VA VA - David Metzler, 19, & Heidi Childs, 18, fatally shot, Montgomery Co, 26 Aug 2009

[geojeffrey]

There is a NEW DNA crime solving technique, where the DNA is used to create a picture of the subjects face. It has solved one murder case in Virginia already!!

Literally praying that Virginia State Police analyze the DNA from the crime scene, like they did in this case:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/alleged-killer-confesses-seeing-police-135659521.html

 

[JnRyan]

There is a NEW DNA crime solving technique, where the DNA is used to create a picture of the subjects face. It has solved one murder case in Virginia already!!

Literally praying that Virginia State Police analyze the DNA from the crime scene, like they did in this case:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/alleged-killer-confesses-seeing-police-135659521.html

I remember reading this. I hope they try this. Assuming they haven't already.

 

[JnRyan]

A new year. I hope the investigative team finally makes an arrest on this one.

 

[pumpfe]

Just registered for this website and this was the first case I looked up. I am a VT grad, wife works there, and daughter currently attends and son will be attending in a year. I've been by Caldwell Fields once, but am fairly familiar with the backwoods of the region. I don't think I can offer much more than what has been offered in terms of what we (the public) knows and any speculation on my part would be just that.

The only thing I can say that I haven't seen mentioned is that I do believe I have read or heard LE mention that most (or all) locals have been subjected to DNA testing and all have been negative. If any local knows anything (and there are few locals of that area), I do believe they would have talked by now. Aside from the family members of the victims, I'm sure those people want this solved more than anyone. For that reason, I do not believe the killer is/was local....which is another huge obstacle for LE to overcome in their investigation. If this was some random individual not from the area, then the only way I ever see this being solved is for the killer to slip up and his DNA be recovered in some other crime. If this is his one and only crime, then I can see this never being solved......and that would be simply awful. Hopefully he'll commit another crime (non-violent) and will be caught and his DNA taken (I know some states now require you to give a DNA sample for any felony crime...violent or non-violent).

I haven't gone back and read media reports of what happened, but has it been proven the killer was actually in a vehicle and pulled up into the parking lot? The killer could have been on foot and shot from some distance, especially using a 30-30 rifle with scope. If the crime happened at, say before 8:45, that time of year there is still sufficient light to see some distance. I'm not sure if the shell casings were found in the parking lot or some other location (or if it was ever mentioned).

I have told my daughter and her boyfriend not to go up there at night (a father being over-protective probably), but until this monster is caught then who really knows the truth? At this point, only the killer knows what really happened. The area is such a beautiful place, and I hate for these scars to be part of my little slice of home. But most of all, I hope the families of those involved can be provided closure and this subhuman individual will never walk free among us.

 

[JnRyan]

Just registered for this website and this was the first case I looked up. I am a VT grad, wife works there, and daughter currently attends and son will be attending in a year. I've been by Caldwell Fields once, but am fairly familiar with the backwoods of the region. I don't think I can offer much more than what has been offered in terms of what we (the public) knows and any speculation on my part would be just that.

The only thing I can say that I haven't seen mentioned is that I do believe I have read or heard LE mention that most (or all) locals have been subjected to DNA testing and all have been negative. If any local knows anything (and there are few locals of that area), I do believe they would have talked by now. Aside from the family members of the victims, I'm sure those people want this solved more than anyone. For that reason, I do not believe the killer is/was local....which is another huge obstacle for LE to overcome in their investigation. If this was some random individual not from the area, then the only way I ever see this being solved is for the killer to slip up and his DNA be recovered in some other crime. If this is his one and only crime, then I can see this never being solved......and that would be simply awful. Hopefully he'll commit another crime (non-violent) and will be caught and his DNA taken (I know some states now require you to give a DNA sample for any felony crime...violent or non-violent).

I haven't gone back and read media reports of what happened, but has it been proven the killer was actually in a vehicle and pulled up into the parking lot? The killer could have been on foot and shot from some distance, especially using a 30-30 rifle with scope. If the crime happened at, say before 8:45, that time of year there is still sufficient light to see some distance. I'm not sure if the shell casings were found in the parking lot or some other location (or if it was ever mentioned).

I have told my daughter and her boyfriend not to go up there at night (a father being over-protective probably), but until this monster is caught then who really knows the truth? At this point, only the killer knows what really happened. The area is such a beautiful place, and I hate for these scars to be part of my little slice of home. But most of all, I hope the families of those involved can be provided closure and this subhuman individual will never walk free among us.

