THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LURAY LENGTH: 52 lines
Patsy and Tom Williams came to the Shenandoah National Park campsite where their daughter and another woman were slain and said they hoped publicity about the visit would generate new leads for investigators.
``Maybe someone may have heard something in the weeks since that may be related to the murder,'' Tom Williams told reporters Wednesday at nearby Skyland Lodge.
On June 1, Julianne Williams of St. Cloud, Minn., and Lollie Winans of Unity, Maine, were found at the campsite with their throats cut and their hands bound. No one has been arrested, but FBI special agent Bill Falls said agents are actively investigating the case.
``Finding their killer can provide us, and all those who mourn their deaths, some sense of peace and help with our grief,'' said Tom Williams, who also visited the secluded campsite the day after being told his daughter was dead.
``Finding their killer also will help to return to the woods some semblance of safety and tranquility for everyone who enjoys the beauty of the outdoors,'' he said.
And there was another reason they made the trip from their home in St. Cloud.
``We want to feel her presence in some way, to gain some sense of what she may have been thinking and feeling,'' Patsy Williams said.
She said her husband was right when he described the campsite as the perfect spot - ``quiet, secluded, out under the trees and close to a stream. As we celebrate her life, the memory of her love of hiking and the outdoors, we know that she died in a place where she was enjoying herself, doing what she loved most.''
The lectern where they spoke to reporters was flanked by poster boards with pictures of their daughter in the outdoors along with letters of sympathy.
The couple had planned to visit last Wednesday, when Julianne would have turned 25, but strong winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Fran closed the park.
Tom Williams said they wanted to give their daughter the only birthday gift they have the power to provide: ``to bring attention to Julie's life and to Julie's murder.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Tom and Patsy Williams, the parents of slain hiker Julianne
Williams, held a news conference Wednesday at the Skyland Lodge in
the Shenandoah National Park to ask for help in finding whoever
killed their daughter and fellow hiker Lollie Winans.
KEYWORDS: MURDER APPALACIAN TRAIL by CNB