On November 14, 1986, Jacqueline Lard went missing. She was last seen leaving her place of work “Mount Vernon Realty” on Garrisonville road in Stafford County. The next morning, on November 15, 1986, employees of the businesses nearby discovered the crime scene. The crime scene was said to have “indicated a horrific struggle.”1 Forensic evidence was collected from the scene, but the case unfortunately went cold. Her body was found on November 16, 1986, two days after she initially went missing. Her body was found by two children in a wooded area of railroad avenue in Woodbridge underneath of some discarded carpet. She had been beaten, raped, and strangled. Forensic evidence was acquired but the case still went cold. She was 40 years old when she was murdered.
After the advancement of forensic technology and the use of investigative genetic genealogy, a breakthrough was made. Police were able to link Jacqueline and Amy’s cases.
- Amanda Jackson and Chris Boyette, “Man Arrested After DNA Helps Crack Cold Case Killing Nearly 40 Years Later as Police Link Him to Another Case,” Lexisnexis, March 9, 2024, Man arrested after DNA helps crack cold case killing nearly 40 years later as police link him to another case. ↩︎