Federal Authorities Link Two More Murders to Colonial Parkway Serial Killer By Christine Pelisek

Two more people have been identified as victims of a serial killer who is connected to at least five murders and disappearances of young people in Virginia between 1986 and 1989, federal authorities announced this week.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the FBI announced that the 1986 cold case murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski had been solved.

Authorities said their murders were linked to Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a Virginia fisherman who died at the age of 63 in 2017, through “persistent investigation” and “breakthroughs in forensic technology,” per an FBI Norfolk Field Office press release.

Thomas, a 27-year-old U.S Naval Academy graduate and stockbroker, and Dowski, a 21-year-old college student, were last seen together on Oct. 9, 1986. Their bodies were discovered inside Thomas’ white Honda Civic along the Colonial Parkway. The couple was strangled and stabbed to death, NBC News reported.

“Thomas was a vibrant young woman known for her compassion, intelligence, and close relationships with family and friends,” the FBI press release states. “Dowski was a talented musician and college student with a promising future, remembered for her creativity, kindness and love of music. Their lives were tragically cut short, but they were never forgotten by the investigators who continued to pursue justice on their behalf.”

Authorities said if “Wilmer Sr. been alive today, the evidence developed through this investigation would have supported federal prosecution,” according to the press release.

Wilmer is also linked to the murders of David L. Knobling, 20, Robin M. Edwards, 14, and Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, 29.

All five cases were dubbed the “Colonial Parkway Murders”  because the killings occurred along or near Virginia’s Colonial Parkway and surrounding areas.

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Knobling and Edwards were found shot to death on the shoreline of a wildlife management area in Isle of White County on Sept. 23, 1987. Edwards had been sexually assaulted.

Howell was discovered dead outside of a club in Hampton on July 1, 1989 – three days after she was reported missing. She was sexually assaulted and strangled.

DNA evidence in the three cases linked Wilmer to their murders.

Wilmer operated a commercial fishing boat named the Denni Wade, and during the 1980s made his living farming clams and oysters. He drove several pickup trucks, including a blue 1966 Dodge Fargo with a Virginia license plate that read “EM-RAW.”

He also owned a business called Better Tree Service and was an avid hunter.

Authorities said investigators continue to pursue unsolved cases related to the Colonial Parkway murders.