Like most states, Virginia isn’t immune to horrific homicides and puzzling disappearances. Despite the best efforts of the authorities and amateur sleuths to identify suspects and follow up on leads, some true crime cases remain unsolved even decades after the fact.
Unfortunately, this leaves the families of the slain and missing with more questions than answers. However, both the families and investigators often still cling to the hope that a single breakthrough can lead to closure.
Here are 14 unsolved true crime cases that still have Virginians scratching their heads.
Homicides
Some true crime cases take the form of tragic homicides that took the victims from their friends and family all too soon. Unfortunately, the unsolved homicides in Virginia have taken the lives of young children all the way up to senior citizens.
Cynthia Johnson-Heather Johnson double homicide
The double homicide of Cynthia Johnson, 34, and her 7-year-old daughter Heather Johnson on Aug. 29, 1996, in South Richmond still confuses the public and police 30 years later. Virginia State Police describe it as “one of Richmond’s most horrific murders.”
The mother and daughter were murdered, then their home was set on fire to cover up the crime. Oddly, someone had spoken to Cynthia shortly before the fire started, meaning the events happened rather quickly.
Despite the police stating that they have collected a great deal of information on the case, there are still pieces missing from the puzzle. For example, the police know that pizza was delivered to the home that night but haven’t been able to determine who the delivery driver was. It is believed that Cynthia knew the killer.
Anastasia Christou homicide
Anastasia Christou, 80, was tragically murdered in Virginia Beach sometime after returning to her home from a visit to the Oceanfront, a walk she went on every day, just before sundown on July 15, 1988. The following day, her son found that force had been used to enter her home while she was sleeping.
Although she was alive at the time he found her, she succumbed to injuries sustained during a beating. Investigators found that theft was a possible motive for the attacker, but the case remains active.
“Chessie” unidentified remains
The case of “Chessie” is a truly puzzling one. “Chessie” is the name given to the unidentified Jane Doe who was discovered floating in the Chesapeake Bay near the First Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on the morning of May 30, 1976. It’s believed she was discovered within 24 to 48 hours of the killing.
Once the Coast Guard recovered the body, it was transported to the medical examiner’s office. She was described as a decapitated white female between the ages of 30 and 50. Her height was listed as 5.5 feet, while her weight was listed as 135 pounds.
Despite the body having unique markings, including a 5.5-inch scar on the backside of her right thigh and a raised red mole on her neck, her identity remains unknown. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.
Johnny Rush Bowman homicide
Johnny Rush Bowman, a 31-year-old trooper, was repeatedly stabbed by an unknown person in the early morning of Aug. 19, 1984, in Manassas after answering his front door. As the assailant fled on foot, Bowman’s wife called 911. Unfortunately, Bowman died after being transported to a local hospital.
As the years have passed, law enforcement has tried to shake loose new leads. In 2005, the Virginia State Police conducted a media campaign asking for the public’s assistance. By 2012, the FBI and Virginia State Police had announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the assailant’s arrest and conviction.
Seven years ago, the FBI also released a video of Bowman’s daughter, Nikki, explaining how difficult it has been to go all these years without answers. Now a Manassas City Police Department officer, who was 2 at the time of Bowman’s killing, she’s continuing to advocate for the case so that both she and her father get the answers they deserve.
On the 40th anniversary of Bowman’s murder, the Virginia State Police announced that the agency was continuing to pursue leads. Using analytical technologies that were unavailable at the time, DNA evidence was reexamined.
Bobby Dillon homicide
Bobby Dillon, 41, was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest at mile marker 199 on Interstate 81 south on Feb. 18, 1977, after the Virginia State Police and Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an unresponsive truck driver.
Surprisingly, Dillon’s co-driver was asleep in the tractor-trailer, only remembering that Dillon had pulled over to a rest area to use the restroom.
Still an active case, the Virginia State Police took it over in 2022.
Donna Hall-Michael Margaret homicide
Donna Hall, 18, and Michael Margaret, 21, were found deceased in the early evening of Aug. 21, 1984, in a wooded area in the Kings Crossing Apartment complex in Henrico County. WRIC8 reported that they were last seen leaving a friend’s party with plans of going camping on Aug. 17.
The medical examiner found that they had been stabbed to death. Margaret’s siblings said after all this time, they want the closure of knowing who killed them and why.
Sarah Greenhalgh homicide
Sarah Greenhalgh, 48, was a reporter for The Winchester Star when she was found dead in her Upperville home, which had been set on fire, in northern Fauquier County on July 9, 2012. The autopsy revealed she had been shot to death in the neck.
Her mother, Sara Lee Greenhalgh, told People that she enjoyed being part of what was going on and sharing it with others.
