On the 28th anniversary of Alicia’s abduction, a local newspaper summarized her murder, wrongfully describing her as a nursing student on her way that morning to visit her mother who lived in Charlottesville. As the years pass, the details get more and more muddled.

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This many years later, though, the end of the guardrail where Alicia’s car was recovered still has flowers, ribbons, or other small memorials. It’s a strangely powerful testament to the life and death of Alicia Showalter Reynolds.

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While they did not garner the same level of attention, Thelma and Anne’s cases were equal losses for society. Thelma spent her entire life serving her community in quiet ways that had an enduring impact on those who knew her. Anne had been (perhaps unknowingly) a model for people with disabilities, brave enough to pursue an independent life worth living. And even if all three of them had been criminals, they deserved far better. Their lives are worthy of answers about their deaths.

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Alicia’s case has been described as “a perfect cold case,” Thelma’s as “positive solvable” and Anne’s as “solvable.” 

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In June 2022, the Virginia State Police launched their cold case website. On it, they seek information about the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds, case number 96-21498. Unlike almost every other county in Virginia, as of 2024 the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office does not have a cold case site on its official intranet page. They use Facebook for occasional reminders about cold cases, but never call for information about the murder of Thelma Scroggins. The last update by by Orange County, Virginia for the murder of Anne McDaniels was in 2016.

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In 2010, relatives of the victims appealed to then Virginia Gov. McDonnell, asking for further testing of the evidence in their cases. In particular, the mother of Alicia Showalter Reynolds has called for an independent review of the evidence in her daughter's case and for investigators to comb through all of the information that flooded police in the early days-and since then-to see if something had been missed that could solve the case.

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Perhaps such a review is underway. What was said back in 1996 repeatedly by the Virginia State Police bears repeating for all three unsolved cases: "We're not going to give up hope."

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References:

Bradshaw, Vic. "Slain Woman's Family: Why Never Answered." Daily News Record (Harrisonburg, Va.), 2 Mar 2001, p.1 .

Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes?"  Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 Nov. 2007, p. 1+.

Bunker, Wally. "Lead in Murder Case Results in Dead-End." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 11 Oct. 1999, p. 1+.

Shenk, Scott and and Johnson, Donnie. "20 Years Later Orange Woman's Murder Remains Unsolved." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 22 Sep. 2016.

"Alicia's 'Who'." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 5 Mar. 2013. Gould, Pamela. "Loved Ones Still Searching for Answers in 1996 Unsolved Killings of Women." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 Mar 2012.