The Shenandoah Park Murders | Episode 2: The Discovery

Summary

SEQUESTERED Podcast

The Shenandoah Park Murders

Episode 2: The Discovery

Release Date: October 20, 2025
Host: Road Trip Studios
Focus: The discovery of the bodies of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans in Shenandoah National Park in May 1996, the immediate search and investigation, public and community impact, and early questions about motive—including the potential of anti-lesbian bias.

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Episode Overview

This harrowing episode narrates how the disappearance of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans—two skilled outdoorswomen—unfolded from their peaceful camping trip in Shenandoah National Park to the discovery of their brutal murders. Through detailed timeline reconstruction, the host explores the search, the shock to the national park’s community, the investigation’s early challenges, and the questions and advocacy that rose around the possibility of a hate crime.

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Timeline and Key Events

Setting the Scene: Shenandoah, Late May 1996

• The episode opens with atmospheric narration recalling the era: “It's late May of 1996, a time before phones had maps, before we were always reachable.” (00:06, Narrator)
• Julie and Lollie, along with Julie’s dog Taj, arrive at Shenandoah National Park on Sunday, May 19, pitching their tent for some days of respite and freedom in the backcountry.

The Hiking Trip

• The women move through scenic trails—White Oak Canyon and Hawksbill Mountain (highest point in the park).
• Their camera, later found, preserved moments of joy: “Snapshots of two women completely at home in the wilderness. It was found among their gear at the campsite, still sealed inside a waterproof bag.” (02:10, Narrator)
• Last sighting: May 24, 1996. A ranger and a hiker see them with their dog.

The Disappearance and Initial Search

• Julie’s family expects her call on Memorial Day, May 27, but hears nothing. Concern grows.
• On May 31, her father notifies park authorities. The search intensifies:
  • Rangers “launched what they called hasty searches. These are quick, wide area sweeps of major trails that radiate out from Skyland.” (05:52, Narrator)
• Taj is found alone but unharmed on June 1 by a hiker, deepening fears.

The Discovery of the Crime Scene

• June 1, around 8:50pm: Rangers discover a hidden, secluded campsite along Bridal Trail.
• The shocking scene:
  • “Their tent was still standing, the flap partially unzipped. And when searchers pulled it open, they were met with a devastating scene. Inside were two women still in their sleeping bags. Their hands were both bound with nylon cords, their mouths sealed shut with duct tape, and both had deep knife wounds in their necks.” (08:18, Narrator)
  • The brutality and precision stuns the community and authorities.

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Community Shock and Public Fear

National Park and Hiker Reactions

• The crime shatters the trail’s sense of sanctuary:
  • “There’s a very profound expectation of sanctuary in the woods. It’s been invaded. Any kind of violence is invasive.” (12:29, Brian King, Appalachian Trail Conference)
• For the first time, the national park’s safety is publicly questioned:
  • Rich Ashburn, a hiker: “We don’t hike alone anymore. Or if you do, you’re looking over your shoulder… It just makes you… a little fearful.” (13:09, Narrator paraphrasing)

Delay and Public Criticism

• The Park Service doesn’t alert the public immediately. A senator demands to know why:
  • “The delay in notifying the public sparked immediate backlash on Capitol Hill. An Alaskan senator demanded to know why no warning had been issued.” (12:01, Narrator)
• The incident draws national attention:
  • Los Angeles Times headline: “Murder Invades Idyllic World of Backpackers.”
  • Park Service spokesperson admits: “We have drunk drivers and we have assaults and we have all the other problems people face in the cities.” (14:27, Narrator quoting)

Community Mourning

• Both families’ hometowns reel with shock and grief:
  • “Teachers pulled out old yearbooks. Teammates called each other in disbelief.” (15:06, Narrator)
  • “Their funerals drew hundreds. Not just friends and family, but classmates, coaches, community members…” (15:52, Narrator)
• Woodswomen, the group where Julie and Lollie met, is devastated:
  • “Their murders cut to the heart of that mission.” (16:45, Narrator)

