Murder on Maple Avenue

by Michael Cobb

Bill Thomas’s interest in murder is personal. A true crime podcast producer based in Norfolk, Thomas got started in podcasting after his younger sister, Cathy Thomas, and her girlfriend, Rebecca Dowsky, were killed in Virginia in an unsolved case known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Between 1986 and 1989, three couples were killed along the Colonial Parkway, and one other couple is missing and presumed murdered. 

As the true crime genre became increasingly popular, Thomas was frequently asked to appear on radio, television and podcasts to discuss his sister’s case. Hosts repeatedly told him that he had a great storytelling voice and suggested that he do his own show, and so he began the “Mind Over Murder” podcast. 

Thomas produces “Mind Over Murder” with Kristin Dilley, a writer and teacher based in Williamsburg, Va. Dilley does most of the research and writing, while Thomas takes care of the recording and editing from his house in Norfolk. “I like the contrast between the two of us in terms of our experience and perspective,” he says. “We have a great friendship, but we’re also very different as people, which brings freshness. We don’t necessarily see eye to eye, so there’s an opportunity to have good-natured debate.”

The podcast is backed up by data. “We try to focus on information from experts from a variety of different fields who use forensics, DNA and forensic genealogy, which has been successful in hundreds of cases. There’s a strong educational component to ‘Mind Over Murder.’ We frequently have guests such as scientists, criminologists and retired investigators,” Thomas says. 

There is also a televised version called “The Lover’s Lane Murders,” which appears on the Oxygen Network. It is a limited series with four one-hour episodes co-produced with XG Productions and Texas Crew Productions. Thomas works as the consulting producer on the show and is considered one of the most important experts outside of law enforcement. 

The show is entertaining, but it also provides a service. “We’re finding that all the media attention is resulting in many new tips being received in the Colonial Parkway Murders case. Whenever there’s publicity, people come out of the woodwork with tips, which I pass on to the FBI,” he says. 

Asked whether he believes the Colonial Parkway Murders are connected, Thomas says, “There’s nothing in the forensics that links them except that they’re all young couples in cars in situations that could be described as a Lover’s Lane scenario. The couples appear to interact with an authority figure, which is FBIspeak for a law enforcement officer or an imposter posing as one. Picture someone coming up to your car window with a bright light and asking questions. You don’t really know who they are. Many people in the Tidewater, Virginia, area have reported encounters like that.” 

While the show was in development, the producers did not want Thomas to talk about the case publicly, but now that it has been released, he has more latitude to speak out about it. “Personally, I think some of these cases are related and some are independent events. This is causing lots of interesting conversation online, and now we’re doing two episodes a week. We just celebrated 250,000 downloads of the ‘Mind Over Murder’ podcast. It’s something we’re really enjoying, and the audience is growing.” 

Thomas says that true crime’s primary audience is primarily women in their 30s to 50s. “I think they find the cases interesting and get drawn into the mystery of it. Some women feel that it’s empowering to understand how these things happen. Other podcasters have said it’s a good reminder on how not to be vulnerable in these circumstances.”

As to what inspires him to do this work, Thomas says, “A lot of people who are working in the true crime space have some sort of connection to this sort of loss. I find that many people who cover this subject have been touched in some way by unsolved murders and violent crime. I didn’t choose true crime, it chose me.”

Thomas’s podcast can be found at mindovermurderpodcast.com, and the televised version can be found at oxygen.com/lovers-lane-murders.