Police in Virginia have identified a deceased fisherman as the suspect in three murders that took place in the late 1980s. The man, Alan W. Wilmer, has been linked to the deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards in Isle of Wight County in 1987, as well as the killing of Teresa Lynn Howell in Hampton in 1989.
Authorities were led to Wilmer after receiving an undisclosed tip, prompting a DNA request that ultimately led to his identification as the suspect. It was revealed that Wilmer had no reported felonies and his DNA was never collected and put in a criminal database to be identified.
Despite Wilmer’s death in 2017, police have stated that if he were alive, he would have had charges filed against him. This revelation brings to light a sense of closure for the families of the victims, who had been in the dark for over three decades regarding the identities of those responsible for taking their loved ones’ lives.
In addition to the deaths of Knobling and Edwards, Wilmer is also connected to the murder of 29-year-old Howell in Hampton. Now that Wilmer has been identified as a suspect, police are asking the public for any information about him to help further their investigation.
It was thought that the deaths of Knobling and Edwards were part of a series of double homicides known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders”. However, police have stated that there is no forensic nor physical precedence to link their murder with the other homicides. The remaining double homicides in the Colonial Parkway murders are still being investigated.
The families of the victims expressed a sense of relief and justice knowing that Wilmer can no longer victimize others, but they also recognized that his passing means they may still be kept in the dark over what happened to their loved ones. Police are still seeking information about Wilmer, describing him as 5’5” and 165 pounds, with sandy-brown hair, blue eyes, and a close-cropped beard. He drove a blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck with the Virginia license plate EM-RAW. Wilmer worked mainly as a clam and oyster fisherman and was an avid hunter.
In conclusion, the identification of Alan W. Wilmer as a suspect in these decades-old murders has brought closure to the families of the victims. The case also serves as a reminder of the importance of continued thorough investigations in unsolved cases.