A fisherman who died over six years ago was named this week as the prime suspect in three cold-case killings in Virginia — including a pair that was once linked to an infamous slaying spree known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.”
Alan W. Wilmer Sr. was linked through DNA evidence to the 1987 shooting deaths of David L. Knobling and Robin M. Edwards, as well as the 1989 strangulation of Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, Virginia State Police announced Monday.
Wilmer died in December 2017 at age 63, the state police explained.
“Wilmer had no felonies on his criminal record, so his DNA had never been obtained until it was necessary for identification purposes following his death,” the statement read.
“The Virginia Department of Forensic Science in 2023 issued a ‘Certificate of Analysis’ confirming a genetic match to Wilmer based on evidence collected from the [1987 shooting] and [1989 strangling] victims,” the officials added.