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Theories, Investigation & Advocacy

Law Enforcement Challenges

• The case falls under federal jurisdiction; local, state, and federal agencies coordinate.
• Evidence is limited due to:
  • Remoteness and number of park visitors (over 1.5 million/year)
  • Weather and time elapsed

Early Motive Questions and LGBTQ Advocacy

• Theories swirl: Was this a random act, a targeted attack, or a hate crime?
• In 1996, being openly queer carried real risks:
  • “Two women camping together were often assumed to be queer...the very fear that kept them quiet was the one that found them.” (20:15, Narrator)
• June 7: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) sends a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, urging a thorough, bias-aware investigation.
  • “We are asking for your help to ensure that the FBI and National Park Service are diligent in investigating all aspects of these crimes, including the possibility that the murders were motivated by anti-lesbian bias.” (21:03, LGBTQ Advocate)

FBI’s Blind Spot and Community Concern

• An FBI spokesperson had downplayed hate crime motives:
  • “There was, quote, no indication this is a hate crime of any particular type, end quote.” (22:49, Narrator, quoting Special Agent John Donahue)
• LGBTQ advocates highlight a lack of knowledge—from FBI’s ignorance about victims’ orientation and a major prior lesbian couple attack:
  • “During this conversation, Mr. Donahue indicated that he was unaware that the victims were lesbians and that he had not heard of the Rebecca White and Claudia Brenner incident.” (23:07, LGBTQ Advocate)

DOJ Response

• Janet Reno’s office replies, affirming:
  • “From the outset, investigators have been exhaustively examining all evidence, following all leads, and pursuing all motives, including the possibility that the crime was motivated by the sexual orientation of the victims.” (24:37, LGBTQ Advocate)
• Legal limitations: Hate crime laws around sexual orientation not yet federal reality in 1996.

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The Investigation Falters

• Leads trickle and unravel, the initial wave of calls and tips yields no breakthrough:
  • “But one by one, the leads unraveled. Suspects were cleared, witnesses faltered, and the phone lines that once rang late into the night grew quiet.” (25:45, Narrator)
• The sense of lost sanctuary, uncertainty, and unresolved grief deepens within the park and beyond.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "No one imagines that anything terrible could happen here. The park feels like a sanctuary. It's a little slice of America, perfectly untouched by violence." (00:36, Narrator)
• "Snapshots of two women completely at home in the wilderness… The images told the story of their final days." (02:10, Narrator)
• “Their hands were both bound with nylon cords, their mouths sealed shut with duct tape, and both had deep knife wounds in their necks.” (08:23, Narrator)
• “There’s a very profound expectation of sanctuary in the woods. It’s been invaded. Any kind of violence is invasive.” (12:29, Brian King)
• “We don’t hike alone anymore. Or if you do, you’re looking over your shoulder… It just makes you… a little fearful.” (13:09, Narrator paraphrasing)
• “We are asking for your help to ensure that the FBI and National Park Service are diligent in investigating all aspects of these crimes, including the possibility that the murders were motivated by anti-lesbian bias.” (21:03, LGBTQ Advocate)
• “At least one FBI spokesperson has already dismissed the possibility of a hate crime. Unless there are facts to support this conclusion, we are deeply alarmed by such an announcement.” (22:37, LGBTQ Advocate)
• “From the outset, investigators have been exhaustively examining all evidence, following all leads, and pursuing all motives, including the possibility that the crime was motivated by the sexual orientation of the victims.” (24:37, Janet Reno’s Office via LGBTQ Advocate)

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Memorable Moments and Emotional Resonance

