The Route 29 Stalker
The events surrounding the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds are usually summarized as follows: In January 1996, the Route 29 stalker, a man who self-identified as "Larry Breeden," began following women driving alone on Route 29 near Culpeper, Va., signaling them to pull over for a phony mechanical issue. Breeden successfully conned a trusting Alicia Showalter Reynolds into accepting a ride for help. After kidnapping and murdering her, he left her remains in Lignum, Virginia and likely fled the area.
A Misleading Narrative
Research revealed different information: "Larry Breeden" began practicing his stops in 1995; operated on many Central Virginia highways; met the same Virginia State Police trooper three times before abducting Alicia; per the Virginia State Police, may have forced Alicia into his truck; Breeden was reportedly spotted in Lignum before and after her murder; may have had access to many vehicles; and made at least one stop (if not more) after March 2nd, 1996. Hypnosis was used to elicit information from three individuals who interacted with Breeden, to no avail.
Summary Research Findings
Research Summaries & References by Topic
Breeden - June 1995 Stops While most historical accounts indicate Larry Breeden began practicing in January 1996, investigators concluded his first stops began much earlier, in June 1995. Witness accounts, first reported publicly in 2018, elaborate on details of encounters that occurred in summer months on Route 29 near the Town of Culpeper and on Route 3, a two-lane highway that connects Culpeper to Fredericksburg, Virginia. A 23-year-old woman described her experience on a warm evening driving home from work. Sometime between 6 and 7 p.m., a shiny black Nissan truck with a teal stripe and 30-day tags began tailing her on Route 29 just south of the Town of Culpeper, the same stretch of roadway where Alicia was abducted in March 1996. He pointed and gestured for her to roll down her window. When she did, he shouted that sparks were coming from her tailpipe. She thanked him but pressed on, since her home was just minutes away, on the northbound side of Route 29. A family member checked her vehicle and found no mechanical issues. The next morning as she sat in her living room, she saw the same black Nissan slowly driving by on the southbound side of Route 29. He reappeared moments later in the northbound lanes. After passing her home, the driver repeated the loop again, this time turning into her driveway and idling there before pulling away. Another encounter occurred on Route 3, about 24 miles away in Orange County, Virginia. Two sisters headed to Culpeper following an appointment in Fredericksburg stopped at a 7-Eleven on the corner of Route 3 and Route 20 in the Locust Grove/Lake of the Woods area. One of the women noticed a man watching her from a black truck in the parking lot. She left, driving west on Route 3 towards Culpeper, passing by the communities of Lake of the Woods, then Lignum, and eventually turning south onto Route 29. He followed her, and after a while flashed his truck lights, signaling her to pull over. At that point, the sister in the backseat with an infant adjusted her position and turned to look at him. When they didn’t pull over, he became visibly frustrated and turned around at a farm. They reported the black truck was newish, had an aqua strip, and displayed 30-day tags with an Orange County, Virginia sticker on the windshield. The driver was wearing a baseball cap, flannel shirt, and a bulky ring. Their descriptions of the driver match a composite sketch of Breeden which was not released to the public in 1996 but shared in a 2007 Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star article which shows a suspect wearing a baseball cap. Also of relevance – the sisters perceived that the man following them thought he was trailing a lone female driver (one sister was in the backseat with an infant). This perception may explain why a law enforcement profile of Breeden released in November 1996 indicated he would back off if he realized his target wasn’t alone in the vehicle. References: Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Santos, Carlos. "Police Building Rice Case. He Is Called a 'Strong Suspect' in the Slaying of Alicia S. Reynolds." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 June 2004, p. A-1. Watts, Woody G, host. "My Watts, Woody G, host. "My Sister's Keeper." Route 29 Stalker, Season 1, Episode 6, Media Squatch, 10 Oct 2018. https://www.mediasquatch.com/route-29-stalker/episode/221876a5/my-sisters-keeper. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 1: Evonitz Not Checked in Unsolved Slayings." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 November 2007, pp. 1+. "Profile." Winchester Star, 13 Nov 1996, p. 1.