The night of her death, she made a Facebook post about sleeping with the window open and noted that she hoped a “crazy boy” wouldn’t bother her. It’s been reported that she was referring to an auto-body worker she had been dating. Although there were reports that the two had a disagreement and that the worker was a suspect, no one was charged for Greenhalgh’s murder.
Last year, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office once again asked for the public’s help in providing information that could help solve the cold case. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the crime.
Bryan Mace homicide
Bryan Mace, 20, was found dead in his Midland area home in Fauquier County on April 9, 2003. Evidence suggested that he interrupted a burglary after returning home from a local video store. He was subsequently killed, and the residence was set on fire.
His stepfather, Carlo Bertelli, found him after stopping by the house to request assistance for a roofing job he was working on. Upon arrival, he was unable to enter the house through the garage door. When he gained entry through another door, he found the house was consumed with black smoke.
He quickly set out to find Mace, stumbling over his body near the door he hadn’t been able to enter through. Initially, Bertelli thought Mace had lost consciousness due to the smoke, pulling him into the garage. He then realized Mace had been shot in the head.
Authorities said that the burglar had stolen Bertelli’s gun collection. To this day, no one has been arrested for the murder, and none of the guns have been recovered.
Tammy Thorpe homicide
Tammy Thorpe, 20, was found shot to death off a gravel lane outside of Warrenton on Oct. 23, 1988. A small-caliber firearm had been used to shoot her multiple times in the face.
She had last been seen in the early morning hours driving her gold Pontiac Grand Am with “86-TAMMY” license plate. The car was discovered in the Warrenton Plaza shopping center later that day. Oddly, the keys were in the ignition, and her purse was inside.
Heidi Childs-David Metzler homicide
Heidi Childs and David Metzler, both 18, were found dead in a rural recreation area of the Jefferson National Forest called Caldwell Fields in Montgomery County on Aug. 27, 2009, by a man walking his dogs. They had been shot to death on the evening of Aug. 26.
The couple were students at Virginia Tech at the time of their deaths, getting ready to enter their sophomore year. WDBJ7 reported that they had met in a church youth group while in high school, with Childs being from Bedford County and Metzler being from Campbell County.
Those who knew them said that Childs had a bubbly personality, and that Metzler had a love of sports and science.
Although the investigation has yielded multiple persons of interest from throughout the region, it remains an active case. A $100,000 reward is offered for tips leading to an arrest.
Gina Hall murder
Gina Hall’s disappearance has long confused those in the New River Valley.
The 19-year-old left her apartment in Radford on the night of June 28, 1980, to travel to a nightclub in Blacksburg. There, she met Stephen Epperly, whom she traveled with to Claytor Lake in Pulaski County.
Despite calling her sister to tell her that she would be home around 6 a.m., she never showed up. The following day, her sister reported her missing. By June 30, her car had been found under a railroad trestle.
Epperly was convicted of Hall’s murder in 1993; however, her remains still haven’t been recovered.
Disappearances
Some true crime cases take the form of disappearances, with individuals seeming to go missing without a trace. Despite the time that has passed since many of these disappearances, many of the families are holding out hope that they will one day learn the fate of their long-lost loved ones.
Jeffrey Quick disappearance
Jeffrey Quick went missing on May 23, 1998, with reports attributing his disappearance to a murder.
Despite multiple search efforts, including a 2001 dive that discovered the body of a 38-year-old woman who went missing in Martinsville in 1989 that had been stuffed in a barrel, Quick has yet to be found, according to WSET13.
The case received renewed attention in 2025 when the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office started reexamining the case, according to WDBJ7. Despite the difficulty being that nearly 30 years have passed since Quick disappeared, the office concluded that his remains are likely in or near Henry County.
Darlene Fleshman disappearance
Darlene Fleshman went missing around Sept. 15, 2012, in Southwest Roanoke after traveling from Union, West Virginia, to sell her 1994 purple two-door Chevrolet Cavalier.
In an interview with WDBJ7 earlier this year, Fleshman’s sister, Patricia Phelps, described her as being full of life. She noted that Fleshman was the one who sparked her interest in makeup and rock and roll music.
She had met Michael Iseman, who was interested in buying the car, online. Based on reports, Iseman was the last person to see her in Roanoke. Iseman’s connection to the case is puzzling given he was convicted in 2015 for the 2013 killing of his new wife and the stabbing of his stepdaughter.
The car also vanished with Fleshman, with Phelps noting that it’s still registered to Darlene.
James Walker disappearance
James Walker, 53, went missing from a Food Lion parking lot on the morning of April 7, 2000. He was last seen sitting in his friend’s car in the parking lot. When his friend returned from the store, Walker was gone.
The 6-foot-7-inch man was affectionately known as “Slim,” according to WDBJ7, because of his height and weight of 140 pounds.
Earlier this year, Walker’s son, Bobby, spoke with WSLS10 to explain what the past 26 years without his father have been like and to reiterate that all he wants is to bring his father home.
