Forensic evidence links man to fourth murder in 1980s cold cases

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Police are expected to announce Friday that a fourth homicide is connected to a former Northern Neck resident who died in 2017, 10 On Your Side has learned.

Virginia State Police will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Friday at its headquarters in Suffolk. State Police said in a news release it would "provide a significant update in an active cold case. A now-deceased Northern Neck resident has been identified as the person responsible for a homicide case in Gloucester County that occurred more than 30 years ago."

Forensic evidence linked Alan Wilmer Sr. to the 1988 death of Laurie Ann Powell, then 19, who went missing March 8, 1988 and less than a month later, on April 2, 1988, was found floating in the James River near Craney Island. Wilmer Sr. died alone in his Lancaster County home Dec. 15, 2017 at age 63.

Previously: Only On 10: State Police continue to investigate Laurie Powell homicide

Powell was last seen walking down Route 614 towards Route 17 in Gloucester County after exiting her boyfriend's vehicle following an argument. The cause of death was found to be a stab wound to the rear of the neck.

In January 2024, State Police announced DNA linked Wilmer Sr. to the death of Teresa Howell in Hampton July 1989, and also to the deaths Of Robin Edwards and David Knobling who were killed at Ragged Island Refuge in 1987.  Both Howell and Edwards had been sexually assaulted and the DNA matched Wilmer. 

Now, he is thought to be responsible for four deaths overall, including that of Powell's.

It is not yet known the details of the evidence against Wilmer Sr. in the Powell case. That will be presented Friday at the news conference.

10 on Your Side has extensively reported on the Colonial Parkway murders, and in our reporting mentioned by the timeline alone, the possibility of Powell being connected and part of the Colonial Parkway murders cannot be discounted.  

Consider this: Robin Edwards, then 14, and David Knobling, then 20, were killed and their bodies found at Ragged Island on the James River in September 1987. 

Previously: Some closure for family member of Colonial Parkway victim after learning of killer

Powell was discovered nearby at Craney Island, which is also on the James River, April 2, 1988. That is eight days before the disappearance of Cassandra Hailey and Keith Call on April 10, 1988. Keith’s car was found on the Colonial Parkway, but their bodies have never been found.

Previously: 30 Years Later: The Colonial Parkway Murders

Also important to note: On Feb. 1, 1988, Brian Craig Pettinger’s partially clothed body was also found by two watermen in the James River off River Shore Road. Pettinger had been tied up and dumped in the water.  

Previously: Investigation: Could these two cold cases be part of the Colonial Parkway murders?

Over a six-month period of time, four people had been thrown into the James River. All in the same general area. 10 On Your Side has reached out to Powell's family, but they have not returned calls.

In one of our many interviews with the family Laurie Ann’s mother Jo Ann Compton told us the following: "You know it’s funny. The pain you have that day and the pain you have today, the truth is that pain never changes. It’s always the same pain.” 

The featured speakers at Friday's news conference are expected to be Robin Lawson, a Virginia State Police apokesperson, Capt. Timothy Reibel of VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Div. 5 commander, and also victim’s family. 

10 On Your Side's Andy Fox will be at the news conference with the latest on Virginia State Police's "significant update" in the case.