Three Encounters with Virginia State Police Trooper/Hypnosis In January and February 1996, the same Virginia State Police trooper met Breeden three times. Their first meeting unfolded on what was then a remote stretch of Route 66 near Gainesville in Northern Virginia, followed by run-ins on Routes 29 and 17. "Every time I talked to this man, it was the same thing," the trooper reported. The woman stranded on the roadside, or the man, or both, claimed he’d flagged her down to warn of a mechanical issue with her car. During the first two stops, the trooper found them chatting amicably, the women seemingly at ease, so he drove off. But the third encounter, near the Culpeper County line just north of Brandy Station on Route 29, felt different. This time, when he ordered Breeden to move along, the man’s mask slipped. “He went from happy-go-lucky to mean, like he didn’t want me interfering,” the trooper said. The trooper was hypnotized in hopes he could recall the license plate (he could not). He reported that hypnosis helped him recall the man's dark blue pickup truck with stripes had a beehive-like, mesh air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror and that the truck had a sticker with a medical emblem on the rear of the cab. The trooper’s interactions with the man were not revealed for years after 1996. He was a potential ace-in-the-hole for law enforcement, a trained officer who could credibly identify the man he met three times on the highway in early 1996 who was suspected to be Alicia’s attacker. Reference: Krishnamurthy, Kiran. "Trooper: Rice not Pickup Driver but Judge Hasn't Ruled on Whether Jury will Hear That Testimony." Richmond Times-Dispatch (online), 24 Aug 2005, p. B-1.
January – February 1996 Stops Breeden’s first stop in 1996 was on January 17th, when he flagged down a woman driving on the Culpeper Bypass, a 2.7-mile stretch of Route 29 that directs highway traffic away from the Town of Culpeper. This is the stretch of Route 29 where many of his other stops would be documented, the same area through which Alicia traveled just before she was flagged down, and on the route traveled by the two women who were followed by Breeden from a 7-Eleven parking lot on Route 3 near Locust Grove/Lake of the Woods in June 1995. Breeden’s next documented stop was on February 12th, followed by a stop on February 14th. By the end of February, he accelerated his activities and attempted at least 21 stops. Thirteen women pulled over in response to his act, and at least four (and possibly six) climbed into his truck. Authorities suspect the true number of women he approached was likely higher. On February 21st a woman in Madison County (the county just south of Culpeper County) reported to the Sheriff’s Office that a man in a dark truck flagged her down, insisting something was wrong with her car. She refused to get into his truck. Law enforcement investigated her report but did not have enough information to track down the man. This incident was unique because whatever happened on the highway during their encounter, it was troubling enough for her to report it to law enforcement immediately – before Breeden attacked a woman two days later and before Alicia was abducted. On February 23, 1996, Breeden attacked a woman named Carmelita Shomo in Manassas, Virginia. Within six hours of the attack, Breeden made three more pullover attempts: one at 2:15 a.m., another at 4:30 a.m., and a third after 7 a.m. By dawn, he was back in the Culpeper area, with six more incidents before February’s end. References: Nordin, Barbara. "Cold Case? Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the Fall and Rise of Darrell Rice." The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice. Accessed 2 September 2024. Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Santos, Carlos. "Police Building Rice Case. He Is Called a 'Strong Suspect' in the Slaying of Alicia S. Reynolds." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 Jun. 2004, p. A-1. ‹https://infoweb-newsbank-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/apps/news/document-view? Police: Other Women Approached." Associated Press, 6 Mar. 1996. "The Route 29 Stalker." Culpeper Star Exponent, 5 January 1997, p. 1. Neuberger, Christine "30 Women Tell of `'Samaritan' - Possible Stalker Drives Dark Truck." Richmond Times-Dispatch, One Star ed., sec. Area/State, 8 Mar. 1996, p. A-1. Glassner, Greg. "Missing Woman's Parka Found in Madison." The Greene County Record, 14 Mar 1996, pp. 3+.
February 1996 Manassas Attack Breeden’s first attack was on February 23rd, 1996, on Route 234 in Manassas, Virginia. Detailed by The Hook, the account was based on a March 5th, 1996, victim interview with an FBI agent. The incident began 40 miles north of the Town of Culpeper when Carmelita Shomo left her job at the Manassas Mall around 11 pm. The Manassas Mall is about 10 miles from where the Virginia State Police trooper first met Breeden in January 1996 on Route 66. It was foggy that night, and while driving home on Route 234, a rural, two-lane highway, Shomo noticed flashing lights in her rear-view mirror. Persuaded by his feigned concern over sparks seen under her car, she accepted a ride. Before they left, he suggested that she hang something on her car to identify it as disabled. She complied, hanging a rag and locking the doors. He introduced himself as “Larry” and after a few minutes, offered to turn around and drive back to her car, with the newfound idea that he would drive her car to her home, while she would drive his truck to her house. By the time he made this offer, she was already feeling uneasy in his presence. Declining the offer, she requested that he stop at a nearby gas station. By then he had pulled over to the side of the road three times, claiming foggy windows were obscuring his view. He pulled over again and asked her to grab a tissue from the side door pocket, a distraction likely designed to get her to look away. When she did, he grabbed her neck and told her to "shut up and put your head down in my lap," threatening her with a screwdriver. She fought back, elbowing him in the chest as they struggled. In the chaos, he yelled “Get out of the truck” and grabbed her purse. She became entangled in the seat belt, and tumbled out, breaking her ankle in the process. References: Nordin, Barbara. "Cold Case? Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the Fall and Rise of Darrell Rice." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice.
