Laura Winans was last seen on May 24, 1996. She was hiking with her partner, Julianne Williams, and her golden retriever, Taj. At some point, Taj was located wandering the woods - alone. On June 1, 1996 both Julianne's and Laura's bodies were found; they were murdered. A year later, a man by the name of Darrell David Rice of Columbia, Maryland was reported being an enraged driver who tried to run a female cyclists off the road. He was convicted of attempted abduction. Rice was later placed in Shenandoah at the time Julie and Laura were vacationing in the National Park. They accused him of murdering the two girls due to being homophobic, which Rice denied. Rice was indicted of murder in 2001; but the case fell through in 2004 due to the lack of forensic evidence.
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Personal Characteristics
Female
26 years old
Height: 5'08"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Sexual Orientation: HOMOSEXUAL
Classification: ENTHUSIAST
Professional Affiliation: SERVICE
Investigative Overview
Foul Play Suspected: Yes
Suspected Suicide: No
Cause of Death: Murder - Stabbing
Significant Dates
Reported missing on May 31, 1996 - 9982 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes ago
Found on June 1, 1996 - 9981 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes ago
This case file was posted on
Mar 17, 2021 at 12:37
This case file was last modified on
Jun 02, 2021 at 16:19
This case file has been assigned the Missing Persons ID 958
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Judaea Rojo
July 11, 2021 at 6:23 pm6/1/21 Update: The FBI is asking for the public’s help in the case of Laura Winans and Julianne Williams. More here: https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/regional-news/virginia-news/two-women-were-murdered-25-years-ago-in-shenandoah-national-park-richmond-fbi-needs-help-solving-the-case/