$100K Reward Offered in Double Murder

Heidi Childs and David Metzler were killed in 2009
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 24, 2019 12:35 PM CDT
Police: Help Us Find Their Killer
Heidi Childs and David Metzler.   (YouTube/Inside Edition)

Heidi Childs and David Metzler were only teenagers when a gunman stole their lives. Now multiple law enforcement agencies are trying rekindle interest in the decade-old Virginia killing by reminding people that all their leads—including DNA evidence from the crime scene—may not be enough, NBC News reports. "We still need the public's help to fit these pieces together," says Lt. Colonel Tim Lyon of the Virginia State Police. "We know there are people in Montgomery County and across the New River Valley who know exactly what happened that evening of August 26, 2009 in that parking lot at Caldwell Fields at the edge of the Jefferson National Forest." Part of reviving interest in the case is telling people of the sweet and devout romance shared by Heidi, 18, and David, 19.

"Everyone considered them to be inseparable," says Heidi's father. "They made a great team." The devoted Christians were studying at Virginia Tech and loved sports, long hikes, and playing guitar and singing together. Heidi was about to change her major to Pre-Med when they went on a date to the national forest to talk about it, per WSET. The next day, police found them in and near their car—Heidi managed to get a few feet away—killed by a high-power rifle and robbed of a few belongings. Police obtained DNA evidence, but so far no match. Since then, David's parents have been living in a different world. "Every happy family event is bittersweet, clouded with the loss of David," they say in an email. "We will never be whole." Virginia State Police are offering $100,000 for tips that trigger an arrest. (More murder stories.)

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