March 2nd, 1996 Stops On Saturday, March 2nd, 1996, around 10:15 am, Breeden followed a woman driving north on Route 29 near Culpeper and signaled her to pull over. Headed to Tysons Corner in northern Virginia for a day of shopping, she ignored him and continued driving. Minutes later, he spotted Alicia Showalter Reynolds. Alicia too was headed for a day of shopping at the Leggett store (now Belk) in the Fashion Square Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia, about 45 minutes south of Culpeper. She left her Baltimore home on Portland Street around 8 am, cup of coffee in hand, dressed in tan pants, a denim shirt, rust-colored hiking boots, and a black parka. The night before, while planning the trip, she jotted down her mother’s new cell phone number. From Baltimore, she drove south on Interstate 95, skirted around Washington, D.C. via the Capital Beltway, then headed west on Route 66 before finally turning onto Route 29 south near Gainesville. This area, where Route 66 meets Route 29, is the same area where a Virginia State Police trooper encountered Breeden in January and within ten miles of the Manassas Mall, where Shomo worked and had likely been followed the weekend before. It had snowed the previous night in Baltimore, leading to a foggy early morning. By the time Alicia reached Gainesville, the day was cold but radiant, the sky a brilliant blue. She was 5’2”, 110 pounds, had shoulder-length brown hair, and was driving alone in her 1993 Mercury Tracer. The Virginia State Police would later release a description of Breeden's s ideal victim: a petite brunette driving alone. Drawing from other victims’ accounts, we can piece together what may have happened near or the Culpeper bypass. He flashed his lights, honked his horn, used the turning light, or used his hands to motion her to pull over. Two miles south of the Town of Culpeper, she stopped her car on a southbound shoulder of Route 29. The location was just after a guardrail ended on a sloped upward hill which rose toward an area known as Reva. This was one of only a few locations in the immediate area she could have stopped that had houses on the side of the highway. He likely crawled under her car and reported a failing drive shaft or CV joint. A Reva resident driving by glimpsed the encounter and described Breeden as “about her age,” clad in dark work clothes. The witness saw her climb into his truck, and after he drove past, he glanced in his rear view mirror caught the truck pulling away. At least five other passers-by saw her that morning on the side of the highway. Alicia’s mother, waiting outside the Leggett store in Charlottesville, sensed trouble almost immediately. “She always called if there was a delay,” Mrs. Showalter said. “She was very punctual, very responsible.” By 11:15 a.m., her mother called Alicia’s husband; by noon, authorities were alerted. References "Mapping a Pattern of Pursuit in Va.: Prosecutors See Links Between Route 29 Stalkings, Attack." The Washington Post (1974-), Jan 03, 2005, p. 2. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/mapping-pattern-pursuit-va/docview/2600598273/se-2. Virginia State Police. “Missing Person” poster issued after the abduction of Alicia Showalter Reynolds. Pugh, Kari. "Female Drivers Continue to Report Area Incidents with Pickup Driver." Potomac News, 8 Mar. 1996, p. 1. Nordin, Barbara. "Cold Case? Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the fall and rise of Darrell Rice." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024. Hawes, Spencer and Nordin, Barbara. "Explosive Words." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 18 Apr 2002, https://readthehook.net/98890/explosive-words. Accessed 14 Sep. 2024. Gould, Pamela. "Women Cleared to Testify vs. Rice." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 16 March 2005, p. B1+. Dute, Jeffrey. "Police Continue Search for Missing Woman." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 4 March 1996, pg. 1+. Smith, Leef. "Va. Attack and Abduction May Be Linked; Police Seek Man in Pickup Who Stops Female Drivers, Telling Them Their Cars Are Broken: [FINAL Edition]." The Washington Post, 8 March 1996. ProQuest, http://lcpl.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/va-attack-abduction-may-be-linked-police-seek-man/docview/307887199/se-2. Wes, Allison. "Were Earlier Stops Practice for Crime?" Richmond Times-Dispatch, City ed., sec. Area/State, 6 Mar. 1996, p. A-1.
