Serial rapist linked to deaths of two women in Virginia National Park

After nearly three decades, the long-standing mystery of the murders of Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams in Shenandoah National Park has finally been unravelled. The FBI announced on Thursday that through forensic tests, the killer, a convicted "serial rapist" named Walter "Leo" Jackson Sr., who passed away in prison in 2018, was identified as the perpetrator of the heinous crime.

On May 24, 1996, Laura “Lollie” Winans, 26, and Julianne “Julie” Williams, 24, were found dead at Shenandoah National Park. Their bodies were discovered on June 1, 1996, near the Skyland Resort in the park, after their concerned family members alerted the National Park Service when the women failed to return home as scheduled.

Breakthrough in the Case

For years, the case remained unsolved until 2021, when a new FBI team was assigned to review the murders. After re-evaluating hundreds of leads and interviews, the team focused on retesting evidence collected from the crime scene. DNA collected from "several items of evidence" was sent to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, which resulted in a positive match to Walter "Leo" Jackson Sr., a convicted serial rapist from Cleveland.

The FBI corroborated the evidence from the murders with Jackson’s DNA obtained from a buccal swab, confirming his involvement in the brutal killings. Stanley M. Meador, the FBI Richmond special agent in charge, expressed relief, stating, "Those results confirmed we had the right man and finally could tell the victims' families we know who is responsible for this heinous crime."

Profile of the Killer

Walter "Leo" Jackson Sr., known to be an avid hiker and a painter, often frequented Shenandoah National Park. He passed away in prison in March 2018 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Jackson had a criminal record that included kidnapping, rapes, and assaults, leading to his identification as the perpetrator of the 1996 murders.