BREAKING NEWS: 🚨 The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Richmond Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia announced a suspect has been identified in the murders of two women in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, in May 1996.  

Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams were murdered at their campsite near the Skyland Resort on May 24, 1996. Family members called the National Park Service after the women did not return home as planned. Their bodies were found on June 1, 1996, after an extensive search by rangers with the National Park Service. 

Recently, the private lab successfully pulled DNA from several items of evidence and, with assistance from the Virginia State Police, the profile was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). There was a positive match to Walter Leo Jackson Senior (born November 2, 1947). Jackson was a convicted serial rapist, originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area. - FBI.gov

I was lucky to have author Kathryn Miles on the show two years ago. She has written a tremendous new true crime book, Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders.

We have a wide-ranging conversation about law enforcement, the keys to this case, and where things stand now. If you enjoy a well-researched guest, then this is a must-listen.

In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot.

After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite: their tent slashed open, their beloved dog missing, and both women dead in their sleeping bags. The unsolved murders of Winans and Williams continue to haunt all who had encountered them or knew their story. - Workman Publishing

The Strothman Literary Agency represents Kathryn Miles

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Sources:

https://www.kathrynmiles.net

https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/shenandoah-murders-trailed-kathryn-miles-queer-women-outdoors/

https://www.strothmanagency.com/trailed-one-womans-quest-to-solve-the-shenandoah-murders/

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