VA VA - The Colonial Parkway Murders, 1986-89

[billthom56]

Cryptic:

Good point. That diesel fuel detail is one that has bothered me since Cathy and Becky were first killed. Who has access to diesel fuel, but doesn't understand ignition properties of diesel? Experts tell us that you might be able to get diesel to light with a very hot newspaper torch-- you have to raise the temperature of the fuel to get it to light.

Side note: in the beginning of the case, the FBI agents sometimes said "kerosene or diesel fuel," but I think your observation still holds.

As far as we know, Cathy and Becky's crime scene was the only one of the four crime scenes where fuel was used.

Thanks.


Bill Thomas,
Brother of Cathleen Thomas,
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[Cryptic]

Side note: in the beginning of the case, the FBI agents sometimes said "kerosene or diesel fuel," but I think your observation still holds.

I could see somebody not being familiar with kerosene as it had faded out of general use by the early 1980s. The perpetrator could have seen kerosene lamps being lit with matches and concluded that it could be lit with matches. Evidently, the design of the lamp neck helps it combust with a match.

I am thinking of two general ways to have seen kerosene in use during the early 1980s:

A- As a source of light in a deeply rural home w/o electricity at the time.

B- In a home with electricity on special occasions. I remember my family having a decorative kerosene lamp that we lit a few times at Christmas.

Option A seems less likely in the Norfolk area during the 1980s. Likewise, somebody raised around kerosene in daily use would know that splashed kerosene is hard to light with a match.

That leaves "B", a special occasion use home. This could also indicate that the perpetrator lived with parents or grandparents as only the older generation(s) was likely to keep small amounts of kerosene on hand for occasional use.

 

[billthom56]

Cryptic:

Good points, thanks. I think one of the reasons that kerosene ignites in a lamp is that is under light pressure. I remember pumping up Coleman lamps and stoves when I was a Boy Scout.

Bill Thomas,
Brother of Cathy Thomas,
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[Falling Down]

I could see somebody not being familiar with kerosene as it had faded out of general use by the early 1980s. The perpetrator could have seen kerosene lamps being lit with matches and concluded that it could be lit with matches. Evidently, the design of the lamp neck helps it combust with a match.

I am thinking of two general ways to have seen kerosene in use during the early 1980s:

A- As a source of light in a deeply rural home w/o electricity at the time.

B- In a home with electricity on special occasions. I remember my family having a decorative kerosene lamp that we lit a few times at Christmas.

Option A seems less likely in the Norfolk area during the 1980s. Likewise, somebody raised around kerosene in daily use would know that splashed kerosene is hard to light with a match.

That leaves "B", a special occasion use home. This could also indicate that the perpetrator lived with parents or grandparents as only the older generation(s) was likely to keep small amounts of kerosene on hand for occasional use.

Another possibility would be for home heat use, very common right into the 80's in rural areas, and still is a popular fuel with a lot of folks.

 

[billthom56]

Falling Down:

Thanks. In more recent news, the FBI has always said diesel fuel, but good to know either way.

Bill Thomas,
Brother of Cathy Thomas,
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[KNC_SSDGM]

Hi! I am creating a documentary investigation podcast about the Colonial Parkway Murders if you'd like to chat about theories and other information give me a shout! I'm local in the Tidewater area.

 

[JnRyan]

I'm up through Chapter 16 in "A Special Kind of Evil: The Colonial Parkway Serial Killings". I have to say most of the reviewers of the book on Amazon have it right, it is a good book on the murders. For those that believed it was a poor book because of the organization or the writing style, I don't agree. It is done in chronological order and gives a brief background on each of the victims. I wouldn't know how to do any other way.

For my part is not that informative on the crimes themselves because I lived here when it happened and ever since I've read just about every Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press and listened to just about every podcast or news report on it. And the book doesn't give ME much I had not read or listened to before. BUT for those who haven't followed from it from the beginning I recommend it. Every now and then it drops a pearl of knowledge on me with something I either forgot or didn't know, like the FBI contacting the former Soviet Union about possible satellite footage around the area the night of the Thomas-Dowski murders. I can say that outside of Cathleen Thomas and Keith Call I knew very little about the victims. (Thomas was like me, a Naval Officer, and had a father who was a former Naval Officer and I don't know why I had followed Call's part. I just did, I guess.) This book covers all of the victims and their lives up to the murders. The book did enlighten me on one case and that was the Knobling-Edwards murders. The details in the book are things I had not heard of before now on Knobling-Edwards. I knew some of Thomas-Dowski's crime scene work was messed up by the initial responders, but some of the other crime investigations except for Phelps-Lauer were REALLY messed up by LE.

 

[billthom56]

I'm up through Chapter 16 in "A Special Kind of Evil: The Colonial Parkway Serial Killings". I have to say most of the reviewers of the book on Amazon have it right, it is a good book on the murders. For those that believed it was a poor book because of the organization or the writing style, I don't agree. It is done in chronological order and gives a brief background on each of the victims. I wouldn't know how to do any other way.

