'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAIAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAyCYBT//EACMQAAEDAgUFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQAEwUGERIhIjFBYaH/2gAIAQEAAT8AsZfaZFxmVNd89VpHrtzTkiHcVswmGE68AlZI+1//xAAYEQEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAANCgf/aAAgBAgEBPwApNK9n/8QAFBEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAgBAwEBPwB//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The brutal murder of the 16-year-old ballet dancer from Virginia, Meghan Landowski, is the focus of the latest Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode. The student of Woodrow Wilson High School of Portsmouth was stabbed more than 40 times after she was s*xually assaulted in her home.
The Portsmouth Police Department struggled to find the suspect after reaching multiple dead ends but eventually made use of expensive DNA analysis to narrow their suspicion. A tip from a bus driver led them to Robert Barnes - a junior from Churchland High School.
Meghan Landowski was found dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor on April 10, 2008. The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled The Call aired on April 24, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen. The official synopsis reads,
"A dancer is murdered in her Virginia home; after interviewing a series of suspects, detectives realize the case is much more complicated than previously thought."
The Call is available for streaming on NBC, Apple TV, and YouTube TV.
Who was Meghan Landowski? Details explored
Meghan Nicole Landowski was born on September 25, 1991, to Angela Shortt. She resided in Portsmouth, Virginia with her siblings Corey Landowski and Elizabeth Gable, and her stepfather, Christopher Shortt.
Landowski studied at the Woodrow Wilson High School at the time of her murder and took her passion for ballet seriously. Meghan Landowski was accepted as part of the being accepted in the program for gifted and talented students. She was also enrolled at Tiger Martial Arts. Per CBS News, Meghan's mother Angie shared,
"Meghan was the bubbly girl. Meghan was the silly girl. …And she danced beautifully. …It was beautiful to watch her on stage."
Around the time of her murder, Meghan had been performing poorly in her classes resulting in low grades. She had confided in her father, who worked in the Hospital Corps in the First Class, about his friend and fellow Naval Hospital Corpsman, Robert Hicke, who had been s*xually assaulting her since she was 15.
An investigation by NCIS had begun in February of 2008 to look into the matter. The case was eventually closed following Meghan Landowski's murder on April 10, 2008, and he was ruled out as a suspect.
What happened to Meghan Landowski?
On April 10, Landowski's dead body was discovered by her father when he returned home from work, per WTKR.
Meghan's body was left in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with more than 40 stab wounds on her, out of which 11 were inflicted after her death, per court documents. Landowski was discovered partially naked as her bottoms were missing and she had been bound with duct tape - the roll of which was found in the bedroom, per The Virginian-Pilot.
Chris Shortt dialed 911 alerting the Portsmouth Police Department about the crime scene and immediately named Robert Hicke as the perpetrator. The authorities found no signs of forced entry but collected a significant amount of evidence including the footprints from a pair of bloodied Nikes, a leaf from the bush outside, a blood sample from a dispenser, and fingerprints from various parts of the house.
The perpetrator left behind one of the murder weapons while the officers found the other one after screening storm drains in the area. The DNA samples collected from the doorknob, sink, and knives became of paramount importance in solving the case.
According to the WTKR report, the investigation went on for six more months with no leads. The authorities were able to identify the suspect as the Churchland High School junior, Robert Barnes, with the help of a tip from a bus driver and biogeographical ancestry analysis of the DNA samples.
Catch the new episode streaming on NBC, Apple TV, and YouTube TV.