I had forgotten about the DNA testing of 'locals' and I believe 'locals' refers to those live on that road or have been using it to commute into the Blacksburg area. This could still be someone who lives in Blacksburg. That still would be difficult for LE. I've often wondered about hunting that area as my father and I would often scout out the woods in August and September for deer hunting spots. That could mean someone who was in that area for that purpose and could lived an hour away. An hour radius means a large number of people who could have committed this murder. If this was a hunter, I wonder who quit using a 30-30 and bought a new rifle?

What makes many of us believe that the killer drove there is the fact that LE had a list of vehicles seen on the road that day and LE was attempting to ID the drivers. This list was published in the media more than once. In 2012: http://www.newsadvance.com/new_era_...cle_1aa114d0-c404-5fdc-b393-8691cadc0e78.html
In 2014, LE stated in another article they were still trying to ID some vehicles, but did not provide a list: http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/f...cle_b7f4cf7c-714b-5b11-af18-3567d48b02cf.html

I never heard where the empty casings were found or if LE actually found them. But a few years ago a PI used a metal detector and claims to have found a 30-30 case which he turned into LE. He found the casing in the parking lot.

I have a friend that lives about an hour away and his step children went to VT. I was surprised to learn how many residents don't go up to Caldwell Fields and many only went up there for the first time after the murders.

The motive is baffling to me. Why kill them? A sociopath just going for a thrill kill? I doubt it was a serial killer as I don't recall any similar crimes in this area.

 

[pumpfe]

I had forgotten about the DNA testing of 'locals' and I believe 'locals' refers to those live on that road or have been using it to commute into the Blacksburg area. This could still be someone who lives in Blacksburg. That still would be difficult for LE. I've often wondered about hunting that area as my father and I would often scout out the woods in August and September for deer hunting spots. That could mean someone who was in that area for that purpose and could lived an hour away. An hour radius means a large number of people who could have committed this murder. If this was a hunter, I wonder who quit using a 30-30 and bought a new rifle?

What makes many of us believe that the killer drove there is the fact that LE had a list of vehicles seen on the road that day and LE was attempting to ID the drivers. This list was published in the media more than once. In 2012: http://www.newsadvance.com/new_era_...cle_1aa114d0-c404-5fdc-b393-8691cadc0e78.html
In 2014, LE stated in another article they were still trying to ID some vehicles, but did not provide a list: http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/f...cle_b7f4cf7c-714b-5b11-af18-3567d48b02cf.html

I never heard where the empty casings were found or if LE actually found them. But a few years ago a PI used a metal detector and claims to have found a 30-30 case which he turned into LE. He found the casing in the parking lot.

I have a friend that lives about an hour away and his step children went to VT. I was surprised to learn how many residents don't go up to Caldwell Fields and many only went up there for the first time after the murders.

The motive is baffling to me. Why kill them? A sociopath just going for a thrill kill? I doubt it was a serial killer as I don't recall any similar crimes in this area.

The only similar crime I can recall would be the Appy Trail hikers, but that was done by Randall Smith and we all know what his ultimate fate was (as a side note, I know the two fishermen Smith later shot and both survived. Smith later died in police custody). While there have been several murders in the area over the years, I cannot recall another with a similar MO so I agree this probably wasn't a serial killer....at least one who stayed in the area.

In my original post I was wondering if the killer parked his car somewhere else and walked to the parking area and basically ambushed David from a distance without David ever knowing he was there (I didn't convey that very well in that earlier post). If the killer was not local (and he apparently wasn't based on the DNA testing of residents) then he would have had to have driven to the area. It's simply too remote to walk in. I had forgotten about the PI who found the shell casings with the metal detector so that does suggest the killer was in the parking lot when he shot.

 

[Mountain Mama]

Has anyone else been reminded of the the Zodiac of the late 60s/1970s in the Bay Area of California. Did he move to the other side of the country, I have to wonder. The killing of couples, with no known motive, in remote natural areas, possibly lovers lanes are similarities.

 

[JnRyan]

Has anyone else been reminded of the the Zodiac of the late 60s/1970s in the Bay Area of California. Did he move to the other side of the country, I have to wonder. The killing of couples, with no known motive, in remote natural areas, possibly lovers lanes are similarities.

I don't see this as the Zodiac. HOWEVER, what about a copy cat? A Zodiac or Son of Sam wannabe?

