Charges dropped for hikers' alleged killer

[Sapphocrat]

Federal prosecutors dropped charges on Monday against a man who used to be the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a lesbian couple.

Laura "Lollie" Winans, 26, and Julianne Williams, 24, were tortured and stabbed to death while hiking in the Shenandoah National Park in 1996. The investigation eventually centered on Darrell David Rice, 36, who was arrested in 1997 for attempting to abduct a woman in the same national park. According to the Associated Press, much of the case against Rice was based on jailhouse testimony from other inmates.

Attorney General John Ashcroft held a national press conference in April 2002, announcing that, in addition to murder, the U.S. government would charge Rice under a federal hate crime statute that includes sexual orientation. That statute, the only federal law that mentions sexual orientation, governs crimes committed on federal property. The government was seeking the death penalty. ...

As U.S. Attorney John Brownlee explained in a statement, "The investigation has revealed the presence of evidence at the crime scene that could cast doubt on the government's case against Rice." ...

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