• The poignant description of the recovered photographs—ordinary snapshots made haunting by hindsight.
• The moment Taj reappears alone, unharmed but signaling something is very wrong.
• The piercing silence and secrecy surrounding the crime scene—“...the forest itself had swallowed the truth, a secret buried under moss and leaves just out of reach.” (26:30, Narrator)
• The parallel pain in two distant American communities, united by grief.
• The tension between public fear, LGBTQ advocacy, and federal law enforcement’s limitations.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06–02:30: Setting the scene—Julie and Lollie’s arrival, hiking, and last days
• 05:30–08:30: Disappearance, search for Julie, Lollie, and Taj; discovery of campsite and bodies
• 09:06–11:57: Reaction of park, hikers, and public following the discovery; safety questioned
• 12:01–15:16: Media attention, community grief, funerals
• 15:46–18:47: Impact on Woodswomen and families; challenges faced by investigators
• 19:07–21:55: Rumors about motive, early LGBTQ-focused advocacy, context of 1990s attitudes
• 22:37–24:37: NGLTF advocacy and Janet Reno’s official response
• 25:30–26:30: The investigation’s challenges and the enduring silence after the initial media wave

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What’s Next?

The episode closes on a note of lingering tension and introduces the seeds of a future suspect, setting up the following installment:
“A year after Julie and Lawley’s murders, another woman, a Canadian tourist…would introduce investigators to a man whose name would dominate Julie and Lawley’s case for years to come.” (27:00, Narrator)

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For photos and more details, visit sequesteredpod.com.

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This episode is a deeply researched, emotionally resonant account of the events and aftermath of the 1996 Shenandoah Park killings, notable for its sensitivity, its contextual insight into law enforcement and LGBTQ issues of the era, and its haunting evocation of a wilderness paradise forever altered by violence.

Transcript

[Narrator]

