DNA links serial rapist to Shenandoah National Park cold case murders, FBI says
The bodies of Williams and Winans were found at their campsite near Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia on Saturday
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HENRICO COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — FBI agents say DNA has identified the man responsible for a double murder in Shenandoah National Park that rocked Virginia nearly 30 years ago.
Stanley Meador, special agent in charge for the FBI Richmond Office, said when he took over the field office in 2021 that he was briefed on the case of the 1996 murders of 24-year-old Julie Williams and 26-year-old Lollie Winans in Shenandoah National Park.
The special agent assigned a new team to look at the case and they sent some crime scene items to a private lab for testing, which led to a hit in a DNA database.
Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr. was convicted of three rapes in Ohio. Officers had a DNA swab from those trials which they also matched it to.
Investigators said they discovered Jackson, who died in prison in 2018, was an avid hiker who had been to Shenandoah in the past.
As a result, officials said that because of his criminal history, they believe Williams and Winans were sexually assaulted.
They added that they do not believe the two women, who were a couple, were targeted because of their sexuality.
Investigators added they also ruled out any involvement from another person arrested in the early 2000s because they said DNA profiles excluded him.
Agents said they told the victims’ families about Jackson on Wednesday. The families said they were grateful for the news, Meador said.
“This is a great example of our tenacity not to give up on any case,” Meador said. “I would hesitate to say the term cold case because if it’s an open case, the FBI is moving forward on that case. I do think that it is a reminder to everyone of the persistence that cases need. We don’t give up.”
Investigators said they are working to get the word out about Jackson to other law enforcement agencies.
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