I stumbled upon this thread after doing a google search for this incident to see if there were any updates. I lived in Blacksburg at the time of these crimes and was a very active hiker in the regions surrounding Blacksburg and Roanoke. I have since left the area, but this crime struck a nerve with me and I have continued to follow it, albeit somewhat more loosely since time has passed. A couple things I may add:
Close friends of mine actually sat in this very location on the night before the murders were committed. One of which was in a Masters Program at the time at VT. His field of research was entymology and they drove out to this remote location to shine a large bright light to attract insects for collection and study. The only thing my friend recalled as being out of ordinary was that there was a truck which drove by the parking lot and paused for a moment. He didn't get a good look at the vehicle or its occupants. Its possible that whomever it was was just curious to see what my friends were doing out in the darkness w/a bright light or could it have been the killer out stalking for victims? If Heidi was sexually assaulted and this was the motivation for the crime on the following evening, the killer may have been deterred given both my friends are male...the police did pay a visit to my friends to interview them, but I don't think anything meaningful was recalled. If any of you have visited this location, you will probably agree that it doesn't seem likely that much travel passes through here late at night. IMO, ANY traffic out there late at night is suspect.
I encourage those interested in this case,if able to do so, pay a visit to this place. Its hard to appreciate it's remoteness without actually visiting it. The maps posted give an idea. I drove out there myself and could not believe how desolate it actually is. This was just a few days after the crime occurred and there was still fragments of shattered glass on the ground. I assume Metzler was shot through the window as many have speculated here. Caldwell Fields is a good distance off the paved road and seems very unlikely that someone is taking this route for a short cut or doesn't live out there. Some are speculating that the use of a high powered rifle would have alerted neighbors...I would venture to say that its possible that it may not have, given how far away the nearest houses are. This would have afforded the killer(s) (I personally believe its only one perpetrator) plenty of time. Even if someone had alerted LE, it would have taken at least 20 minutes or longer to get out there.
I attended the press conference given by local LE when they gave out the info re: weapon used, items stolen, DNA evidence, etc. I wondered if the killer himself might be there among the audience, getting off on the attention and curious to know what pieces of the puzzle they were going to reveal. I did not notice any shady characters, though its highly likely they weren't in attendance or even if they were that they seemed as normal as you or me...
A few years after the crime, I drove back out there, just to reflect and look around. Before reaching the fields, I encountered a car that had stopped in the road, and was actually turning around to head in the opposite direction as myself. I didn't think much of it at the time and didn't pay too much attention to the driver. He went in the opposite direction as me and that was that. However, once I reached the fields and the site of the murder, I was a little spooked for some reason. There was no one else there and something just didn't feel right (intuition?) so I decided to leave. As I was going to pull out of the parking lot, the same car I had encountered earlier slowly passed by me, this time, the driver was staring at me. It seemed a little odd, so I quickly pulled out and headed back out of there down the gravel road. Moments later in my rear view mirror, the same car had turned around again and was speeding up behind me at a high rate of speed. I was officially freaked out at this time, so I started hauling *advertiser censored* down that dirt road. The person behind me stayed in pursuit. There was no reason for them to be following me at that speed. I had no cell signal. After a good 5 minutes or so, he backed off and slowed down once I got back on paved road and was starting to pass by houses. I called the local police and reported it and the dispatcher sounded about as excited as if I had reported a rabbit hopping in the road. Could it have been the killer? Drug dealer? Amateur detective thinking I was suspicious? Who knows but it creeped me the hell out and I haven't been back since. It likely was nothing, but I post this because it proves the point that there could be strange/questionable activity going on out there.
Based on the scant evidence and what I know of the case, my thoughts...(based purely on speculation of course)
1. One perpetrator committed this crime, someone VERY familiar with this area and the motive was a thrill killing. Anything else, whether it be sexual assault or robbery, seems much less likely or an 'after the fact' kind of thing. I believe the personal belongings taken from Heidi were souvenirs for a deranged killer.
2. I believe they were killed soon after arriving and may have not even made it out of the car when they were attacked. I have not seen evidence suggesting they had built the fire which they had planned,though it has been released that it was a school night and that they didn't plan to stay long. It was likely already 8:30 or so once they arrived, seems unlikely they were killed much later than that...
3. I believe David was shot first through his drivers side window and that Heidi attempted to flee and was gunned down in the process. The use of a rifle is somewhat unusual as it would be difficult to conceal to approach the victims, though Metzler's body inside the car, may be indicative of someone impersonating law enforcement and he sat obediently in the car as they approached.
4. I believe that it was a crime of opportunity and simply wrong place, wrong time for the victims. I don't think its plausible that this was somehow a revenge killing, motivated against her father, or any kind of jealous ex thing. These were young, innocent, naive kids, super religious, had been dating for years...no enemies...there is no way that someone they knew did this. Also, it was a surprise date and David had only told one or two people where they were going that night.
5. The theory that the victims saw something they shouldn't have...given this location, its hard for me to imagine that major drug trafficking is going down there, especially if this place is popular throughout the school year w Tech students. What could they have witnessed? I'm not sure about this theory...
6. The DNA. I know that this was believed to be a dramatic break in the case and once this piece of information was released, many thought LE was hot on the trail and that it wouldn't be long before a suspect was apprehended. I wonder if the DNA evidence was just that...drama...something to keep the news story current and to spark fear into the perpetrator who may begin to act differently in the ways that the sheriff emphatically described to the public...this may be a stretch, but it wouldn't be the first time LE has resorted to dramatic techniques in crime solving to flush out potential suspects, until someone's altered behavior and paranoia catches someone's eye.
7. The lack of details released to the public...is it just procedural or is LE as stumped as they seem? I fear its the later...
Thoughts/ideas? Anyone have any more information on this case?