It's late May of 1996, a time before phones had maps, before we were always reachable. If you wanted to go somewhere far, you unfolded a map, watched the mileage tick by, and trusted your sense of direction. Back then, gas was about $1.30 a gallon. Alanis Morissette was on every station. And the news drifted by like static background noise to an easy drive through the mountains. Shenandoah national park is alive with color this time of year. On Skyline Drive, families stop for views that seem endless. Cameras click, tires crunch on gravel. And no one imagines that anything terrible could happen here. The park feels like a sanctuary. It's a little slice of America, perfectly untouched by violence. On any given night and day, hikers pass in steady rhythm, moving from ridge to ridge, each chasing their own quiet. Just a short hike below those ridges, Julie and Lally had pitched their tent beside a mountain stream. For them, it was freedom, a few days of peace away from expectations and away from being seen. But in that stillness, something else was moving through the woods. Quiet, unseen. And when Taj appeared, running alone along a fire road off of Skyline Drive, the rangers who were searching for Julie and Lally knew Shenandoah's quiet had been broken. This peaceful stretch of the Appalachian Trail wasn't a refuge anymore. It was a crime scene. This is sequestered. Season 3 the Shenandoah Park Murders Episode 2 the Discovery Rangers would later piece the timeline together from permits, photographs and witness notes. Their arrival on Sunday, May 19, the Skyland Lodge. Their red Toyota Tercel parked near the ridge. A backcountry permit issued in Julie Williams name the golden Retriever at their heels. Their camera would later reveal a quiet kind of joy. Snapshots of two women completely at home in the wilderness. It was found among their gear at the campsite, still sealed inside a waterproof bag. When investigators developed the film, the images told the story of their final days. Hikes through through White Oak Canyon grins beside waterfalls, sunlight filtering through the trees above them. From Monday, May 20, through Wednesday, May 22, Julie and Lally hiked and camped in White Oak Canyon, a popular trail lined with cold mountain cascades. When rain moved in on Wednesday afternoon, they hiked out of the woods and caught a ride with a ranger back to Skyland Lodge, where their car was parked near the trailhead. They likely made camp that night in the woods near their vehicle, because the following morning, Thursday, May 23, they renewed their backcountry permit. This was routine for experienced hikers, just another way to log their next destination from Skyland they set out again, heading south along Skyline Drive and then into the backcountry toward Hawksbill Mountain. A ranger and another hiker later recalled seeing them along the trail that day, two women and a dog. Throughout the day, the trio climbed Hawksbill's 4,051 foot summit to the highest point in Shenandoah national park and took what would become their final photographs. There's a picture of each of them smiling into the wind, the Blue Ridge falling away behind them. Another, likely set on a timer, captures them together, their arms around each other, faces sunlit and unguarded. You can see those images and [e-mail] it was Friday, May 24, the last day anyone saw them alive. Based on their permit photographs and trail locations, investigators believe they made camp that evening in the same site. Their bodies were found between Big Meadows and Skyland, about a third of a mile from the Appalachian Trail and roughly a mile east of Skyline Drive. It was the kind of site seasoned backcountry travelers would choose near water, quiet and screened. From the trail for the next several days, May 25th through the 30th, there were no confirmed sightings of Julie Lali or Taj. It was Monday, May 27, Memorial Day. Julie didn't call home as planned, and her family was starting to worry. Over the next few days, her father, Thomas Williams, would try reaching her through park authorities, but no one had heard from her. By Friday morning, May 31, knowing Julie was supposed to start a new job the next day, on June 1st, Thomas called Shenandoah national park to report her missing. He told them Julie and her friend were backpacking with her golden retriever. They hadn't called, and they hadn't returned home. By 10am that morning, Rangers had located Julie's red Toyota Tercel parked at Stonyman Overlook, a scenic pull off along Skyline Drive and not far from the Skyland lodge. Within hours, search teams launched what they called hasty searches. These are quick, wide area sweeps of major trails that radiate out from Skyland. The teams focused on White Oak Canyon, Big Meadows and the Bridal Trail, which is the corridor that connects the two. By then, rangers had pieced together from the backcountry permit that the women were last seen on Thursday, May 23. As we know, once by a park ranger and again by a hiker along White Oak Canyon. The permit showed they had planned to return by Monday, May 27, the day Julie's family had been expecting her call, deputy Chief Ranger Bridget Bonet said. We started doing hasty searches to cover all those trail corridors. At some point during those searches, we located the dog. It wasn't until the next afternoon, Saturday, June 1, around 4pm that that a hiker turned Taj over to a park ranger. They had found him wandering alone but unhurt along White Oak Canyon Trail, the park's most popular route and the one closest to the Bridal Trail. Later that evening, at 8:50pm Two park rangers eventually discovered the women's hidden campsite along the Bridal Trail, a path used both by hikers and horseback riders. Though not heavily, it would be almost invisible to anyone passing by. What they found there would stop the park in its tracks. When searchers reached the campsite, the first thing they noticed was how well hidden it was, tucked back, hemmed in by trees and. And quiet except for the stream nearby. Their tent was still standing, the flap partially unzipped. And when searchers pulled it open, they were met with a devastating scene. Inside were two women still in their sleeping bags. Their hands were both bound with nylon cords, their mouths sealed shut with duct tape, and both had deep knife wounds in their necks. They had found Julie and Lollie. The brutality of their murders was matched by the precision. Rangers and FBI agents secured the scene and were careful not to contaminate what little evidence there was. But the remote location, the weather, and the time that had passed only complicated things.

[Reporter]

They were last seen alive on May 24. Their bodies were found eight days later. Rangers are still posted at the path leading up to the crime scene, but there are other rangers out there walking the Appalachian Trail, talking to hikers about what they might have seen these last few weeks.

[Narrator]

That weekend, Shenandoah was packed. Campers grilled by their tents. Cyclists coasted along Skyline Drive and families hiked, completely unaware that just beyond the trees, a tragedy had already unfolded. On an average day that May, especially on the weekend, nearly 4,600 visitors would have moved through the park, picnicking, hiking, setting up camp, never imagining what was happening in the woods nearby. For decades, this area, like many stretches along the Appalachian Trail, had been a kind of Refuge. A 2000 mile ribbon of wilderness where strangers shared campsites and trusted each other implicitly. The discovery in Shenandoah that weekend shattered that illusion. And for investigators, it was only the beginning.

