I'm trying to compile information on the March 8, 1979 murder of Debbie Anwyll, a 14-year-old stabbed to death in her home in the Greenbriar neighborhood of Chantilly, Virginia. I have collected the standard newspaper sources and spoken to a couple of people who lived in the neighborhood at the time. I would be particularly interested in hearing from anyone else who knew Debbie or lived in the same subdivision.
Here is a contemporary article from the Washington Post:
It's a somewhat peculiar case; there was not (at least not publicly released) evidence of sexual assault and it would seem to be a bizarre time for her to run into a burglar. She was killed soon after coming home from school and it would seem even the dumbest or most amateur burglar would think that was not a good time to commit a burglary when many people would be returning home. She was killed in a one-hour window between when she came home and when her mother arrived home. Police have always suspected it was someone who knew Debbie's patterns and who could quickly blend into the neighborhood.
In 1996 police conducted DNA tests on a suspect. I do not know if he was actually cleared vs. a match not being possible/incomplete profile/etc., but he was not charged.
Below is the sole article I've found discussing the 1996 DNA tests. I have never found a follow-up article.
Here is a contemporary article from the Washington Post:
It's a somewhat peculiar case; there was not (at least not publicly released) evidence of sexual assault and it would seem to be a bizarre time for her to run into a burglar. She was killed soon after coming home from school and it would seem even the dumbest or most amateur burglar would think that was not a good time to commit a burglary when many people would be returning home. She was killed in a one-hour window between when she came home and when her mother arrived home. Police have always suspected it was someone who knew Debbie's patterns and who could quickly blend into the neighborhood.
In 1996 police conducted DNA tests on a suspect. I do not know if he was actually cleared vs. a match not being possible/incomplete profile/etc., but he was not charged.
Below is the sole article I've found discussing the 1996 DNA tests. I have never found a follow-up article.
