Post by vrextar on Feb 12, 2020 2:00:46 GMT
So I searched a bit and couldn't find any threads about this case, so here's some info in case you're not familiar with it. If a thread has already been posted, let me know and I can delete this one.
Case Background/Info
So who is/was the Route 29 Stalker? We just don't know yet. I'm sure the family/friends/loved ones of Alicia Showalter Reynolds sure would like to know and see her killer brought to justice. On March 2nd, 1996, Ms. Reynolds was driving to Charlottesville, VA from Baltimore, MD to visit her mother as the two were planning to go shopping. Unfortunately, she never arrived. Her car would be found later that day, hours after she was supposed to arrive on a highway near Culpeper, VA. According to the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki, a napkin was left on her windshield, signifying that she had had car trouble. The car was inspected and there wasn't anything wrong with it that would've necessitated her to pull off the road.
Police set up a road block in the area the next day to try to talk to witnesses who may have seen her or what happened to her. They said she talked to a man with a blue or black pickup truck at the side of the road. Later on, it was discovered that a man had tried to convince around 20 different women to pull over, honking his horn, flashing his lights, and telling them there was something wrong with their vehicle. If they pulled over, he would take them to a nearby pay phone (presumably to call a tow truck, as this was before everyone had cell phones) and that was that. Other times they refused to pull over or ignored him and he was said to get angry about this and leave.
About a week before Alicia disappeared, a woman (I believe her name was Carmelita Shomo) said she was driving home and was approached by a man who said there were problems with her car and he offered her a ride. She said yes and then shortly into the ride, the man attacked her with a screwdriver and attempted to sexually assault her. Fortunately for her sake, she survived the encounter, although she broke her ankle during her escape from the vehicle. It's thought that this man is the same man who killed Alicia.
On May 7th, 1996, Alicia's remains were found in Lignum, VA, a town which had a logging area off State Route 3. Her cause of death was not stated at the time. Police think the man may have also done similar things in other areas. The man was described as being between 35-40 years old (in 1996, so a DOB of 1956-1961) and around 5'10" to 6'0" tall. He was said to have reddish brown hair and a medium build. He had told some of the women that his name was Larry Breeden. Several men with that name were questioned, but they have all been ruled out.
In Alicia's case, the police have fingerprints and hair they think belong to the killer, but there haven't been any matches thus far according to the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki.
Suspects
Richard Marc Edward Evonitz - Evonitz also was never charged with any of these crimes either, however he committed similar crimes elsewhere (especially in northern central VA). In January 1987 he exposed himself and performed a sexual act in front of a 15-year-old girl in Orange Park, FL. At the time he was serving in the Navy. He was arrested a month later when his ship had returned to port. He pleaded no contest and received a sentence of three years probation. On September 9, 1996, he abducted and murdered 16-year-old Sofia Silva in Spotsylvania County, VA. Her remains were found about a month later in a creek near State Route 3 (Alicia was also found on SR3, though Lignum is in Culpeper County) in King George County. He also abducted and murdered Kristin and Kati Lisk (who were sisters and ages 15 and 12 respectively) near Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA on May 1, 1997. They were found deceased 5 days later in the South Anna River, which was near Old Ridge Road in Hanover County, VA.
On June 24, 2002, Evonitz abducted and raped another 15-year-old girl, Kara Robinson. This occurred in Columbia, SC (he had moved from VA by this point). Given his previous victims, it's likely that he probably would've killed her as well. Fortunately, she was able to escape when he was asleep that night. She identified him as her attacker and subsequently Evonitz fled to Sarasota, FL. Unfortunately he never faced the justice system as he killed himself after police had closed in on him.
My Thoughts
I don't think either of these suspects are the Route 29 Stalker. Why? Well in both of their cases, they don't look very much like the sketch IMO (yes, sketches can be unreliable, but still). Rice kind of does, but he could also be out because of his age. According to stardem.com, Rice was 39 years old in 2007, which places his DOB in 1968. Alicia was killed in 1996, which, if Rice were her killer, he would've been 27-28-years-old when she was killed. Witnesses and prior victims in the R29S incidents seemed to indicate that the R29S was between the ages of 35-40 (27-28 being a just few years outside of the low end of the witness age range guess), which Rice was not at that time. Although given his photo and has hairline, it's possible he could've been thought to be older than he actually was (though he probably looked different in 1996 than he does now). I wonder if any of Rice's relatives were questioned?
Evonitz was born in 1963, so he's also outside the age range, but just barely. But I think he should be ruled out in this case because the R29S victims were older and outside his preferred age range and because the MO didn't match. He abducted victims from yards, not tell them they have car problems and offer them a ride. Granted killers can change MOs, but this seems unlikely in this case IMO. Though according to new information I learned from Mind Over Murder's coverage of the R29S, Evonitz apparently confessed to numerous other unnamed crimes to his sister before his death. Who knows what those crimes could've been?
Maps
This maps shows an approximate map and time it would take to get from Baltimore, MD to Charlottesville, VA, assuming you take the most direct route.
