, Cassandra Lee Hailey and Richard Keith Call were reported missing after attending a party in the University Square area in Newport News during their first date together. Call's vehicle was found, unoccupied, on the Colonial Parkway the next day. Neither body has been found, but both are presumed dead.

Fourth couple

On October 19, 1989, the bodies of Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were found in New Kent County by hunters in the woods near a rest area on Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. They had been missing since September 5 when they vanished on route to Virginia Beach. 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 I-64 New Kent rest stop.

More can be red here.