 

[Bootsctr]

I don't see this as the Zodiac. HOWEVER, what about a copy cat? A Zodiac or Son of Sam wannabe?

I can see that. ID just featured this serial killer, Edward Wayne Edwards and the sweetheart murders:

PEOPLE MAGAZINE INVESTIGATES
My Father, The Serial Killer
SEASON 2 • EPISODE 10
Horror strikes a small Wisconsin town in 1980 after a young couple disappears and is later discovered in a field. Dubbed the Sweetheart Murders, it's almost 40 years before a woman comes forward saying her family holds the key to unlocking the case.
42 min
|
TV-14
|
Premiered 01/15/2018

https://www.investigationdiscovery....tes/full-episodes/my-father-the-serial-killer

 

[JohnTate90210]

The only similar crime I can recall would be the Appy Trail hikers, but that was done by Randall Smith and we all know what his ultimate fate was (as a side note, I know the two fishermen Smith later shot and both survived. Smith later died in police custody). While there have been several murders in the area over the years, I cannot recall another with a similar MO so I agree this probably wasn't a serial killer....at least one who stayed in the area.

In my original post I was wondering if the killer parked his car somewhere else and walked to the parking area and basically ambushed David from a distance without David ever knowing he was there (I didn't convey that very well in that earlier post). If the killer was not local (and he apparently wasn't based on the DNA testing of residents) then he would have had to have driven to the area. It's simply too remote to walk in. I had forgotten about the PI who found the shell casings with the metal detector so that does suggest the killer was in the parking lot when he shot.

One other somewhat similar murder in the general area was that of Karen Noble and Jeff Scott back in 1978. That was around the same time frame as the Appalachian Trail killings. It was also a college couple and about 30 miles away. That case is not officially solved though police did pretty much pin it on somebody.

 

[JnRyan]

One other somewhat similar murder in the general area was that of Karen Noble and Jeff Scott back in 1978. That was around the same time frame as the Appalachian Trail killings. It was also a college couple and about 30 miles away. That case is not officially solved though police did pretty much pin it on somebody.

Noble and Scott, the "Wolf Creek Murders". I had forgotten about that case. But they did have at least one suspect, George Bird. Bird later hung himself a few months later while in jail.

This case seems somewhat different. The Noble-Scott case was thought to be sexually motivated since Bird was known to have done that before and, in fact, was an escapee from prison where he was in for multiple counts of rape. Heidi and David's case seems more like someone just drove up on them while they there and started shooting. Almost like the Son of Sam murders decades earlier.

Since LE has DNA I would hope they would look for a familial match as in the Allison Feldman case where an arrest was made. Or try to create a profile of what the killer might look like from the DNA.

I'm thinking this is a purely random crime or the killer knew of his victims, but it was not a close relationship. If true, that would make this one hard to solve and doing something with the DNA might be LE's best bet.

 

[dotr]

Posting and bolding this older news item to get up to speed on the case and to highlight details for anyone else who is new to this thread.
Hope nobody minds!
rbbm.
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news...cle_bfc6ed9c-2e4e-11e4-a885-001a4bcf6878.html
April 2014

Caldwell Fields is located on Jefferson National Forest property, approximately 12 to 15 miles from Virginia Tech’s campus. Though the location is common for hikers or tourists familiar with the area, the fields are off of a dirt road, surrounded by mountainous peaks and heavily wooded area. Cell phone service is scarce, and you can go a mile without passing more than a hunting tree stand. The closest business is a summer camp located a few miles up the road.

Police still haven’t released how many shots or where they were shot on their bodies, but police called the killings brutal and ugly. Investigators say the couple was killed within two hours of arriving to the scene.

“We feel like possibly an intruder came in and subsequently both of the persons are now deceased,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Whitt at a press conference when the incident initially occurred.

This random act of violence has left investigators, the community and their families confused and searching for answers.

Police said that within two hours of arriving at the fields, an unknown suspect shot the young couple with a 30-30 caliber-hunting rifle. A man walking his dog the next morning, on August 27, discovered their bodies. Childs’ was found outside of the car, while Metzler was found still inside.

Childs’ purse was taken following the murder. Her cell phone, camera, Hokie passport and credit cards were inside.

“We have DNA evidence. We are actively and aggressively pursuing. We will not rest until you are apprehended.”

 

[JnRyan]

Posting and bolding this older news item to get up to speed on the case and to highlight details for anyone else who is new to this thread.
Hope nobody minds!
rbbm.
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news...cle_bfc6ed9c-2e4e-11e4-a885-001a4bcf6878.html
April 2014

About as good a summary to start with as any. Thanks! This case needs more exposure.

