Anne Carolyn McDaniel
Anne Carolyn McDaniel grew up in Lake of the Woods, a community just off of Route 3 and within a few miles of the 7-Eleven where Breeden began his stops in June 1995. Lake of the Woods is seven miles east of Lignum. Anne lived there in June 1995, moving in November of that year to Orange, Virginia (30 miles south).
Between November 1995-September 1996, Anne lived in Orange, Va at the James Madison Inn on Caroline Street on weekdays, returning home almost every weekend to Lake of the Woods.
On Wednesday, September 18th, 1996, a woman driving in Madison County on a rural road near Route 29 reported being followed. The woman stopped to call for help on her cellular phone, but the vehicle didn't pull over. Whether coincidence or not, that evening, Anne Carolyn McDaniel vanished from the Town of Orange, about 12 miles away.
On September 22, her remains were recovered seven miles from the location where Alicia's remains were recovered, four miles from the home of Thelma Scroggins, and just a few miles from where Thelma’s truck had been located the month prior.
Summary Historical Research
Research Summaries & References by Topic
Background – Anne Carolyn McDaniel Anne Carolyn McDaniel had a “childlike face,” petite frame (5’3”, 135 pounds), and shoulder length brown hair. While her mild cerebral palsy had left her with slight cognitive challenges, a lisp, and a limp, her life was similar to other young women. She yearned for independence, was close to her brother, adored her Scottish terrier Toby, liked to shop at the mall with her mother, and had recently enjoyed a cruise with her family. She was raised in Lake of the Woods, a popular community for federal government retirees near Locust Grove, Virginia. Although they likely never met, Thelma and Anne were almost neighbors. Lake of the Woods is just seven miles east of the Lignum crossroads (barely beyond the Culpeper County line in Orange County) and within two miles of the 7-Eleven where Breeden followed two women in 1995. After graduating from high school in 1994, Anne lived at home for about 18 months, then in November 1995 at the age of 20, she moved to the Town of Orange, 22 miles to the south. Moving to the inn was a gradual shift designed to set her up for success. She called her parents at least twice weekly, sometimes every day, and most Friday afternoons her parents picked her up and drove her home to Lake of the Woods for a weekend. The James Madison Inn in the Town of Orange had long been a part of the town. Beginning in March 1921, the inn served as a popular place for lodging and for weddings. Later it became a group home, primarily for the elderly who were needy or who were without families to care for them. Anne had strong family ties, was not financially challenged, and did not fit the description of the typical resident. She was by far the youngest of the 70 residents, which was fine by her. Her mother remarked that Anne had always gravitated to relationships with adults. Not having a driver’s license Anne walked everywhere, including the 7-Eleven, local restaurants, and the library, where she attended the Bridges Program for Adults, a life skills training program. Almost every day she walked a half block to the Texaco at the end of Caroline Street to make phone calls. It was there she met the owner, Ernest, a kind and humble man that the Town of Orange well remembers. The wooden chair next to his desk in his gas station stands out for some, where for years locals would sit to chat or watch the news with him. Anne relied on him for payphone change, and he perhaps on her for casual conversation that helped pass the day. Whether she sat in the wooden chair is unclear, but for a time, her regular drop-ins at his Texaco gas station allowed for little exchanges that would eventually shed light on her life in September 1996. References Hall, Jim. "Woman Left for Date, Disappeared." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1+. Morrison, Marty. "News Shakes Orange Family." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1. https://www.ochsalumniandfriendsfoundation.com/1990s-ochs-yearbooks?lightbox=dataItem-kwa4ldi6 Morrison, Marty. "News Shakes Orange Family." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1+. Sullivan, B. "I'll Connect You." James Madison Museum of Orange County Heritage, 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.thejamesmadisonmuseum.net/single-post/i-ll-connect-you. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024. Bradshaw, Vic. "Anne McDaniel Tragedy One Year Old: Loss Bitter When Woman Had Overcome So Much." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 22 Sept. 1997, p. 1+ "You are Probably from Orange if You Remember…" Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/226258800750994/ Accessed 16 Nov. 2024
The Boyfriend Locals, particularly Ernest, provided solid information critical to Anne’s case. Ernest knew, for example, that she used his gas station payphone to call her boyfriend in Culpeper. In his 40s, her boyfriend had recently become a volunteer at the library for the Bridges Program. A few weeks after he started volunteering, he was asked to complete a background check at which point he promptly quit. It was later discovered he had a criminal record, convicted of statutory rape decades before (he offered that the relationship had been consensual). After serving time for the statutory rape conviction, he suffered two separate traumatic brain injuries. One involved an accident on the job (he was a quarry truck driver) in which he fell and hit his head, and the other involved an accident during an incident when he was trying to help unlock a car for a woman who had lost her keys. Both accidents limited his capacity to think clearly and to retain information to the point where a relative was appointed conservator of his estate. After Anne’s murder, much more was learned about this relationship. Ernest told law enforcement that she sometimes argued with her boyfriend on the pay phone for up to 30 minutes and often looked sad. About a week prior to her death, she contacted town police when her boyfriend failed to show up for a prearranged date with her, thinking that something had happened to him. On the day before she disappeared, an acquaintance of Anne’s drove her to the boyfriend’s home in Culpeper. The boyfriend’s mother, who lived on the property, confirmed that Anne had been there that day and that during the visit, Anne tripped and fell into rosebushes, scratching her legs. Staff at the Madison Inn confirmed that when she returned on September 17th, her legs were scratched from her ankles to her thighs, and the seat of her pants was dirty. When her boyfriend was first interviewed, he first told investigators he did not know her, and that she had never visited his property. Later he later changed his story, admitting that they had a relationship of sorts, telling law enforcement he was never Anne’s boyfriend, and she must have thought so based on her diminished mental state caused by her disability. References: Hall, Jim. "Woman Left for Date, Disappeared." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1+. Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Hall, Jim. "Home Searched in Lignum Slaying." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 9 Nov. 1996, pp. A1+.
