Virginia fisherman named as suspect in cold case murders once linked to Colonial Parkway serial killings

A man has been named as a suspect in three murders that took place in the late 1980s, two of which were connected to the infamous Colonial Parkway murders.

Police have identified a deceased fisherman as the suspect, more than 30 years since the victims were murdered.

Alan W Wilmer has been linked to the 1987 deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards in Isle of Wight County and the 1989 killing of Teresa Lynn Howell in Hampton.

Investigators were led in the direction of Wilmer after an undisclosed tip pointed to the fisherman, prompting a DNA request.

Authorities said at a press conference on Monday that Wilmer had no reported felonies, so his DNA was never collected and put in a criminal database to be identified.

Wilmer died in 2017 at the age of 63, but authorities said if he were alive, he would have had charges filed against him.

Family members of the victims were in attendance at the conference, learning over three decades later who is to potentially blame for taking away their loved ones.

“Only those who have suffered the loss of a child in this way can truly understand the depth of their sorrow and the frustration over not knowing who was responsible for taking their loved one’s life in such a violent and cruel way,” Lieutenant Colonel Tim Lyon, director of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation said.

“I do hope the identification of the killer brings some sense of closure and peace for them."

Knobling, who was 20 at the time, and Edwards, only 14 years old, were found fatally shot on the shore of the Ragged Island Wildlife Management and Refuge Area on 23 September 1987.

Police said that Edwards had been sexually assaulted.

Their case was thought to be yet another tragedy in a long string of homicides known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders”, a series of double homicides that happened in southeast Virginia between 1986 and 1989, in which at least eight victims were killed.

However, police have now put this theory to bed, saying that “there is no forensic nor physical precedence to link” Knobling and Edward’s murder with the other homicides, despite their similarities.

Corinne Geller, a Virginia State Police spokesperson, added that the remaining double homicides in the Colonial Parkway murders are still being investigated.

A joint statement was read by Ms Geller on behalf of the two families, which thanked investigators for their help but also recognised that it would also be a “difficult time for the Wilmer family”.

“Now we have a sense of relief and justice knowing that he can no longer victimise another,” the statement said.

However, Wilmer’s passing also has meant the families may still be kept in the dark over what happened to the victims.

“His death will not allow us to seek out the answers to countless questions that have haunted us for so long,” the families added.

Wilmer is also connected to the murder of 29-year-old Howell in the city of Hampton on 1 July 1989.

Howell was last spotted alive outside of the Zodiac Club in the city.

Later in the day, women’s clothing was spotted near a construction worksite by its workers, leading to the discovery of the dead body of Howell, who also had been sexually assaulted. It is thought Howell died due to strangulation.

Now that Wilmer has been identified as a suspect, police are still asking anyone to come forward with information about him to help their investigation.

They have described him as 5’5” and 165 pounds, with sandy-brown hair, blue eyes and a close-cropped beard, going by the nickname “Pokey”.

He drove a blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck with the Virginia licence plate EM-RAW.

Wilmer worked mainly as a clam and oyster fisherman on his boat named Denni Wade, ran a business called Better Tree Service and was an avid hunter, belonging to at least one club.