Season 3: Shenandoah Park Murders

A male DNA profile—lifted from Julie and Lollie’s sleeping bag and tent flap—was finally strong enough to compare. When it entered CODIS, it hit. And then came the confirmation: a direct comparison verified by every marker, with odds of error less than one in 2.6 trillion.

The Department of Justice… will move to dismiss the indictment in U.S. v. Darrell David Rice. Additional investigation has yielded evidence that makes prosecution as a capital case inappropriate at this time.

On July 9, 1997, Yvonne Malbasha pedaled along Skyline Drive, climbing through the summer heat, when a red pickup truck began tailing her. The driver leaned out the window, shouting obscenities. Then he swerved toward her.

When Julie failed to call home on Memorial Day, her family’s worry grew. By May 31, her father contacted the park. Rangers quickly found the couple’s red Toyota Tercel at Stony Man Overlook and began a series of “hasty searches” through major trails.

On June 5, 1996, headlines across the country carried the story with stark, unflinching language: “Two hikers’ throats cut, FBI reports” — Richmond Times-Dispatch “Murder Invades Idyllic World of Backpackers” — Los Angeles Times “Women’s deaths spark fear on Appalachian Trail” — Associated Press

In May 1996, before smartphones, before GPS, when road trips started with a paper map and a full tank of gas, two young women loaded their gear, their dog, and their dreams into a red Toyota Tercel in Burlington, Vermont. Twelve hours of highway lay between them and Shenandoah National Park.