Forced into Truck On November 15th, 1996, an “Unsolved Mysteries” episode aired detailing Alicia’s case. It began with Robert Stack’s somber voice exhorting a warning: “As children we are taught never to get in a car with a stranger. As adults, we sometimes forget that lesson, even though it is a lesson that might save your life.” It’s a not-so-subtle indictment of her behavior rather than his crime. Since 1996, the press has consistently reported that Breeden tricked Alicia into accepting a ride in his truck. Supporting that interpretation is her personality - described as very trusting - and an eyewitness who reported she headed to the truck voluntarily. The witness, “Robert M.,” observed Breeden and Alicia while driving north on Route 29 (they would have been on his left in the southbound lanes). This portion of the highway is uneven and hilly, which would have slightly obscured his view. He saw their backs looking under the hood of her car, then her walking towards the truck and getting in. During a November 1996 press conference, the Virginia State Police indicated that she may have been forced into the truck (but did not say why they thought this). The statement may have been based on the following case facts. -Had his con worked perfectly, there would have been no need for Breeden to open the hood of her car. Her upturned car hood suggests that Alicia may not have accepted whatever initial explanation he provided to her about the mechanical difficulty. -Her gloves, found on the ground in front of the car, and the paper with her mother’s cell number (left behind in the car) - also suggest that she did not leave with him willingly. March 2nd, 1996, was a cold morning - about 38 degrees at 11 am. How likely is it that on this winter day she dropped both her gloves in front of her car before walking to his truck without noticing? Alternatively, how likely is it Breeden took her gloves (without her realizing), and dropped them in front of her car without her noticing? -Leaving a disabled car on the side of the highway with the hood up is unusual. If she left willingly, why didn't she (or he) close it before leaving? Alicia was a person described as “very punctual” and who would “always call if there was a delay.” She was someone who thought ahead, asking for her mother's new cell phone number the night before (the phone was a recent purchase). Would such a person forget to take from her car the phone number for the one person she knew who was relatively nearby (45 miles away in Charlottesville) and who could quickly meet her somewhere to commiserate and wait with her for the “repairs” to be finished? Alicia’s husband had planned to spend that day studying online, which at the time required use of the landline (landlines were used for internet dial-up). She would have known that reaching him would be a challenge (and that her mother was the closest resource for help). It is perhaps a coincidence that she chose to pull her car over in one of the few areas on that stretch of the highway within line of site of several houses, perhaps because she was concerned about a possible mechanical issue with her vehicle but also cognizant enough to avoid stopping in a secluded spot with a stranger. From other women’s interactions with him, and his string of failures in prior weeks, we know that that his anger might have started to bubble over the surface, or that Alicia may have felt the same uneasiness that other women reported feeling when in his presence for more than a few minutes. From Breeden’s perspective, after a string of failures, a polite decline to ride in the truck may have been unacceptable. References: "Good Samaritan Abductor." Unsolved Mysteries, Season 9, Episode 5, Filmrise, 15 Nov. 1996. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an08hdvzFWs Hall, Charles W. "Experts Say Killer May Strike Again." The Washington Post, May 10, 1996, pp. 1. ProQuest, http://lcpl.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/experts-say-killer-may-strike-again/docview/408267796/se-2. Dute, Jeffrey. "Police Continue Search for Missing Woman." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 4 Mar. 1996, p. 1+. Neuberger, Christine. "Police Profile Reynolds’ Killer. He Probably Hadn’t Intended to Kill Her." Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA), 13 Nov. 19, p. A-9. Nordin, Barbara. "Cold Case? Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the Fall and Rise of Darrell Rice." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice. Accessed 2 September 2024. Knight, Theresa O'Neil. "Profiler Says Route 29 Stalker 'Likely to Kill Again'." Culpeper News, 14 November 1996.
