FBI identifies killer in Colonial Parkway murders cold case after decades

After almost 4 many years of unanswered questions, federal investigators introduced they’ve lastly recognized the killer behind one in every of Virginia’s most terrifying chilly circumstances.

The FBI Norfolk Area Workplace introduced Tuesday that advances in forensic science have linked the 1986 murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, victims of the notorious Colonial Parkway murders, to a deceased suspect believed chargeable for at the least six murders.

FBI investigators decided that Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. had murdered the 2 ladies who had been final seen collectively on October 9, 1986, in a pc lab on the Faculty of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

Wilmer Sr., an area fisherman who died in 2017 at age 63, was concerned in a sequence of at the least six murders and disappearances of younger individuals in Virginia between 1986 and 1989, in keeping with the FBI.

Alan W. Wilmer Sr. was chargeable for the Colonial Parkway killings however died in 2017, Virginia State Police stated. (Contributed)

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He lived in Lancaster County and spent most of his time fishing and searching, usually docked at marinas in Gloucester and Middlesex counties.

Between 1986 and 1989, a sequence of violent crimes occurred close to Virginia’s Colonial Parkway and surrounding areas, ensuing within the murders and disappearances of at the least eight younger individuals, officers stated.

The crimes had been referred to as the Colonial Parkway murders, one of many longest chilly case investigations in Virginia historical past.

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After the disappearance of Thomas, 27, and Dowski, 21, their our bodies had been discovered of their automobile alongside Colonial Parkway, stabbed and strangled. It’s unclear whether or not the ladies had been sexually abused.

Though the case remained unsolved, advances in forensic science and DNA evaluation not too long ago led to Wilmer being recognized because the suspect chargeable for the femicides.

The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Japanese District of Virginia stated that had Wilmer been alive, proof would have supported the federal prosecution.

In line with officers, Alan Wilmer Sr. would have been charged with 5 Colonial Parkway murders had he been alive. (Virginia State Police)

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Authorities stated Wilmer was additionally chargeable for the 1987 murders of David Knobling, 20, and Robin M. Edwards, 14, on the Isle of Wight and the 1989 homicide of Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, 29, in Hampton, Virginia.

The our bodies of Knobling and Edwards, who had been final seen collectively on September 19, 1987, had been discovered days later lifeless with gunshot wounds alongside the shoreline of the Ragged Island Wildlife Administration and Refuge Space on the south financial institution of the James River. Edwards, who was solely 14 years previous, was sexually abused, in keeping with officers.

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Two years later, on July 1, 1989, Howell was discovered lifeless in a wooded space after leaving a close-by nightclub.

FBI Norfolk stated Thomas was a “vibrant younger lady” identified for her compassion, intelligence and shut relationships with household and pals.

They added that Dowski was a gifted musician and scholar with a “promising future” and is remembered for her creativity, kindness and love of music.

Legislation enforcement officers launched pictures of Alan W. Wilmer Sr.’s autos. as they proceed to analyze different potential crimes he might have dedicated. (Virginia State Police)

“I’m extremely happy with the work completed by the women and men of FBI Norfolk, whose tenacity and dedication to justice by no means wavered,” Dominique Evans, particular agent in command of the FBI Norfolk Area Workplace, wrote in a press release.

“This investigation demonstrates the energy of our partnership with the Virginia State Police, the Hampton Police Division and the Suffolk Police Division and our shared dedication to by no means hand over on victims or their households,” Evans added. “We’re grateful that advances in expertise and DNA proof have allowed us to lastly present solutions on this case.”

The Hampton Police Division thanked the group for its continued assist and helpful data.

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“It’s our hope that this improvement gives households with a measure of security, consolation and peace,” the division wrote in a press release. The ladies’s households attended the announcement of the enterprise’ closure, though Thomas’ brother Invoice advised native media 13 News Now he believes there have been greater than eight victims within the Colonial Parkway murders.

“Personally, I believe Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. can also be good for extra kills,” Thomas advised the outlet. “Proper now, given the way in which the legal guidelines are written, regardless that Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is a serial killer and has murdered at the least six individuals, together with my sister and her good friend Rebecca Dowski, we shouldn’t have the power to add his DNA into CODIS as a result of he was by no means convicted of a criminal offense earlier than he died in 2017.”

The households are working to amend present legal guidelines to resolve different unresolved circumstances.

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FBI Norfolk stated investigators will proceed to actively examine unsolved circumstances associated to the Colonial Parkway murders.

Chris Eberhart of Fox Information Digital contributed to this report.