HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Federal investigators said DNA has identified the man responsible for a double murder in Shenandoah National Park that rocked Virginia nearly 30 years ago.
"No matter how long it takes, we don't give up," said Christopher Kavanaugh, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia during a news conference Thursday. "If he were alive today, we would seek a single defendant indictment charging Walter 'Leo' Jackson, Sr. with these crimes."
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 Julie Williams, 24, and Lollie Winans, 26, a couple who were hiking in the park.
The bodies of Williams and Winans were found at their campsite near Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia on Saturday, June 1, 1996. The women, who had been hiking with a golden retriever named Taj, were last seen on May 24, 1996. The dog was found and turned over to rangers near Whiteoak Canyon Trail.
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.
"Those match results confirm a certainty that is rarely seen -- one in 2.6 trillion," said Meador.
Meador said Jackson was a serial rapist who had several stints in prison. The last began when he was sentenced for a 2011 rape in the Cleveland, Ohio area. During that time he was convicted of two other rapes that happened in the same area in June and July 1996 -- within two months of when they alleged he murdered Williams and Winans.
He died in prison in 2018.
"We can now also confirm that Jackson, a residential painter by trade, was an avid hiker with past interest and travel to Shenandoah National Park," Kavanuagh added.
As a result, officials said that because of his criminal history, they believe Williams and Winans were sexually assaulted. But they added they do not believe the two women, who were a couple, were targeted because of their sexuality.
"Make no mistake, this crime was brutal. This crime was definitionally hateful. Nevertheless, we do not have any evidence that the victims were selected for or that Jackson had any knowledge of or was otherwise motivated by their membership in a protected class," added Kavanaugh.
Investigators said with the criminal history and DNA evidence, they are confident Jackson would have been convicted of the murders and that no one else was involved, including a suspect arrested in the early 2000s.
WATCH: 'Violent sexual predator' linked to 1996 Shenandoah National Park murders
They added they told the Williams and Winans families about their determination Wednesday and that they were grateful.
"We know there's nothing we can say today that will ease their pain. We do, however, hope that this information will help move the family forward in the healing process," said Meador.
However, agents said their investigation into Jackson is not done. They are asking the public for any information about Jackson's whereabouts during the times he was not incarcerated and connecting with other law enforcement agencies who may have unsolved crimes.
BONUS VIDEO: Campers react to Shenandoah National Park murders of Laura Winans and Julianne Williams in 1996
The FBI said Jackson was incarcerated during the following times and would be excluded as a suspect in any case that fell within those dates:
- January 1984 through February 1989 (Charged in Geauga County, Ohio)
- May 1994 through September 1994 (Charged in Cuyahoga County, Ohio)
- August 2000 through May 2007 (Charged in Cuyahoga County, Ohio)
- May 2012 until his death in March 2018 (Charged in Cuyahoga County, Ohio)
They add that at the time of the Shenandoah murders, he may have been driving a 1984 Chestnut Brown AMC Eagle 30. Jackson later drove a 1979 Ford Econoline 250 van. Jackson was known to use temporary tags, alter license plates, and frequently change vehicles.
Photos of the vehicles can be seen here.
Anyone with information is asked to submit tips to the FBI.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