Scattering of Belongings By 1:00 p.m., on March 2, 1996, Breeden was scattering Alicia’s belongings in the area, with three bank/credit cards bearing her name left in the Town of Culpeper. One card was found on the 400 block of Clay Street, five miles north of where her car was abandoned, another reportedly on Chandler Street, and another near a local bar. A news outlet also reported a card was recovered on Culpeper Street in Warrenton (22 miles to the north of Culpeper). Her black parka was found that same day near Pratts, in Madison County, Virginia, 15 miles south of her car, near the intersection of Route 626 and Route 231. A local woman, unaware of its significance reportedly had it laundered, turning it over to police later that week after realizing its connection to the case. On March 2nd, around 6:15 p.m., a Virginia State Police trooper found Alicia’s 1993 Mercury Tracer abandoned at the end of the guardrail. Inside the car was the slip of paper with her mother’s cell phone number. The hood was up, and a white napkin was tucked under the windshield wiper. Nearby on the ground were cigarette butts and a pair of gloves identified as hers. The gas tank was full, and the scene bore no signs of a struggle - just a lonely car abandoned at the end of a guardrail. References: Glassner, Greg. “Police Follow Leads in Reynolds Disappearance." The Greene County Record, 21 Mar 1996, pp. 1+. Barr, Derek. “Disappearance Casts a Long Shadow Over a Quiet Little Block in Culpeper.” Daily News Record (Harrisonburg, Va.), 8 Mar 1996, p. 17. Nordin, Barbara. "Cold Case? Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the Fall and Rise of Darrell Rice." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024. Knight, Theresa O'Neil. "FBI Questions Brightwood Man, Police Search Pond." Culpeper News, 14 Mar. 1996. Norman, Susan. "Woman's Body Found in Lignum. Could be Kidnap Victim." Fauquier Times-Democrat, 8 May 1996, p. 1+. Finefrock, Raymond L. "Police Find Reynolds' Parka Near Madison." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 10 Mar. 1996, p. 1+. Neuberger, Christine "Parka Turned in to Police. Missing Woman's Coat Discovered in Madison." Richmond Times-Dispatch, City ed., sec. Area/State, 10 Mar. 1996, p. C-1. NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.ezproxy.virginiamemory.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=107712EFE164AD78&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/0EB4FA339C03BA95. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024. Hood, John. “The Family of Alicia Showalter Reynolds Still Looking for Answers 25 Years After Her Death.” 29 News (WHSV), 7 May 2021. https://www.29news.com/2021/05/07/family-alicia-showalter-reynolds-still-looking-answers-years-after-her-death/ Glassner, Greg. "Missing Woman's Parka Found in Madison." The Greene County Record, 14 Mar 1996, p. 3+. Miles, Kathryn and Gabra Zackman. Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders. Unabridged. [New York], Workman Publishing Co., 2022. Dute, Jeffrey. "Police Continue Search for Missing Woman." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 4 Mar. 1996, p. 1+. O'Brien, Kimberly. "Baltimore Woman Disappears on U.S. 29." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Virginia), 5 Mar 1996, p. 1+.
15 Point Memo, Law enforcement quickly recognized the possible link between Alicia’s case and Carmelita Shomo, the woman who attacked by “Larry” in Manassas. By April 1996, a Prince William County detective authored a 15-point memo that integrated information to identify commonalities across the incidents. This memo formed the basis for law enforcement’s conclusion that the same offender was responsible for all incidents. Among the commonalities: the man drove a small, late model well-kept truck; he chose female, petite victims driving alone; he flashed his headlights or honked his horn to signal the woman to pull over; he told her the car was not safe to drive; he suggested she put something white in the windshield to indicate the car was disabled; he offered a ride; he asked her to step on a jacket on the passenger side floor of the truck; and, he asked her to look for an item in the side door pocket. In three instances, he said his name was Larry Breeden. References: Gould, Pamela. "Wrong Man or Stalker? Darrell Rice Trial Starts Tomorrow." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 21 August 2005, p.1+.
