Colonial Parkway Killer

Serial Killer

The Colonial Parkway Killer

Overview

The Colonial Parkway murders were a series of killings and disappearances involving four young couples in southeastern Virginia between 1986 and 1989. The cases became associated with the Colonial Parkway, a scenic and often isolated roadway connecting Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown. Three of the four couples were eventually found dead, while the fourth couple vanished and has never been recovered. For decades, the person responsible was popularly called the "Colonial Parkway Killer," although investigators were never able to prove that every one of the eight traditional Colonial Parkway victims had been attacked by the same offender. That distinction became increasingly important as modern DNA testing began producing answers. Investigators have now identified deceased Virginia fisherman Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. as the killer of four of the traditional Colonial Parkway victims and have linked him to two additional Virginia murders from the same period. The remaining Colonial Parkway cases are still under investigation.

Alan Wade Wilmer Sr.

Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. was a Virginia waterman and fisherman who lived in Lancaster County and spent considerable time around the waterways and rural areas of southeastern Virginia. He also operated a tree-service business. Wilmer was known to drive a distinctive blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck and had access to boats, isolated shorelines and rural locations throughout the region. Wilmer was not a convicted felon, meaning his DNA had not been routinely entered into the national criminal DNA database. He died in December 2017 without ever being charged with any of the Colonial Parkway murders. Years later, advances in forensic testing allowed investigators to compare biological evidence from several old crime scenes with Wilmer's DNA. In January 2024, Virginia State Police announced that forensic evidence identified Wilmer as the person responsible for the murders of David Knobling and Robin Edwards. The same investigation also linked him to the 1989 murder of Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell in Hampton. In 2025, investigators connected him through forensic evidence to the murder of Laurie Ann Powell. A major additional breakthrough came in January 2026 when the FBI announced that Wilmer was also responsible for the 1986 murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, the first pair traditionally associated with the Colonial Parkway series. By 2026, authorities had therefore connected Wilmer to at least six murders in Virginia between 1986 and 1989. Four of those victims belonged to the original group of eight Colonial Parkway victims. The disappearances of Cassandra Hailey and Keith Call and the murders of Annamaria Phelps and Daniel Lauer remain unresolved, so it has not been conclusively established that Wilmer committed every crime traditionally attributed to the Colonial Parkway Killer. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Rebecca Dowski Age: (21), Date of Death: 1986-10-12

Dead fisherman named the suspect in 2 'Colonial Parkway Murders'