A Mystery Date On Wednesday, September 18th, Anne walked to the library, met with her counselor, and later called her mother. She did not share any plans for the rest of the day but did make plans to come home that Friday for the weekend. That same afternoon, Ernest noticed an unfamiliar blue Honda driving back and forth in the area of the President Madison Inn, up and down Caroline Street. While he recognized the unfamiliar vehicle might not be relevant to the case, the vehicle caught his notice based on the frequent back-and-forth on Caroline Street. That evening, Anne reportedly left the inn between 6 pm – 8 pm. Wearing tan slacks and a short sleeve shirt, she did not bring her purse or her medication for depression. Her parents believed that she did not intend to stay away for very long because she was “a bit of a hypochondriac” and would never have gone anywhere without her medication. Anne was known to hitchhike, and while this may have no relevance whatsoever to her case, it creates speculation about where she went that evening and her mode of transportation. There were reporting sightings on the evening of September 18th in the town of Orange. One woman thought she saw her walking past the post office; another unvalidated report saw her walking along Route 15 north of town (from the James Madison Inn, she would have passed the post office to get to Route 15 north). If true, these reports could indicate she was heading to her boyfriend’s home, which was 10 miles to the north, just off Route 15 in Rapidan. She was reported missing promptly at 8:15 am the next morning when a routine check at the inn found her room empty. Her parents immediately acted, posting flyers that day around Orange and requesting information from anyone who may have seen her. Back in 1996, two witnesses reported speaking to her in front of the Hill Top Restaurant on Friday night, September 20th. During the exchange, Anne reportedly asked the couple to take her to the boyfriend’s home in Rapidan. While they were talking, the couple said a white, husky man with a beard driving a tan or copper car picked her up in a car. The driver matched the description of the boyfriend, and the car matched the description of his mother’s vehicle. References: Hall, Jim. "Woman Left for Date, Disappeared." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1+. O'Brien, Kimberly. "Police Hope Phone Clues Lead to Killer." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 27 Sept. 1996, p. 1+. Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Hall, Jim. "Home Searched in Lignum Slaying." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 9 Nov. 1996, p. 1+ Shenk, Scott and Johnson, Donnie. "New Info Sparking Hopes in '96 Case. Better Technology Used to Retest DNA." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 23 Sep. 2016, p. 1+.
Remains Recovered On Sunday, September 22nd, a body was found around 9:15 am by a hunter and his bloodhound in Lignum, about 70 feet off the side of Stringfellow Road (Route 723), a rural, narrow unpaved road with few homes nearby and close to a hunting cabin. The remains were seven miles from the location where Alicia was recovered, four miles from the home of Thelma Scroggins, and just a few miles from where Thelma’s truck was recovered. Within a few days, Anne was identified as the victim. The medical examiner determined that McDaniel was killed on Saturday, Sept. 21st, three days after her reported disappearance, and that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Her body was not clothed, her hands and mouth were bound with duct tape, and a roll of duct tape was found nearby. The killer covered her body with brush and attempted to burn it after dumping her there. She was dismembered, and DNA and trace evidence was recovered from the scene. Police issued a search warrant for the 14-acre property where the boyfriend lived, about 11 miles from where her remains were recovered. The property was thoroughly searched, including the sawmill, numerous vehicles, and two trailer homes; they seized hair, blood, and fingerprint samples as well as pillows, blankets, duct tape, and several weapons, among other items. A year after her death, the Virginia State Police indicated that they were satisfied that her boyfriend was not involved in her murder. The Virginia State Police assigned their serial killer specialist to investigate, along with other significant manpower. The state police spokeswoman reported to the media that they could not rule in or rule out links to Alicia’s case; law enforcement in Culpeper and Orange counties confirmed this, with one adding that it was his gut feeling the murders of Alicia and Anne (but not Thelma) were related. References Hall, Jim. "Grisly Find Still a Mystery." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 24 Sep. 1996, p. 1. Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Hall, Jim. "Home Searched in Lignum Slaying." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 9 Nov. 1996, p. 1+ Pugh, Kari. "Sheriff in Spotlight. Hart Brings Fresh Look at Unsolved Slayings." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 23 May 2000, pg. 1+. Hall, Jim. "Woman Left for Date, Disappeared." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 26 Sep. 1996, p. 1+. Crump, Catherine. "Police Confirm Dead Body Is that of Missing Girl." Cavalier Daily (Charlottesville, Va), 26 Sept. 1996, Volume 107, Number 24. Dute, Jeffrey. "Remains are Those of Orange Woman. Woman Had Been Missing from Assisted-living Home Since Sept. 18." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 26 Sept. 1996, p. 1.+
Evidence The medical examiner determined that McDaniel was killed on Saturday, Sept. 21st, three days after her reported disappearance, and that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Her body was not clothed, her hands and mouth were bound with duct tape, and a roll of duct tape was found nearby. The killer covered her body with brush and attempted to burn it after dumping her there. She was dismembered, and DNA and trace evidence was recovered from the scene. References: Shenk, Scott and Johnson, Donnie. "New Info Sparking Hopes in '96 Case. Better Technology Used to Retest DNA." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 23 Sep. 2016, p. 1+. Neuberger, Christine. "Dental Records May Identify Woman's Body. Little Autopsy Information is Available." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 25 Sep. 1996, p. B1. Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Hall, Jim. "Home Searched in Lignum Slaying." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 9 Nov. 1996, p. 1+