RICHMOND, Va. -- Bill Thomas, a podcaster, victim's advocate, and brother of Colonial Parkway murder victim Cathy Thomas said there were mixed emotions about a recent break in the case.
"The Colonial Parkway murders families are absolutely furious about the go slow approach here," Thomas said about the pace of the sprawling, decades-long investigation into the series of double murders committed over a three-year period in the late 1980s.
All four double homicides on or near the 22-mile Colonial Parkway that connects Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown targeted young couples in their vehicles.
All four cases remained unsolved until earlier this month when families learned the 1987 murders of David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were forensically linked to one man —Alan W. Wilmer Sr.
Virginia State Police offered few details about how Wilmer became a suspect strong enough to declare the cases resolved in 2024.
However, in a book written about the case years prior, authors Blaine Pardoe and Victoria Hester tell of an early lead in one of the other Colonial Parkway murders that lead directly to Wilmer. That case, the 1988 disappearance of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey, was investigated by the FBI.
"I heard what we call 'the driveway story,' which is the two FBI agents rolling up on Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. in his driveway in Lancaster County four days after Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey went missing. He was engaged in highly suspicious behavior. This is what the FBI agents told my father in 1988," Thomas said.
Thomas questions how Wilmer's DNA was not obtained before now if his name sat in the case file for several decades.
Corinne Geller, a Virginia State Police spokeswoman, said no forensic or physical evidence currently links Wilmer to the final two cases commonly referred to as the Colonial Parkway murders, those of Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski in 1986 and Annamaria Phelps and Daniel Lauer in 1989.
VSP confirms a search warrant was served on property formerly connected to Wilmer in recent weeks. The investigation remains ongoing.
Wilmer, who died in 2017 at age 63, was a fisherman and hunter who drove a distinctive blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck with the license plate "EM-RAW."
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Police link Va. man to 3 unsolved murders, address Colonial Parkway connection
All of the Colonial Parkway murder victims' families want everyone to take a good look at pictures law enforcement released of Alan "Pokey" Wilmer and share information they might have.
Wilmer stood only 5'5" tall and also owned a tree service company for a time.
"Think Popeye," Thomas said. "He works on the water. He's got this really built upper torso from working on the water. His hands are very large and very calloused."
Wilmer was also identified as the suspect in the 1989 slaying of Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, 29, in the city of Hampton. Her strangulation death is not linked to the Colonial Parkway killings.
Howell's body was found at a construction site about 11 miles from where Knobling and Edwards were found nearly two years before.
A Virginia State Police spokesperson said after the January news conference that tied Wilmer to the Knobling-Edwards murder, that they've received about 50 tips.
"We are very appreciative of those who have reached out via the FBI tip lines and to Virginia State Police. Investigators are still encouraging anyone who may have worked with Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. or hunted with him, farmed oysters and clams with him, docked next to him at marinas in the Northern Neck, Hampton Roads or Middle Peninsula areas, or hung out with him to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI," said Geller in a statement to CBS 6.
Tips can also be sent online at www.tips.fbi.gov or by email to questions@vsp.virginia.gov. Anonymous tips are also welcome and can be sent to the Peninsula Crime Line.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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