Colonial Parkway Murders

[LadyBlue]

First couple
The first two known victims were United States Naval Academy Class of 1981 graduate Cathleen Thomas, 27, and College of William & Mary senior Rebecca Ann Dowski, 21. On October 12, 1986, their bodies were found inside Thomas' white 1980 Honda Civic along the Colonial Parkway.[1] An autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, and their throats had been slashed, and diesel fuel was poured over the bodies and the car but apparently failed to ignite. Their purses and money were found inside the car. It appears that Thomas may have struggled with her attacker as a clump of hair was later found between her fingers. Both women were fully clothed and there was no evidence of robbery or sexual assault.

[LadyBlue]

Second couple
On September 22, 1987, David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were found shot to death in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge, on the south shore of the James River in Isle of Wight County, near Smithfield, Virginia. Knobling's black Ford Ranger pickup truck was found at the refuge parking area with the wipers and radio on and some articles of clothing inside. Three days later, the two bodies were discovered by Knobling's father and a search party along the water's edge.

Third couple
On April 9, 1988, Christopher Newport University students 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 red 1982 Toyota Celica was found, unoccupied, on the Colonial Parkway the next day with some articles of clothing inside. 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. Phelps had been dating Lauer's brother at the time they went missing on September 5 when they vanished en 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 where Lauer's gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova had been found heading in the wrong direction, away from their intended Virginia Beach destination. At least one of the badly decomposed bodies appears to have suffered knife wounds.