Blue Star - Baltimore, MD, where Alicia was from
Red Star - Culpeper, VA, a town near Route 29 where her car was found abandoned due to "mechanical problems"
Yellow Star - Charlottesville, VA, the city where she was traveling to to go shopping with her mother
Green Star - Shenandoah National Park, the location of the attempted kidnapping Rice was convicted of and the unsolved 1996 murders of Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams and Laura "Lollie" Winans for which he was charged, but charges were later dropped
This one shows a closer look at the relevant areas in Alicia's case. As you can see in this map, if you were taking the most direct route, you would indeed need to travel along Route 29 to get to Charlottesville from Baltimore.
Red Star - Culpeper, VA, a town near Route 29 where her car was found abandoned due to "mechanical problems"
Yellow Star - Charlottesville, VA, the city where she was traveling to to go shopping with her mother
Purple Star - Lignum, VA, a town where Alicia's remains were found in a wooded area about 2 months after her disappearance
Green Star - Shenandoah National Park, the location of the attempted kidnapping Rice was convicted of and the unsolved 1996 murders of Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams and Laura "Lollie" Winans for which he was charged, but charges were later dropped
Personal Notes
A good friend of mine lives near Charlottesville and I have traveled along portions of Route 29 several times over the past 10 or so years. Parts of it are quite lively (near Charlottesville), while other parts are heavily wooded with hilly to mountainous terrain. If you've ever been to Monticello (in Charlottesville, VA), you may have seen signs for Route 29 exits off Interstate 64.
I don't think I've ever been up to the Culpeper area before, so I'm not that familiar with that portion.
Sources
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Route_29_Stalker, unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Alicia_Showalter_Reynolds, unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Julianne_Marie_Williams_and_Laura_Winans
Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evonitz & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_persons_cases_along_U.S._Route_29_in_Virginia
stardem.com - www.stardem.com/news/concerns-raised-about-ex-con-living-on-kent-island/article_5f2e2ce6-4b9b-557c-8e12-dbfc8635b218.html
fredericksburg.com - www.fredericksburg.com/local/hypnosis-on-trial-in-route-stalker-case/article_a80eda4a-cff5-53dc-9ff7-fa6de13d393c.html
Case Background/Info
So who is/was the Route 29 Stalker? We just don't know yet. I'm sure the family/friends/loved ones of Alicia Showalter Reynolds sure would like to know and see her killer brought to justice. On March 2nd, 1996, Ms. Reynolds was driving to Charlottesville, VA from Baltimore, MD to visit her mother as the two were planning to go shopping. Unfortunately, she never arrived. Her car would be found later that day, hours after she was supposed to arrive on a highway near Culpeper, VA. According to the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki, a napkin was left on her windshield, signifying that she had had car trouble. The car was inspected and there wasn't anything wrong with it that would've necessitated her to pull off the road.
Police set up a road block in the area the next day to try to talk to witnesses who may have seen her or what happened to her. They said she talked to a man with a blue or black pickup truck at the side of the road. Later on, it was discovered that a man had tried to convince around 20 different women to pull over, honking his horn, flashing his lights, and telling them there was something wrong with their vehicle. If they pulled over, he would take them to a nearby pay phone (presumably to call a tow truck, as this was before everyone had cell phones) and that was that. Other times they refused to pull over or ignored him and he was said to get angry about this and leave.
About a week before Alicia disappeared, a woman (I believe her name was Carmelita Shomo) said she was driving home and was approached by a man who said there were problems with her car and he offered her a ride. She said yes and then shortly into the ride, the man attacked her with a screwdriver and attempted to sexually assault her. Fortunately for her sake, she survived the encounter, although she broke her ankle during her escape from the vehicle. It's thought that this man is the same man who killed Alicia.
On May 7th, 1996, Alicia's remains were found in Lignum, VA, a town which had a logging area off State Route 3. Her cause of death was not stated at the time. Police think the man may have also done similar things in other areas. The man was described as being between 35-40 years old (in 1996, so a DOB of 1956-1961) and around 5'10" to 6'0" tall. He was said to have reddish brown hair and a medium build. He had told some of the women that his name was Larry Breeden. Several men with that name were questioned, but they have all been ruled out.
In Alicia's case, the police have fingerprints and hair they think belong to the killer, but there haven't been any matches thus far according to the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki.
Suspects
Darrell David Rice - Rice has never been charged with Alicia's murder or any of the possibly related Route 29 Stalker crimes. However, he is a person of interest. He had been arrested in 1997 for the attempted kidnapping of a woman who was biking around the same time frame in Shenandoah National Park. His father also lived in the area and had a truck similar to what was described by the R29S's victims.
In the case of Ms. Shomo, she identified Rice as her attacker and he received 11 months in jail in a plea deal. He was also a suspect in the murders of Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams and Laura "Lollie" Winans, which occurred just a few weeks after Alicia's remains were discovered. He was thought to have been in Shenandoah National Park around the time of these murders. He was charged with Julie & Lollie's murders in 2002, but the charges were dropped in 2004 due to a lack of evidence. He was released from prison (from his prior attempted kidnapping conviction I assume), in 2011.
