The FBI has identified the man believed to be responsible for killing two women in Shenandoah National Park in 1996, a significant development in the decades-long double homicide case.
In a press conference on Thursday, officials announced that Walter Leo Jackson Senior murdered Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams near the Skyland Resort on May 24, 1996.
When the two women didn’t return home as expected, their family members alerted the National Park Service, prompting an extensive search. Their bodies were found on June 1, 1996, authorities said.
In 2021, a new FBI Richmond investigative team was assigned to conduct a methodic review of the case. During the course of their investigation, the team was tasked with reassessing hundreds of leads and interviews as they worked to identify and prioritize evidence from the crime scene to retest and submit the items to an accredited private lab.
The FBI said it was a positive DNA match that linked Jackson to the murders.
“Even though we had this DNA match, we took additional steps and compared evidence from Lollie and Julie’s murders directly to a buccal swab containing Jackson’s DNA. Those results confirmed we had the right man and finally could tell the victim’s families we know who is responsible for this heinous crime,” said Stanley M. Meador, the FBI Richmond special agent in charge.
“After 28 years, we are now able to say who committed the brutal murders of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams in Shenandoah National Park,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said. “I want to again extend my condolences to the Winans and Williams families and hope today’s announcement provides some small measure of solace.”
They said Jackson was a serial rapist who had prior convictions and was incarcerated.
He died in prison in March 2018 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.