In a major breakthrough, the FBI announced on Thursday that the killer of two women found dead in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia nearly three decades ago has been identified through forensic tests. The perpetrator, Walter "Leo" Jackson Sr., a convicted serial rapist, was determined to be responsible for the murders of Laura "Lollie" Winans, 26, and Julianne "Julie" Williams, 24, on May 24, 1996, according to a joint statement from the FBI's Richmond Field Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia.

U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh expressed his condolences to the Winans and Williams families, stating, "After 28 years, we are now able to say who committed the brutal murders. I hope today's announcement provides some small measure of solace."

The investigation began when family members of the victims contacted the National Park Service after the women failed to return home as planned. Their bodies were eventually discovered on June 1, 1996, near the Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park.

The case remained unsolved for several years until a new FBI team was assigned to review the murders in 2021. Special agents, intelligence analysts, and other FBI personnel meticulously re-evaluated hundreds of leads and interviews. The team placed particular emphasis on evidence collected from the crime scene, which was sent to an accredited private lab for retesting.

Through DNA analysis, the lab was able to extract DNA from multiple items of evidence and compare it with the FBI's Combined DNA Index System. This led to a positive match to Walter Jackson, a convicted serial rapist from Cleveland. The FBI further validated their findings by comparing evidence from the crime scene to a buccal swab containing Jackson's DNA.

Stanley M. Meador, the FBI Richmond special agent in charge, stated, "Those results confirmed we had the right man and finally could tell the victims' families we know who is responsible for this heinous crime."

Walter Jackson, who worked as a painter, was an avid hiker known to frequent Shenandoah National Park. He passed away in prison in March 2018 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where he had been serving his sentence for various crimes, including kidnapping, rapes, and assaults.

The FBI collaborated with the Cleveland Police Department and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office throughout the investigation, utilizing their resources and expertise to bring closure to this longstanding cold case.

While justice has finally been served for Laura "Lollie" Winans and Julianne "Julie" Williams, the families of the victims can now find some solace knowing that the killer has been identified after nearly three decades.