True Crime Collection

Colonial Parkway Murders

The first two known victims were Cathleen Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Ann Dowski, 21. On 12th October, 1986, Columbus Day weekend, their bodies were found inside Cathleen's white 1980 Honda Civic at the Cheatham Annex Overlook along the Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg, Virginia. An autopsy found rope burns on their necks and wrists, signs of strangulation, their throats had been slashed, and diesel fuel was poured over the bodies and the car but the car failed to ignite. Their purses and money were found inside the car. It appears that Cathleen may have struggled with her attackers as a clump of hair was later found between her fingers. Both women were full clothes and there was no evidence of robbery or sexual assault. It was considered a murder. 

On 20th September, 1987, David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were 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. David's black Ford Ranger pickup truck was found at the refuge parking area next to the James River Bridge with the wipers and radio on and some articles of clothing inside. 3 days later, the 2 bodies were discovered by David's father and a search party along the water's edge of the James River. 

On 10th April, 1988, Christopher Newport University students Cassandra Lee Hailey, 18, and Richard Keith Call, 20, were reported missing after attending a party in the University Square area in Newport News 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. 

On 5th September, 1989, just after Labor Day weekend, Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, vanished while en route to Virginia Beach. Annamaria had been dating Daniel's brother at the time they went missing. Daniel's car a gold 1972 Chevrolet Nova, was soon found abandoned at the I-64 New Kent rest stop in New Kent County and it was discovered to have been heading in the wrong direction. On 19th October, 1989, the skeletonized bodies of Annamaria and Daniel were found in a wooded area by hunters along Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. 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 Daniel's car was found. At least one of the badly decomposed bodies appears to have suffered knife wounds. 

In 1991, the Virginian Pilot ran a 3 part series on the Colonial Parkway Murders by reporter Greg Schneider, who was permitted special access to FBI lead investigator Robert Meadows. The series was published again by the paper in 2010. 

In 1996, the unsolved case of the Colonial Parkway Murders was presented on national television on the program Real Stories of the Highway Patrol, a series that aired from 1993-1999. Actor Steve Altes portrayed the killer. 

In 2008, E! Entertainment Television presented a full length documentary, THS Investigates Serial Killers on the Loose, which features a segment on the Colonial Parkway Murders.

In September 2009, it was discovered by CBS News affiliate WTKR that nearly 80 highly graphic crime scene photographs of Colonial Parkway Murder victims were used to instruct a class by a retired and now deceased former FBI photographer. Former WTKR investigative reporter Mike Mather found that much of the evidence, stored for over 2 decades, had yet to be tested for DNA and other trace evidence. 

In January 2010, a team from FBI Norfolk and FBI Headquarters met with the victims' families to update them on the status of the investigation.

In 2010, the Daily Virginian-Pilot ran a photo essay on the case entitled "A Cold Case Heats Up: The Colonial Parkway Murders" 

In 2011, author Michelle McNamara, author of I'll Be Gone In The Dark, on the Golden State Killer, later an HBO series, published a 2 part exploration of the Colonial Parkway Murders in there "True Crime Diary."

In October 2016, there was extensive coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Colonial Parkway Murders, including an 8 part multimedia presentation by the Daily Press newspaper.

On 9th February, 2021, Access Hollywood presented a television series about the Colonial Parkway Murders.

In June 2010, the victims' families requested the assistance of a retired Milwaukee Police Department homicide detective Steve Spingola. In 2010, Steve published Predators on the Parkway, a 29 page magazine article that detailed his findings. 

Steve proposed that the murders are the work of different killers, especially the slayings of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski. Steve believes the Cathleen/Rebecca crimes are directly linked to the deaths of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams who were found with their throats slashed in the Shenandoah National Park, 180 miles west of the Colonial Parkway in 1996.

In 2010, a note was discovered in a box taken years earlier from Annamaria's apartment. The note, which was undated and purportedly written by Annamaria, indicated that she was to meet someone in a blue van at a rest stop. While the Virginia State Police claim the information in this note was previously examined, one of the state police investigators working during the 1989 Annamaria/Daniel murders told a television reporter from WAVY-TV that he was "unaware of the existence of the note."