Truck Similar to One Driven By Breeden
Composite Sketches Witnesses provided strikingly varied descriptions of Breeden, leading to a series of composite sketches that reflected the challenge of pinning down his appearance. One witness who saw Alicia climb into his truck described a man roughly her age - around 25 years old - suggesting a younger suspect. In contrast, Carmelita Shomo painted a different picture: a man in his 40s, standing between 5’10” and 6’0”, and weighing about 180 pounds. Shomo's account shaped the first composite sketch, released shortly after Alicia’s abduction, depicting a long-faced man with thick, dark hair. Soon after, authorities released two additional sketches, each drawn independently based on input from two women who had accepted rides in Breeden’s truck. Both portrayed a ruddy-complexioned man with a long face, but this time with stringy hair, longer in the back and shorter on the sides. In some accounts he was described as having a receding hairline. When Carmelita Shomo reviewed the newer sketches, she confirmed they were a closer match to the man she encountered than the earlier sketch based on her description. By May 1996, a final composite sketch emerged. It was different enough from the prior sketches such that some locals worried that law enforcement had been looking for the wrong man the entire time. A state police spokesperson indicated that "Even now, the women who had contact with the suspect still feel the likeness was an extremely good one," adding, "it’s dead on." Not everyone who met him validated the final drawing as “dead-on.” A woman from Greene County (just south of Madison County) who encountered Breeden about a week before he abducted Alicia indicated that the drawing was very good but not “100%” accurate. The Virginia State Police Trooper who encountered Breeden three times in early 1996 indicated he was 80 percent sure the sketch resembled the man he encountered on the highway but did not indicate it was “dead-on.” References: Pugh, Kari. "Area Women Warned of Driver. Incidents Match Culpeper Case." Potomac News, 6 Mar 1996, p. 1. Pugh, Kari. "Stalker's Image Towers Over Road." Potomac News, 22 Mar. 1996, p. 1. Hall, Charles W. "Experts Say Killer May Strike Again: Pattern of Route 29 Encounters Called Typical of Serial Attackers." The Washington Post, 10 May 10, 1996, p. 1. ProQuest, http://lcpl.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/experts-say-killer-may-strike-again/docview/1030600891/se-2. Neuberger, Christine" Revised Sketch of Suspect is Issued. 20 Women He Pulled Over Say He's the One." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 14 May 1996, p. A-1. O'Brien, Kimberly. "Anxious Public Gets Better Look at Suspect." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 14 May 1996, p. 1+. Seal, Rob. "Victim Identifies Rice at Trial for Abduction." Potomac News, 24 Aug. 2005, p. 1+.
Witness Hypnosis & Vehicle Descriptions Law enforcement arranged for two of the women who encountered Breeden to be hypnotized. One said nothing during the session, but the other woman described the truck as maroon, with a white license plate and blue letters, perhaps with an L or a P. Descriptions of the truck varied, and a Virginia State Police advisory bulletin indicated that the offender may have had access to multiple vehicles not to exclude a Ford Ranger/Mazda or Nissan pick-up truck. Early witnesses reported a late model Black Nissan truck with a splash, possibly teal or aqua (see image). The interior was reportedly gray. With more witnesses, the description morphed, with some women and the trooper indicating the truck they saw was dark blue, and others dark green. Some reported the truck had Virginia plates, and some reported that the truck sported 30-day tags. Carmelita Shomo told police the truck smelled brand new, was carpeted, had a sliding rear window, bucket seats and an automatic transmission with the gear shift adjacent to the steering wheel. Other women added the truck had lots of chrome and an in-dash radio. Some reported seeing a tarp, a green toolbox on the floor, and/or a pair of overalls. Beyond just trucks, there were indications that other vehicles may have been involved. On March 12th, 1996, the state police logged an incident from a woman who reported that a man driving a large dark sedan had tried to convince her to pull over on February 26th. References: Jontz-Merrifield, Sandra. "Tips on Pick-up Multiply." Potomac News, 9 Mar. 1996, p. 1. Gould, Pamela. "Women Cleared to Testify vs. Rice." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 16 March 2005, p. B1+. Neuberger, Christine. "Police Profile Reynolds’ Killer. He Probably Hadn’t Intended to Kill Her." Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA), 13 Nov. 19, p. A-9. Knight, Theresa O'Neil. "FBI Questions Brightwood Man, Police Search Pond." Culpeper News, 14 Mar. 1996, p. 1+. Krishnamurthy, Kiran. "Trooper: Rice Not Pickup Driver but Judge Hasn't Ruled on Whether Jury Will Hear that Testimony." Richmond Times-Dispatch (online), 24 Aug 2005, p. B-1. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 1: Evonitz Not Checked in Unsolved Slayings." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 November 2007, p. 1+. O'Brien, Kimberly. "Police: Reynolds Was Perfect Victim." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 13 Nov. 1996, p. 1+. Nolan, Eric. "Police Release 'Route 29 Stalker' Profile." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 13 Nov 1996, p. 1+. "Hypnotized Witness Disallowed at Rice Trial." Media General News Service, 11 Mar. 2005. Gould, Pamela. "Hypnosis on Trial in Route 29 Stalker Case." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 4 March 2005, pp. B1+. Shapira, Ian. "Hypnosis Evidence Contested in Va.: Testimony Tainted, Defense Argues." The Washington Post (1974-), Mar 03, 2005, p. 1. ProQuest, http://lcpl.idm.oclc.org/historical-newspapers/hypnosis-evidence-contested-va/docview/2605821040/se-2. https://retrocars.fandom.com/wiki/Nissan_Pickup/Frontier Wes, Allison. "Were Earlier Stops Practice for Crime?" Richmond Times-Dispatch, City ed., sec. Area/State, 6 Mar. 1996, pp. A-1.
