RICHMOND, Va.—Nearly three decades after two young women were found with their throats slashed in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, federal authorities announced Thursday that they have identified a now-deceased serial rapist from Ohio as the person they believe was responsible for the killings.
The bodies of Julianne “Julie” Williams, 24, and her partner, Laura “Lollie” Winans, 26, were found bound and gagged at their campsite in the park in 1996. The killings sent a wave of fear through the LGBT community, but the FBI said during a news conference Thursday that there is no evidence that the women were targeted because of their sexual orientation.