[Reporter]

Investigators are following many leads. Forensic evidence, though, is the backbone of such cases. Flags mark where possible clues have been found. Logbooks like this one have been taken out of the shelters where the women may have stopped. Park police are reviewing any parking or speeding tickets written in the past few weeks. And while Officials say this is an isolated incident. Hikers now aren't taking any chances filling out their backcountry permits. It was this clue that led rangers to the victims and the permit then.

[Narrator]

Gave us an idea about when they would be in the park and their approximate location. So that is one reason that they were found so quickly. When we return, the investigation begins and the illusion of safety in Shenandoah starts to unravel. The murders of Julie and Lolli weren't announced right away. More than a day had passed since their bodies were found. When the park service finally broke the news, the words they chose were an isolated incident and the FBI followed with their own word, random. But outside the park, those words didn't bring comfort. They only brought fear.

[Reporter]

As a setting sun colored the sky over Shenandoah national park, investigators still search for a killer whoever murdered 24 year old Julie Williams and 26 year old Lolly Winant.

[Narrator]

The delay in notifying the public sparked immediate backlash on Capitol Hill. An Alaskan senator demanded to know why no warning had been issued when two women were found murdered inside a national park. Shenandoah wasn't just a park. It was part of the Appalachian Trail, over 2,000 miles of wilderness stretching from Georgia to Maine. Hikers saw it as a sanctuary and they started speaking up. Brian King of the Appalachian Trail Conference said, there's a very profound expectation of sanctuary in the woods. It's been invaded. Any kind of violence is invasive. Newspaper headlines began to spread the story across the country from the Richmond Times Dispatch to the Star Tribune in Minnesota. For hikers on the trail, the news hit hard. For example, Rich Ashburn had planned a four day trip heading south on Appalachian Trail into Shenandoah. After hearing the news, though, he turned north. Instead, he packed mace and camped clothes closer to other hikers. We don't hike alone anymore. Or if you do, you're looking over your shoulder. Maybe you stick to the road. It just makes you extra cautious, a little fearful. Hikers like Richard Spare, a 64 year old thru hiker from Pennsylvania, were in the park when the bodies were found. I moved my tent a little closer to some people just to feel more secure. Even those who worked in the park were shaken. Sally Hurlburt, who had just started at Shenandoah, remembered, we don't have a lot of crime in the park. It was very intense. We were all very scared and worried about it. These weren't sensationalized reactions. In the 25 years since the Appalachian Trail was built, Julie and Lolly were the eighth and ninth People to be murdered. Along its path. And across the park system, crime was rising. On June 5, 1996, the Los Angeles Times ran a story by Richard A. Serrano under a headline that struck a national nerve. Murder Invades Idyllic World of Backpackers. The article laid out the numbers. Homicides in national parks had nearly tripled since 1971. Car thefts had doubled. Assaults were up by more than 60%. Officials insisted the parks were still safe. But one Park Service spokesperson admitted, they are also a microcosm of our society. We have drunk drivers and we have assaults and we have all the other problems people face in the cities. For Julie and Lali's families, the shock was overwhelming. In St. Cloud, Minnesota, the news rippled fast. It wasn't just in the headlines. It was on porches, in grocery store aisles and whispered between neighbors who'd known Julie since she was a kid. Teachers pulled out old yearbooks. Teammates called each other in disbelief. Her funeral drew hundreds. Not just friends and family, but classmates, coaches, community members, all struggling to make sense of how violence from so far away had suddenly reached their town. And this family.

[Reporter]

Julianne Williams loved the outdoors. She could have never known that a final outing before embarking on a new career would be the last trip she'd ever take. The 24 year old Minnesota native was murdered in the Shenandoah National Park. They were finishing up a trip that started in New York and ended in the Shenandoah Valley. Williams, one of four children, was a geology major who graduated from college magna cum laude two years ago. Family and friends remember her and what she loved to do.