Post March 2, 1996 Stops Although many news outlets reported that Alicia’s abduction on March 2 was Breeden's last stop, investigators concluded he attempted a pullover on March 8th, 1996. A cashier at a 7-Eleven in the Town of Culpeper left work around 8:30 pm and headed north on Route 29 towards Brandy Station when a dark truck with stripes on the sides tailgated her and followed her for a bit before racing away. There were many reported stops after this date, none of which were confirmed to be Breeden but then again, they were not confirmed to be someone else either. •On Thursday, May 9th, 1996, a woman reported that a man in a dark pick-up truck signaled her to pull over (by blinking his lights) on Route 33 between Louisa and Gordonsville. A white male with brown hair approached her car and tried to open the door. She drove off. •By fall 1996, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office had received half a dozen reports of such incidents on Route 29 near Warrenton. Fauquier County is just north of Culpeper County. •On 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. •On October 19th, 1996, the University of Virginia (UVA) and Virginia State Police received a report from a UVA employee who believed she encountered him at 4 am on Route 64 while driving to work. The pickup driver pulled up behind her, flashed his lights and a blue strobe light to get her to pull over. •A woman who had pulled over her disabled car on U.S. 250 in Nelson County near the Blue Ridge Parkway around 6:50 a.m. fought off a man who stopped, offered help, then ordered the woman into his van. •Women continued to report incidents in 1997 in counties close to Culpeper. •By 1999, there were still reports of attempted stops in Orange County. References: Krishnamurthy, Kiran and Santos, Carlos. "Police Building Rice Case. He Is Called a 'Strong Suspect' in the Slaying of Alicia S. Reynolds." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 June 2004, p. A-1. Dute, Jeffrey. "Pond Search Turns Up No New Evidence." Culpeper Star-Exponent, 14 Mar. 1996, p. 1+. Pugh, Kari. "New Details on Stalker Released." Potomac News, 14 May 1996, pp. 1.+ Hartson, Kelby. Stalker Profiled. Fauquier Times-Democrat, 20 Nov. 1996, p. 1+. Neuberger, Christine. "Reports of Driver Following Women Probed." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11 Oct 1996, pp. 1+. Zack, Ian. "UVA Employee Reports Brush with Stalker in Pickup Truck." Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 19 Oct. 1996, p. B1+. "Foiled Abduction Might Be Linked to Other Cases." Associated Press, 16 Jan 1997.