Richard Marc Edward Evonitz - Evonitz also was never charged with any of these crimes either, however he committed similar crimes elsewhere (especially in northern central VA). In January 1987 he exposed himself and performed a sexual act in front of a 15-year-old girl in Orange Park, FL. At the time he was serving in the Navy. He was arrested a month later when his ship had returned to port. He pleaded no contest and received a sentence of three years probation. On September 9, 1996, he abducted and murdered 16-year-old Sofia Silva in Spotsylvania County, VA. Her remains were found about a month later in a creek near State Route 3 (Alicia was also found on SR3, though Lignum is in Culpeper County) in King George County. He also abducted and murdered Kristin and Kati Lisk (who were sisters and ages 15 and 12 respectively) near Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA on May 1, 1997. They were found deceased 5 days later in the South Anna River, which was near Old Ridge Road in Hanover County, VA.
On June 24, 2002, Evonitz abducted and raped another 15-year-old girl, Kara Robinson. This occurred in Columbia, SC (he had moved from VA by this point). Given his previous victims, it's likely that he probably would've killed her as well. Fortunately, she was able to escape when he was asleep that night. She identified him as her attacker and subsequently Evonitz fled to Sarasota, FL. Unfortunately he never faced the justice system as he killed himself after police had closed in on him.
My Thoughts
I don't think either of these suspects are the Route 29 Stalker. Why? Well in both of their cases, they don't look very much like the sketch IMO (yes, sketches can be unreliable, but still). Rice kind of does, but he could also be out because of his age. According to stardem.com, Rice was 39 years old in 2007, which places his DOB in 1968. Alicia was killed in 1996, which, if Rice were her killer, he would've been 27-28-years-old when she was killed. Witnesses and prior victims in the R29S incidents seemed to indicate that the R29S was between the ages of 35-40 (27-28 being a just few years outside of the low end of the witness age range guess), which Rice was not at that time. Although given his photo and has hairline, it's possible he could've been thought to be older than he actually was (though he probably looked different in 1996 than he does now). I wonder if any of Rice's relatives were questioned?
Evonitz was born in 1963, so he's also outside the age range, but just barely. But I think he should be ruled out in this case because the R29S victims were older and outside his preferred age range and because the MO didn't match. He abducted victims from yards, not tell them they have car problems and offer them a ride. Granted killers can change MOs, but this seems unlikely in this case IMO. Though according to new information I learned from Mind Over Murder's coverage of the R29S, Evonitz apparently confessed to numerous other unnamed crimes to his sister before his death. Who knows what those crimes could've been?
Maps
Map 1
This maps shows an approximate map and time it would take to get from Baltimore, MD to Charlottesville, VA, assuming you take the most direct route.
Blue Star - Baltimore, MD, where Alicia was from
Red Star - Culpeper, VA, a town near Route 29 where her car was found abandoned due to "mechanical problems"
Yellow Star - Charlottesville, VA, the city where she was traveling to to go shopping with her mother
Green Star - Shenandoah National Park, the location of the attempted kidnapping Rice was convicted of and the unsolved 1996 murders of Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams and Laura "Lollie" Winans for which he was charged, but charges were later dropped
Map 2
This one shows a closer look at the relevant areas in Alicia's case. As you can see in this map, if you were taking the most direct route, you would indeed need to travel along Route 29 to get to Charlottesville from Baltimore.
Red Star - Culpeper, VA, a town near Route 29 where her car was found abandoned due to "mechanical problems"
Yellow Star - Charlottesville, VA, the city where she was traveling to to go shopping with her mother
Purple Star - Lignum, VA, a town where Alicia's remains were found in a wooded area about 2 months after her disappearance
Green Star - Shenandoah National Park, the location of the attempted kidnapping Rice was convicted of and the unsolved 1996 murders of Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams and Laura "Lollie" Winans for which he was charged, but charges were later dropped
Personal Notes
A good friend of mine lives near Charlottesville and I have traveled along portions of Route 29 several times over the past 10 or so years. Parts of it are quite lively (near Charlottesville), while other parts are heavily wooded with hilly to mountainous terrain. If you've ever been to Monticello (in Charlottesville, VA), you may have seen signs for Route 29 exits off Interstate 64.
I don't think I've ever been up to the Culpeper area before, so I'm not that familiar with that portion.
Sources
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Route_29_Stalker, unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Alicia_Showalter_Reynolds, unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Julianne_Marie_Williams_and_Laura_Winans
Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evonitz & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_persons_cases_along_U.S._Route_29_in_Virginia
stardem.com - www.stardem.com/news/concerns-raised-about-ex-con-living-on-kent-island/article_5f2e2ce6-4b9b-557c-8e12-dbfc8635b218.html
fredericksburg.com - www.fredericksburg.com/local/hypnosis-on-trial-in-route-stalker-case/article_a80eda4a-cff5-53dc-9ff7-fa6de13d393c.html