Colonial Parkway Murders: Who were 4 couples slain in the '80s killing spree? The culprit was never caught
'Lover’s Lane Murders' is all set to premiere on the Oxygen Network on Friday, February 11, at 9 pm ET. The four-episode series reveals the tale behind the locally infamous Colonial Parkway murders. The Colonial Parkway is a gorgeous stretch of highway, which cuts through the Colonial National Historical Park in South-East Virginia. Woods surrounds this Parkway and very few people visit this place. No one expected the Parkway to be the setting for a gruesome string of murders.
Around eight people were slain to death by a serial killer between 1986 and 1989. During that time, three couples were murdered and one couple is missing and presumed to be dead. The killer has not been identified.
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Couple 1: Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski
On October 12, 1986, a pedestrian found a car at this location. Bodies of two women were found inside it, they were later identified as Cathleen “Cathy” Thomas, a 27-year-old graduate of the Naval Academy, and Rebecca Ann Dowski, a 21-year-old student at the College of William and Mary. The two bodies were bound with rope and strangled, and the killer had slit their throats so deeply that they were nearly decapitated. Dowski's body was found in the backseat of the car, while Thomas's was found stuffed into the hatchback.
There was no evidence of sexual assault. At that time the police believed that the murders happened elsewhere, and the bodies had been dumped in the car since there was not much blood in the car itself.
Couple 2: David Knobling and Robin Edward
On September 22, 1987, bodies of another young couple were found along the bank of the James River in Virginia. The two bodies were identified as 20-year-old David Knobling and 14-year-old Robin Edwards, who had been missing for three days. They had met at an arcade earlier that day, and Robin had snuck out later that night to meet up with David. Knobling's car was discovered in a parking lot by the James River Bridge. There were two pairs of underwear, shoes, and Knobling's wallet found in the car, which ruled robbery out as a probable motive.
The police reported that these two murders didn't happen on the Colonial Parkway, but they linked the cases, as both sets of victims were couples who had been killed at or around lover’s lane areas, and the two locations were only about a 30-minute drive apart.
Couple 3: Cassandra Hailey and Richard Call
On April 10, 1988, Christopher Newport University students 18-year-old Cassandra Lee Hailey and 20-year-old Richard Keith Call were reported missing after attending a party in the University Square area in Newport during their first date together. Richard's red 1982 Toyota Celica was found, unoccupied, at the York River Overlook on the Colonial Parkway the next day with some articles of clothing inside. Their bodies have never been found but both are presumed dead.
Couple 4: Daniel Lauer and Annamaria Phelps
On September 5, 1989, 18-year-old Annamaria Phelps and 21-year-old Daniel Lauer vanished while en route to Virginia Beach. Lauer's car, a gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova, was found stranded at the I-64 New Kent rest stop in New Kent County and it was found to have been going in the wrong direction, away from their intended Virginia Beach destination.
On October 19, 1989, the skeletonized bodies of the couple were found in a wooded area by hunters along Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. Phelps' purse was found inside the car, once more ruling out robbery as a motive. Their bodies were found on a logging trail 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 car was found.