GLOUCESTER, Va. – A breakthrough has been made in a series of cold-case homicides, with the revelation that a small-time fisherman who passed away in 2017 has been linked to three unsolved slayings from the 1980s in Virginia. The victims include two couples known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Virginia State Police identified the suspect as Alan W. Wilmer Sr., and stated that he would be charged if he were alive.
Investigators legally obtained Wilmer’s DNA posthumously, as he was not a convicted felon and his DNA was not in any law enforcement databases. Two of the victims were sexually assaulted, adding a layer of complexity to the case. The “Colonial Parkway Murders” involved the deaths of three couples and the suspected deaths of a fourth couple, with the killings occurring between 1986 and 1989 in southeastern Virginia.
One of the victims, 29-year-old Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, was found dead in the city of Hampton in 1989. Her strangulation death is not linked to the Colonial Parkway murders. Authorities are actively pursuing leads on the other killings and are reconstructing Wilmer’s movements throughout his lifetime.
Wilmer, who went by the nickname “Pokey,” was known for driving a blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck with the license plate “EM-RAW.” He also owned a small fishing boat and made a living through clamming and oystering, as well as running a small business called “Better Tree Service.” The FBI has urged anyone who knew Wilmer to come forward with any information related to his potential involvement in the cases.
In a joint statement read by a Virginia State Police spokeswoman, the families of one of the victims expressed their relief and gratitude for the breakthrough in the case, acknowledging the closure that it has brought after many years of uncertainty. The investigation is ongoing, with law enforcement urging anyone in the community who may have known Wilmer to come forward.
The case continues to gain attention and momentum as investigators work tirelessly to unravel the mysteries of these decades-old crimes.