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FBI identifies convicted serial rapist as suspect in cold-case national park double murder

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FBI identifies convicted serial rapist as suspect in cold-case national park double murder

A deceased convicted serial rapist from Ohio has been identified as the suspect responsible for the murders of two women in Shenandoah National Park nearly 30 years ago, a case that has confounded investigators. 

DNA evidence that was recently retested linked Walter Leo Jackson Sr., of Cleveland, Ohio, to the killings of 24-year-old Julianne “Julie” Williams and 26-year-old Laura “Lollie” Winans, the FBI said Thursday. 

“After 28 years, we are now able to say who committed the brutal murders of Lollie Winans and Julie Williams in Shenandoah National Park,” U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh said. 

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Julie Williams and Lollie Winans pictured before they were killed while camping in Shenandoah National Park 28 years ago. (FBI)

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Both women, who were a couple, were killed on May 24, 1996, at their Virginia campsite near the Skyland Resort. Family members called the National Park Service when the women didn’t return home. 

The pair began hiking in Shenandoah National Park on May 19. They were due to return to their summer jobs in Vermont on May 28. But no one had heard from them, according to media reports at the time. 

Their bodies were found on June 1, 1996, during a search by park rangers. They had been bound, and their throats had been slashed.

“Their murder sparked shock and fear throughout the community and nation,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stanley Meador. “We now know who is responsible for this heinous crime.”

Jackson died in a prison in Cuyahoga County, Ohio in March 2018. His criminal history includes kidnapping, rapes and assaults, the FBI said. He was forensically linked to two rapes that occurred in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in June and July 1996, just weeks after Winans and Williams were killed, Kavanaugh said.

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An image is displayed during a news conference concerning the 1996 murders of Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams at a campsite in Shenandoah National Park, Thursday Jun. 20, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (FBI)

Jackson was a painter by trade and was an “avid” hiker who was known to visit Shenandoah National Park.

In 2004, another man, Darrell D. Rice, was indicted for the killings but the charges were dropped just before his trial after his DNA failed to link him to the crime. The Virginia FBI took a new look at the case in 2021, Meador said. 

With funding from the Department of Justice’s sexual-assault-kit initiative, investigators combed through everything in the case file, re-examining evidence, photos and interviews. Considering advancements in DNA technology, the team spent “countless hours” determining what pieces of evidence could be retested, Meador said.

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A lab pulled DNA from the evidence and submitted the result to the federal DNA index system, the FBI said. They found a positive match to Jackson, whose DNA was on file in Cuyahoga County. Additionally, investigators compared evidence from the murders directly to a buccal swab containing Jackson’s DNA.

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Stanley Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office, gestures during a news conference concerning the 1996 murders of Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams at a campsite in the Shenandoah national park, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

“Those results confirmed we had the right man and finally could tell the victim’s families we know who is responsible for this heinous crime,” Meador said. 

“There was a one-out-of-2.6-trillion chance that it originated from someone other than Walter Leo Jackson,” Kavanaugh said. “I’ve prosecuted many homicides and cold cases, and I have never witnessed statistics that high.”

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Federal investigators said Jackson was likely driving a 1984 Chestnut Brown AMC Eagle 30 at the time of the murders, though he was known to use temporary tags, alter license plates and frequently change vehicles.

An image is displayed during a news conference concerning the 1996 murders of Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams at a campsite in Shenandoah National Park, Thursday Jun. 20, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The FBI is working to determine whether Jackson was responsible for other unsolved crimes. 

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Southeast

Suspect in Florida gated community mass shooting likely linked to earlier cross-state double homicide: sheriff

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Suspect in Florida gated community mass shooting likely linked to earlier cross-state double homicide: sheriff

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Multiple people are dead after a mass shooting Tuesday at a home inside a gated community in Sarasota, Florida, that authorities say may have been connected to a double homicide more than three hours away in Fort Lauderdale earlier in the day.

Four people were killed in the shooting inside a Sarasota gated community and two others were shot dead in Fort Lauderdale, before the suspected gunman took his own life, leaving seven dead.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting in Sarasota occurred in the Amberlea neighborhood on the 4820 block of Fallcrest Circle.

Deputies responded around 12:24 p.m., after a 911 caller reported that an adult male had been shot in the front yard of the home. Neighbors were performing CPR when law enforcement arrived.

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Multiple people were killed, police say, after gunfire rang out Tuesday at a home inside a gated community in Sarasota, Fla.

The man was transported by the Sarasota County Fire Department and was pronounced deceased shortly thereafter.

Fearing for the safety of the male victim’s wife, deputies entered the residence and discovered four additional deceased adults inside the home, two men, including the suspected gunman, and two women.