Breeden Sightings in Lignum In spring 1996, before Alicia’s remains were discovered in Lignum, residents reported seeing a man matching the description of Alicia’s abductor (with his little black truck parked nearby) using the pay phone in the Lignum crossroads on multiple occasions. There was also a report made by a woman living in Lignum who spotted a dark truck with a male and female on Route 681, Jacobs Ford Road on Wednesday, April 24, 1996. The truck was parked 10 feet from where Alicia’s body would be discovered on Dragoon Road about three weeks later. A few days after her remains were discovered in Lignum, a night supervisor at the logging facility at the end of Jacobs Ford Road reported that when he left the logging site after 11 pm, he saw a black pickup truck parked in the fork quite close to where her remains were recovered. He called law enforcement immediately from a nearby payphone on Route 3, but the driver left before they arrived. References: "Alicia Showalter Reynolds’ Body Found." WTVR CBS 6 (Richmond, Va). 8 May 1996. TV. Pugh, Kari. "Expert Says Killer is Watching News. Discovery of Md. Woman's Body Brings Renewed Interest in 'U.S. 29 Stalker'." Potomac News, 10 May 1996, p. 1. Pugh, Kari. "Family Confirms Body is Reynolds." Potomac News, 9 May 1996, p. 1+. Watts, Woody G, host. "The Call." Route 29 Stalker, Season 1, Episode 14, Media Squatch, 6 Feb 2020. https://www.mediasquatch.com/route-29-stalker/episode/242f76d9/the-call
Remains Recovered on a Logging Field in Lignum, Va On May 7th, 1996, around 3:15 p.m., a maintenance worker from the Gladfelter Paper Company discovered Alicia’s remains on an isolated logging site recently stripped of trees. The location was extremely remote, accessible only from Route 3 by Jacobs Ford Road in Lignum, a long, narrow, dead-end road. After a mile down, Jacob Fords Road forks, with the left fork leading to a logging facility and the right fork, Dragoon Road, leading to a facility for children. The stretch just after the fork had been popular with hunters for years, resembling an “armed camp.” The prior year the area had been posted, but in other years the Gladfelter Paper Company had placed public notices that the land could be used for hunting with permission. So while remote, the area was known to locals, the few residents who lived on Jacobs Ford Road, employees at the home for children on the end of Dragoon Road, employees of the logging facility at the end of Jacobs Ford Road, and hunters who used the logging field. She was recovered about 30 feet off of Dragoon Road next to a gully that was invisible from the side of the road. Her body was covered by compacted sticks and pine tree branches, and news footage of the site shows a depression in the earth. The 837-acre tract had been harvested about six weeks prior (end of March/early April), but’s it's unknown just when workers were last over the exact spot. References: "Culpeper Body Is That of Md. Woman; Two-Month Search for Student, 25, Ends as Autopsy Confirms Identity: [FINAL Edition]." The Washington Post, May 09, 1996. ProQuest, http://lcpl.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/culpeper-body-is-that-md-woman-two-month-search/docview/307942935/se-2. Knight, Theresa O'Neil. "Body Found in Lignum." Culpeper News, 9 May 1996, p. 1+. Nordin, Barbara. "Alicia Showalter Reynolds & the Fall and Rise of Darrell Rice." Readthehook.net, The Hook, 17 May 2007, https://readthehook.net/85777/cover-cold-case-alicia-showalter-reynolds-fall-and-rise-darrell-rice. James, Michael. "Police Hunt for Clues in Reynolds Slaying." Baltimore Sun, 10 May 1996, p. 2B. "Alicia Showalter Reynolds’ Body Found." WTVR CBS 6 (Richmond, Va). 8 May 1996. TV.
Evidence On July 11th, 1996, it was announced that the autopsy performed to determine the cause of Alicia’s death was inconclusive. A “wealth of evidence” was found in the logging field, including hairs, fibers, and the boots, rings and apparel she was wearing when she left home. Latent fingerprints, DNA, and other trace evidence was also recovered. Of specific note is a pubic hair suitable for DNA testing recovered from one of her socks or from her shoes. The samples were described as degraded. The Virginia lab produced DNA profiles from three items of interest. One was attributed to a male relative and one to a female. It’s the third specimen that may hold the key to solving her murder. Of other evidentiary importance, a fingerprint was found on one of the credit cards recovered in the Town of Culpeper and fingerprints were found on some of the victims’ vehicles. References: "Few Clues in Maryland Woman's Death. Associated Press, 12 July 1996. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 4: Why Didn't Investigators Want Evonitz Checked?" Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 November 2007, p. 16+. James, Michael. "Police Release Sketch of Man Suspected in Reynolds' Slaying; New Drawing is Based on Other Women's Interviews.” Baltimore Sun, 14 May 14, 1996, p. 14. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 4: Why Didn't Investigators Want Evonitz Checked?" Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 Nov. 2007, p. 16+. Latent Fingerprints, DNA Evidence May Help Identify Reynold's Killer. Baltimore Sun, 8 Jun. 1996, p. 18B. Harrisonburg Daily News Record, March 09, 2005, Pg. 10, Harrisonburg, Virginia, US https://newspaperarchive.com/harrisonburg-daily-news-record-mar-09-2005-p-10 Gould, Pamela. "Could New DNA Tests Solve Reynolds Case?" Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 November 2007, p. 20. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 5: Investigators Fail to Keep Pace with DNA Testing Advances." Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 Nov. 2007, p. 1+. Gould, Pamela. "Were Police Blind to Evonitz Crimes? Chapter 6: Father: Why Wouldn't You Want to Know?" Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 18 November 2007, p. 1+.