 

[dotr]

They may have picked up a hitchhiker.
https://omny.fm/shows/cknw/forensic-science-leads-to-potential-cold-case-brea
Radio interview.
April 14 2018
https://omny.fm/shows/cknw/forensic-science-leads-to-potential-cold-case-brea

A murder that took place over 30 years ago has had a potential breakthrough. John chats with some forensic and investigative experts.

Guest: Kim Bolan - Vancouver Sun Crime Reporter
Guest: Dean Hilderbrand - BCIT Associate Dean Of Forensic Sciences

 

[JnRyan]

They may have picked up a hitchhiker.
https://omny.fm/shows/cknw/forensic-science-leads-to-potential-cold-case-brea
Radio interview.
April 14 2018
https://omny.fm/shows/cknw/forensic-science-leads-to-potential-cold-case-brea

I don't see a hitchhiker involved if the killer was carrying a .30-30 rifle. HOWEVER, they do discuss using the DNA to create a profile of the killer. That is worth a shot here, too.

 

[dotr]

I don't see a hitchhiker involved if the killer was carrying a .30-30 rifle. HOWEVER, they do discuss using the DNA to create a profile of the killer. That is worth a shot here, too.

Do not know much about guns, just noting this Canadian info. in case they encountered the perp here.
Wondering if the perp was a photography buff and if that is why he stole the camera lens, and if indeed he was a photographer, or posed as one, if it was possible he had the gun in several pieces disguised/ hidden in a camera tripod carrying case or bag?
Speculation, imo.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...d_in_ottawa_attack_was_a_winchester_3030.html

The Winchester .30-30 lever action rifle, known as “Model 94” for its 1894 introduction, is sometimes called “The Gun that Won the West,” according to the Winchester website.

From the 1930s to the ’50s, it was a standard hunting rifle in North America — not terribly expensive, but well built and good for deer hunting, said Tony Bernardo, the executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.

“We just don’t get a lot of requests for them.”

“It’s probably more popular in eastern Canada where people are hunting in bush for deer

 

[JnRyan]

Do not know much about guns, just noting this Canadian info. in case they encountered the perp here.
Wondering if the perp was a photography buff and if that is why he stole the camera lens, and if indeed he was a photographer, or posed as one, if it was possible he had the gun in several pieces disguised/ hidden in a camera tripod carrying case or bag?
Speculation, imo.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...d_in_ottawa_attack_was_a_winchester_3030.html

It was a small compact camera that was stolen if I remember correctly. I don't believe the lens was removeable. As for the rifle, Marlin's version can be broken down into 2 parts but it would take a few minutes and it would be obvious what he was doing to those around him. I don't believe the Winchester version breaks down and if it does it is not a quick thing to reassemble. The others are Savage and maybe Henry. I believe this killer pulled into the lot, got out of his vehicle and shot David while he was in the car. Heidi was shot outside the car, obviously trying to run away. The killer apparently left his empty casings which wasn't smart as the extractor, ejector and firing pin marks would be unique to his gun. If he still has it. Since .30-30 rifles have been around since 1894 it is very possible this could be an inherited gun that was originally owned by the killer's parent, grandparent or even great-grandparent. Any purchase record of such a gun is likely to have long since been buried so deep it can't be found, if one even exists. Prior to 1964, rifles could be purchased via mail order, too. This caliber is also so common no one would make note of it as suspicious.

 

[dotr]

Oh my goodness, just realized that my posts # 334 & #336 were intended for a totally different thread!
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...it-County-24-Nov-1987&p=14060026#post14060026
Please disregard, sorry!.

 

[JnRyan]

Nothing in the news since there was an article on a candlelight vigil last August. Almost 9 years now. I wish LE would hold a press conference and even if they don't want to reveal anything new, just go over the facts they've already released. Last I saw there is still a vehicle or vehicles they are trying to ID and locate. If the public knew what those were along with the .30-30 rifle something might just shake loose and lead to an arrest. That could be one update they could possibly release.

 

[JnRyan]

Some cases I've followed for a while - Bible/Freeman disappearance in OK, EAR/ONS in CA and Allison Feldman in AZ - are having arrests. With DNA here, I'm hoping this is the next one to fall in place. Once LE matches the DNA, I'll bet that rifle is still around, too.