For my part is not that informative on the crimes themselves because I lived here when it happened and ever since I've read just about every Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press and listened to just about every podcast or news report on it. And the book doesn't give ME much I had not read or listened to before. BUT for those who haven't followed from it from the beginning I recommend it. Every now and then it drops a pearl of knowledge on me with something I either forgot or didn't know, like the FBI contacting the former Soviet Union about possible satellite footage around the area the night of the Thomas-Dowski murders. I can say that outside of Cathleen Thomas and Keith Call I knew very little about the victims. (Thomas was like me, a Naval Officer, and had a father who was a former Naval Officer and I don't know why I had followed Call's part. I just did, I guess.) This book covers all of the victims and their lives up to the murders. The book did enlighten me on one case and that was the Knobling-Edwards murders. The details in the book are things I had not heard of before now on Knobling-Edwards. I knew some of Thomas-Dowski's crime scene work was messed up by the initial responders, but some of the other crime investigations except for Phelps-Lauer were REALLY messed up by LE.

Thanks for your interest in the Colonial Parkway Murders. If you have an specific qiestions, please feel free to contact me.

Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathy Thomas
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[billthom56]

April 10, 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey at the York River Overlook along the Colonial Parkway, as part of the Colonial Parkway Murders. We will be discussing the case at the 'Colonial Parkway Murders' page on Facebook.




Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathleen Thomas
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[JnRyan]

Thanks for your interest in the Colonial Parkway Murders. If you have an specific qiestions, please feel free to contact me.

Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathy Thomas
Colonial Parkway Murders

I doubt if my questions are much different than a few of yours. Some of the ones you still want answers for to this day. Until I read the book I knew next to nothing about Rebecca Dowski. But your sister Cathy was a different story. Once I discovered she was stationed in Norfolk I often wondered if on one of my few trips to CINCLANTFLT if I didn't pass her in the passageways or maybe have been in same check out line at the exchange. When I got out of the Navy I worked in downtown Norfolk. If Cathy worked in downtown Norfolk, our timelines there overlapped, if not our paths.

The book seems to cast some doubt as to whether or not all 4 of these cases are the work of one person/pair or they are not connected at all. I believe there was a Virginian-Pilot article in the 1990's where one of the investigators had his doubts it was a serial killer. For myself, I don't rule out a single person. The Springfield Three were abducted from their home and LE has not ruled out a single abductor/murderer and that is 3 victims. What was eye opening was all the botched crime scene investigations, especially Knobling-Edwards.

Growing up I read Bugliosi's book "Helter Skelter" and while it held my attention I never gave serial killings much attention. Even after Ted Bundy was caught. It wasn't until the Colonial Parkway Murders that I really became more aware. I didn't fit the profile of the victims, but for years when I was traveling to DC to Naval Reserve units I purposely avoided stopping anywhere between Norfolk and Richmond on I-64 due to the Lauer-Phelps murders. Most of that was due to the fact that I met a woman in Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake who stated she was related to one of the hunters who found them and she said he wouldn't talk about it due to the horror.

There is an entire generation of residents in this area of Virginia who are not even aware of this and that's why I like this book. It helps keep it out there.

 

[JnRyan]

The book managed to get the case some TV exposure last September. Andy Fox of WAVY-TV, the local NBC affiliate:
http://wavy.com/investigative-story/the-colonial-parkway-murders-a-special-kind-of-evil/

 

[billthom56]

I doubt if my questions are much different than a few of yours. Some of the ones you still want answers for to this day. Until I read the book I knew next to nothing about Rebecca Dowski. But your sister Cathy was a different story. Once I discovered she was stationed in Norfolk I often wondered if on one of my few trips to CINCLANTFLT if I didn't pass her in the passageways or maybe have been in same check out line at the exchange. When I got out of the Navy I worked in downtown Norfolk. If Cathy worked in downtown Norfolk, our timelines there overlapped, if not our paths.

The book seems to cast some doubt as to whether or not all 4 of these cases are the work of one person/pair or they are not connected at all. I believe there was a Virginian-Pilot article in the 1990's where one of the investigators had his doubts it was a serial killer. For myself, I don't rule out a single person. The Springfield Three were abducted from their home and LE has not ruled out a single abductor/murderer and that is 3 victims. What was eye opening was all the botched crime scene investigations, especially Knobling-Edwards.

Growing up I read Bugliosi's book "Helter Skelter" and while it held my attention I never gave serial killings much attention. Even after Ted Bundy was caught. It wasn't until the Colonial Parkway Murders that I really became more aware. I didn't fit the profile of the victims, but for years when I was traveling to DC to Naval Reserve units I purposely avoided stopping anywhere between Norfolk and Richmond on I-64 due to the Lauer-Phelps murders. Most of that was due to the fact that I met a woman in Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake who stated she was related to one of the hunters who found them and she said he wouldn't talk about it due to the horror.