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Authorities say six people are dead after a shooting in a gated community in Sarasota, Fla., may be connected to another in Fort Lauderdale earlier the same day. (FOX 13 Tampa)

While working the scene, detectives were contacted by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, which was investigating a separate double homicide.

Investigators said the suspect’s vehicle was captured traveling northbound through Punta Gorda prior to the Sarasota killings. Surveillance video later showed the vehicle entering the Amberlea neighborhood at approximately 11:01 a.m.

The sound of gunfire was captured on a neighbor’s Ring camera shortly afterward.

Authorities say six people are dead after a shooting in a gated community in Sarasota, Fla., may be connected to another in Fort Lauderdale earlier the same day. (FOX 13 Tampa)

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According to investigators, the suspect had previously been in a romantic relationship with one of the Fort Lauderdale victims, who had connections to the Sarasota victims. 

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Officials said the suspect’s motive remains under investigation.

Detectives said next-of-kin notifications are ongoing and the victims’ names have not yet been publicly released.

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Federal judge releases four illegal immigrants convicted of murder, sex crimes from ICE Custody

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Federal judge releases four illegal immigrants convicted of murder, sex crimes from ICE Custody

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A federal judge in Louisiana has released four illegal immigrants with lengthy rap sheets that include convictions for murder and child sex crimes from law enforcement custody earlier this month.

On Feb. 6, Judge John deGravelles, an Obama appointee who sits on the bench for the Middle District Court of Louisiana, granted the four defendants release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the Department of Homeland Security said. 

“The ramifications will only be the continued rape, murder, assault, and robbery of more American victims,” said Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Releasing these monsters is inexcusably reckless. President Trump and Secretary Noem are now enforcing the law and arresting illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country.”

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A federal judge in Louisiana released Ibrahim Ali Mohammed, Luis Gaston-Sanchez, Ricardo Blanco Chomat and Francisco Rodriguez-Romero, all illegal immigrants with convictions for various violent and sex crimes, from ICE custody last week. (Department of Homeland Security; Getty Images)

“We are applying the law as written,” she added. “If an immigration judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period.”

The four defendants include Ibrahim Ali Mohammed, an Ethiopian citizen convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor. An immigration judge issued him a final order of removal on Sept, 5, 2024. 

He was released into the United States by the Biden administration.

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Judge John W. deGravalles sits on the bench for the Middle District Court of Louisiana. (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana )

Luis Gaston-Sanchez, from Cuba, has convictions for homicide, assault, resisting an officer, concealing stolen property and two counts of robbery. 

An immigration judge issued a deportation order for him on Sept. 24, 2001.

The entrance to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as “Angola,” was seen in October 2013. (Giles Clarke/Getty Images)

Ricardo Blanco Chomat, also a Cuban citizen, has convictions for homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault with a firearm, burglary, robbery, larceny and selling cocaine. 

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A deportation order was issued for him on March 27, 2002.

Francisco Rodriguez-Romero was previously convicted of homicide and a weapons offense. He was ordered to be deported on May 30, 1995.

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In Sept. 2025, DHS announced a partnership with Louisiana to expand ICE detention space at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. The facility, dubbed the “Louisiana Lockup,” houses some of the criminal illegal immigrants arrested by ICE.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Middle District Court of Louisiana for comment. 

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Florida man allegedly points gun at multiple drivers during road rage confrontation

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Florida man allegedly points gun at multiple drivers during road rage confrontation

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A Florida man faces seven felony charges after being arrested last weekend following a road rage incident, according to authorities.

Blackie Alvarez, 33, of Bonifay, Florida, was arrested after allegedly pointing a handgun at another driver during a road rage confrontation, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

At around 1 p.m. on Feb. 8, police responded to a report of a man pointing a firearm at drivers while traveling north on U.S. 331 in DeFuniak Springs.

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Blackie Alvarez, 33, was arrested after allegedly pointing a handgun at another driver during a road rage incident in Florida, authorities said. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)

Police located the white Ford Explorer, and the driver — later identified as Alvarez — exited the vehicle and removed a black handgun from his waistband, which he placed on top of the vehicle.

Two metal knuckles were also found in Alvarez’s pockets, police said.

Investigators said Alvarez began speeding and honking at the victims, who told deputies that Alvarez sped around them before coming to a complete stop in front of their vehicle, where he allegedly pulled out a firearm and pointed it at them.

Alvarez refused to speak with investigators, police said.

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Blackie Alvarez faces multiple felony charges after authorities say he pointed a handgun at another driver during a road rage confrontation. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)

Alvarez was charged with two felony counts of false imprisonment, two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of unlawful carry of a concealed weapon and driving without a license.

Alvarez also had an outstanding warrant in Bay County, Florida, for failure to pay child support.

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A Florida man was charged with multiple felony weapons offenses following an alleged road rage incident on Feb. 8, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)

He was taken into custody and held on a $235,000 bond, police said.

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