[Narrator]

She was extremely proficient at it. She had taken many people up into the bony waters and had taken numerous classes, first aid classes. Was an expert at that. I got with her at any time. Meanwhile, in Michigan, the same wave of disbelief hit lalee's hometown. Her family, friends who'd watched her chart her own path gathered in living rooms and church basements trying to reconcile the free spirited young woman they knew with the headlines coming out of Virginia. Both funerals were held on the same day. Two services, two states and hundreds of people united in grief. And in Minneapolis, at the Woodswomen offices where Julie and Lolly had met, the news landed like a gut punch. This was an organization built on women claiming space in the wilderness, finding belonging on the trail. Their murders cut to the heart of that mission. Behind the scenes, investigators were already facing the scale of the challenge ahead. A vast park with 1.5 million visitors a year, a hidden crime scene and no clear suspect in sight. And in those first weeks after the murders, the story began to shift from personal tragedy to something far more complicated. In the days after the funerals, panic gave way to something quieter. The search parties were gone. TV trucks rolled away, and all that remained was the investigation. Shenandoah national park falls under exclusive federal jurisdiction, which means only federal authorities, the National Park Service, and the FBI can investigate major crimes here. The Park Service secured the scene. Then Virginia State Police were brought in to help process the evidence. But from the beginning, the work was like trying to catch smoke in a forest. A vast park that runs through a 2000 mile well traveled trail, a hidden campsite, and more than a million and a half visitors who passed through there that year alone. Information trickled out, slowly at best. Officials wouldn't say whether the women had been robbed or sexually assaulted. They hadn't, by the way. Official reports would later confirm there was no evidence of robbery or sexual assault. But at the time, the silence around those details supposedly intended to protect the investigation only deepened the unease. To a worried public, that didn't bring comfort.

[Reporter]

The women were found in a campsite off a trail near the Skyline Drive in the Madison county portion of the park. That's near Skyland Lodge. Busloads of people like these from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are still enjoying the park, most unaware of what happened. Some tourists are now wondering if they're safe to come up here.

[Narrator]

Statistically, it is quite safe. Now, certainly there are isolated incidents, but statistically, yes, it is quite safe. Theories began to spread like wildfire, curling through hiker hostels, ranger stations, newsrooms, and living rooms. Was it a random predator? A targeted attack? A hate crime? Julie and Lolli were experienced outdoors women, but two women camping together were often assumed to be queer. Whether they said it out loud or not, in the mid-90s, that assumption carried weight. Same sex couples still faced stigma, especially in rural or outdoor spaces where visibility could draw attention. Friends and family later told reporters that Julie and Lolli hadn't shared their relationship widely outside their closest circles, afraid of the discrimination or danger that might come with being open. And in 1996, in parts of rural America, that fear was justified. It still is, for what it's worth. And it's horrifying to know that the very fear that kept them quiet was the one that found them. On June 7, less than a week after Julie Williams and Lolly Winans were found murdered, a fax arrived at the Department of Justice. It came from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Ngltf, one of the oldest LGBTQ q advocacy groups in the country. The letter was advised to then Attorney General Janet Reno.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

Dear Madam Attorney General, we are asking for your help to ensure that the FBI and the National Park Service are diligent in investigating all aspects of these crimes, including the possibility that the murders were motivated by anti lesbian bias.

[Narrator]

The task force laid out the facts and as they understood them. Julie and Lolly were traveling together. They were lesbians in an intimate relationship, and they were active in gay organizations. There was no robbery and no clear motive. The letter goes on to read, there.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

Is no known motive at this point, which can be a bias indicator in itself. It is possible that their killer or killers believed them to be lesbians. Clearly, regardless of the killer or killer's motivation, these murders are a senseless tragedy.