There is an entire generation of residents in this area of Virginia who are not even aware of this and that's why I like this book. It helps keep it out there.

Thanks-- lots of good observations. You probably did pass Cathy in the halls at CINCLANTFLT in Norfolk. After she graduated from the Naval Academy with the Class of '81, Cathy served aboard the USS LY Spear in Norfolk from 1981 to 1984, and then as a Protocol Officer from 1985 to June 1986 when she decided to leave the Navy. My recollection was that for those 5 months that she worked as a stockbroker before she was killed in October 1986, her office was in Virginia Beach. Cathy had a house in Norfolk that she had sold, and at the time of her death was living in a new apartment in Virginia Beach.

Bill Thomas,
Brother of Cathleen Thomas,
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[billthom56]

Looking forward to speaking at this conference on "Life Lessons from the Colonial Parkway Murders" on Sat. March 17.

#ColonialParkwayMurders #FBI #DNA #truecrime #unsolved #missingperson

http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20180226/cues-missing-persons-conference-set

 

[billthom56]

Hi! I am creating a documentary investigation podcast about the Colonial Parkway Murders if you'd like to chat about theories and other information give me a shout! I'm local in the Tidewater area.

If you want to talk with me, I am available to discuss the case.

Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathleen Thomas
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[billthom56]

We are really looking forward to CrimeCon, May 4-6, 2018 in Nashville. We will be hosting an expert panel on the unsolved Colonial Parkway Murders. So far, we have booked Cathy Thomas' brother Bill Thomas, true crime author Blaine Pardoe, and former FBI Special Agent Maureen O'Connell to discuss the Colonial Parkway Murders.

Here is the CrimeCon 2018 schedule:

https://www.crimecon.com/guests/

Bill Thomas
Brother of Cathleen Thomas
Colonial Parkway Murders

 

[meade]

I saw a thread on another forum that maybe this could be the EARONS/GSK. His killings stopped when these began.

Personally I highly doubt it but I'll throw it out there. I think the Colonial Parkway killer was pretty local.

 

[JnRyan]

I saw a thread on another forum that maybe this could be the EARONS/GSK. His killings stopped when these began.

Personally I highly doubt it but I'll throw it out there. I think the Colonial Parkway killer was pretty local.

One set of murders - David Knobling and Robin Edwards at Ragged Island - leads me to believe this person was familiar with the area. And, of course, we don't know where Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey were killed because they were never found so that could be an area only locals were familiar with.

The EAR-ONS being the killer. I hadn't thought about that although I have a difficult time believing EAR-ONS stopped. He moved his hunting grounds more than once, he could have again. And since DNA technology was not available like now I wonder if there aren't some unsolved crimes in San Diego, Portland OR or even Seattle that have not been connected. But I don't believe he is involved here - too far away and too different from his MO.

I wish the hair found in Cathleen Thomas' hand could be processed and yield some DNA.

 

[JnRyan]

Another recent news story from WTKR on Call and Hailey:

http://wtkr.com/2018/04/09/colonial...ll-no-sign-of-keith-call-or-cassandra-hailey/

I sometimes wonder if the remains of Call and Hailey are found, if that wouldn't also be the crime scene for the Thomas-Dowski murders as they were apparently killed elsewhere and then the car dropped off on the Parkway.

 

[Mountain Mama]

Bill,

Do the investigators have the killer's DNA? The reason I ask is that the investigators could submit DNA to an online ancestry site and see if they got any matches.

Here is a link that explains how this technique was a key move leading to the arrest of JJD as the perpetrator of the EAR/ONS/GSK rapes and murders and Visalia Ransacker crimes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/golden-state-killer.html

"Investigators used DNA from crime scenes that had been stored all these years and plugged the genetic profile of the suspected assailant into an online genealogy database. They found distant relatives of Mr. DeAngelo’s and, despite his years of eluding the authorities, traced their DNA to to his front door."

I am hopeful for continued use of this new strategy that has been made available due to scientific advances and the internet.

 

[JnRyan]

Bill,

Do the investigators have the killer's DNA? The reason I ask is that the investigators could submit DNA to an online ancestry site and see if they got any matches.

Here is a link that explains how this technique was a key move leading to the arrest of JJD as the perpetrator of the EAR/ONS/GSK rapes and murders and Visalia Ransacker crimes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/golden-state-killer.html

"Investigators used DNA from crime scenes that had been stored all these years and plugged the genetic profile of the suspected assailant into an online genealogy database. They found distant relatives of Mr. DeAngelo’s and, despite his years of eluding the authorities, traced their DNA to to his front door."

I am hopeful for continued use of this new strategy that has been made available due to scientific advances and the internet.

When I read the articles on EAR/ONS case I thought of this same thing. This is a chance to maybe find the murderer(s).