In a major development for long-unsolved Cold cases, Virginia authorities announced that advanced DNA testing has linked Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr. to multiple violent crimes. This raises new questions about whether a serial killer may have been operating in the region during the 1980s. 

Investigators revealed the findings during a press conference, calling the results “a turning point in several historic investigations.”

A Break in the Laurie Ann Powell Case

Wilmer, who died in 2017 at age 63, was conclusively connected to the 1988 stabbing death of 18-year-old Laurie Ann Powell, a Gloucester County teenager who vanished on March 8, 1988. Her body was found nearly a month later in the Elizabeth River.

According to Virginia State Police, Powell’s family attended Friday’s announcement and grew emotional as investigators described how decades-old evidence finally produced answers. “If Wilmer were alive today, he would absolutely face criminal charges,” one investigator said.

Because Wilmer had no felony convictions, his DNA was never entered into national databases. Only after his death did forensic specialists obtain a DNA profile that matched crime scene samples.

Wilmer Linked to Two More Cold Cases 

Authorities had already tied Wilmer to two other violent homicides after breakthroughs in January 2024:

The Murder of Teresa Lynn Howell (1989)

Howell, age 29, was last seen outside the Zodiac Club in Hampton around 2:30 a.m. on July 1, 1989. Hours later, clothing and her remains were discovered along a treeline. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Full story: Two cold cases solved more than 30 years later.

The Colonial Parkway Connection: Knobling & Edwards (1987)

Wilmer is also linked to the double homicide of David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14 — one of the infamous Colonial Parkway Murders, a series of four double murders that terrified Virginia in the 1980s.

Their bodies were discovered in the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge. Families long feared a single predator was behind the killings, though police say they have not found definitive evidence tying the double murders to one serial killer.

More on the cases:

Dead suspect linked to another cold case murder after decades-long investigation

Two cold cases solved more than 30 years later

Unsolved: Colonial Parkway murders near 30th anniversary as families hold out hope

35 years later, family without answers for Colonial Parkway Murders case

New details published in Colonial Parkway murders

The Colonial Parkway Murders: Serial Killer in the 1980s

The Colonial Parkway series includes:

• 1986: Cathy Thomas & Becky Dowski
• 1987: David Knobling & Robin Edwards
• 1988: Keith Call & Cassandra Hailey (bodies never found)
• 1989: Annamaria Phelps & Daniel Lauer

One victim’s brother told News 3, “They were strangled with rope. Their throats were cut from ear to ear.”

Despite Wilmer’s confirmed connection to the Knobling–Edwards case, authorities emphasize the remaining murders “remain very much open.”

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Cold cases Investigations Continue

Police say they are now evaluating whether Wilmer is responsible for additional unsolved crimes. “We’re not closing the door on anything,” an investigator said.

Even in death, Wilmer is altering the landscape of Virginia’s cold case history.