[Narrator]

The letter pointed to a chilling precedent. In 1988, Rebecca White was murdered and her partner, Claudia Brenner was seriously injured while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. It was an anti lesbian hate crime that became a turning point in federal hate crime crime awareness.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

The Shenandoah slayings remind us of another attack on a lesbian couple eight years ago. Claudia Brenner's willingness to go public with her ordeal was a defining moment. Their assailant was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

[Narrator]

The task force's concern wasn't just about the crime. It was about how investigators were responding to it.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

Another fact is that at least one FBI spokesperson person has already dismissed the possibility of a hate crime. Unless there are facts to support this conclusion, we are deeply alarmed by such an announcement.

[Narrator]

That spokesperson was Special Agent John Donahue. He told reporters there was, quote, no indication this is a hate crime of any particular type, end quote. But when task force organizer Tracy Conaty spoke with him directly, she was stunned.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

During this conversation, Mr. Donahue indicated that he was unaware that the victims were lesbians and that he had not heard of the Rebecca White and Claudia Brenner incident. Such statements raised serious concerns by the task force about the judgment and apparent expertise of agents assigned to the case.

[Narrator]

For LGBTQ advocates, this wasn't just a gap in knowledge. It was a red flag. It suggested that bias might not fully be understood or investigated by those leading the case. Tracy Conaty was quoted saying, we hope that this is not a hate crime. We don't know at this point that it is. What we do know is that there are indicators that raise red flags for us. Twelve days later, the task force received a response. The reply came from the office of the attorney general. Washington, D.C. janet Reno's desk.

[Reporter]

Dear Ms. Paris, thank you for your letter regarding the tragic deaths of Julianne.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

Williams and Lolli Winans in Shenandoah National Park.

[Reporter]

I want to acknowledge the deep concern.

[Narrator]

Expressed in Reno's office confirmed that the FBI, the National Park Service, and the Virginia State Police were jointly investigating the case and emphasized that from the outset, all motives were being pursued, including anti lesbian bias.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

From the outset, investigators have been exhaustively examining all evidence, following all leads, and pursuing all motives, including the possibility that the crime was motivated by the sexual orientation of the victims. Any press reports that have suggested otherwise have misstated the nature of the investigation.

[Narrator]

The letter also acknowledged a legal reality.

[LGBTQ Advocate]

As you know, crimes motivated by sexual orientation are not separately prosecutable as hate crimes under existing federal law. However, because the deaths occurred on federal property, the United States would have jurisdiction to prosecute this matter federally. In addition, sentences in federal prosecutions may be enhanced if the crime was motivated by the sexual orientation of the victim pursuant to authority passed under the 1994Crime Control Act.

[Narrator]

The DOJ's response offered reassurance, but it also underscored a painful truth. Even if Julie and Lawley's murders had been hate motivated, federal law didn't yet have the tools to prosecute them as such. In the weeks after the murders, this exchange between LGBTQ advocates and the Department of Justice captured two parallel forces. One, a community demanding accountability, and the other, a federal system operating within the legal and cultural limitations of its time. And as the investigation pressed forward, those early tensions between public perception and official narrative only deepened. Behind closed doors, tips flooded in. Names, sightings, stories. For a moment, it felt like the net was tightening. But one by one, the leads unraveled. Suspects were cleared, witnesses faltered, and the phone lines that once rang late into the night grew quiet. The woods that once held two vibrant young women now held something else. Silence for their families. It was as if the forest itself had swallowed the truth, a secret buried under moss and leaves just out of reach. But the story wasn't over a year after Julian Lawley's murders, another woman, a Canadian tourist named Yvonne Malbasha, was cycling along Skyline Drive when a truck pulled alongside her and began yelling obscenities at her. What happened next would introduce investigators to a man whose name would dominate Julian Lawley's case for years to come. That's next time on Sequestered. Sequestered is created by Sarah Reid and Andrea Clyde, hosted and produced by Sarah Brian. Written and researched together. Theme music by Night Owl and original music by Andrew Golden. You can hear his full song Shenandoah through the link in our show notes.