Federal authorities have made a significant breakthrough in a series of cold cases that haunted Virginia for decades. They have identified two more victims linked to a suspected serial killer, connecting him to at least five murders and disappearances that occurred between 1986 and 1989.
The FBI announced that the 1986 murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski have been solved. These women were found dead along the Colonial Parkway.
Investigators have linked these murders to Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a Virginia fisherman who passed away in 2017 at the age of 63. Authorities credit “persistent investigation” and advancements in forensic technology for cracking the case.
Thomas, a 27-year-old Naval Academy graduate and stockbroker, and Dowski, a 21-year-old college student, were last seen together on October 9, 1986. Their bodies were discovered in Thomas’ car. Both women had been strangled and stabbed.
The FBI described Thomas as a compassionate and intelligent woman, cherished by her family and friends. Dowski was remembered as a talented musician and kind person with a bright future.
Authorities stated that if Wilmer Sr. were alive today, the evidence would have been enough to support a federal prosecution.
Wilmer is also connected to the deaths of David L. Knobling, Robin M. Edwards, and Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell. These cases, along with the deaths of Thomas and Dowski, have become known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders” because they occurred near the Colonial Parkway in Virginia.
Knobling and Edwards were found shot to death in September 1987. Howell was found dead in July 1989, after being sexually assaulted and strangled.
DNA evidence has linked Wilmer to the murders of Knobling, Edwards, and Howell.
Wilmer was a commercial fisherman and owned a business called Better Tree Service. He also enjoyed hunting.
Authorities say that investigations are still active into other unsolved cases related to the Colonial Parkway murders.
