VA VA - The Colonial Parkway Murders, 1986-89

[Tricia]

Bill Thomas is our guest tonight. I hope you will join us. We go live at 10:30 PM Eastern.

Bill Thomas is our guest tonight!!

Help fund Hartford County John Doe 1977 DNA test https://dnasolves.com/articles/hartford-county-john-doe-1977/ Websleuths Unidentified Forum https://www.webs...

www.youtube.com

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

A February 1, 2024 article by Dan Kennedy from Virginia 13News Now entitled: ‘A local serial killer's DNA will not be entered into the CODIS database, 13News Now investigates why’:

A local serial killer's DNA will not be entered into the CODIS database, 13News Now investigates why

Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the suspect in decades-old homicide cases in Hampton and IOW. Is a legal loophole leaving a potential trail of unsolved crimes unexplored?

www.13newsnow.com

 

[dotr]

Feb 1, 2024
Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the suspect in decades-old homicide cases in Hampton and IOW. Is a legal loophole leaving a potential trail of unsolved crimes unexplored?

 

[SarahW]

Excellent work my friend! You may well be onto something here! That could well be. Although I still can’t quite be sure of that last word or whether Wrecker or Wrecking?

Maybe someone has some historical records of businesses in that area at that time. Appreciate the eyes and input! MOO

It's Bay Auto Services.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

It's Bay Auto Services.

Thank you! And I think you’ve got it. Great input! MOO

Does it also seem to say Chesapeake?

 

[Betty P]

Feb 1, 2024
Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the suspect in decades-old homicide cases in Hampton and IOW. Is a legal loophole leaving a potential trail of unsolved crimes unexplored?

According to the FBI, he had also been a suspect in other Colonial Parkway murders, including Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey. He was even given a lie detector test. His truck had been spotted by several witnesses in the pull-out areas along Colonial Parkway.

Not really sure why the FBI is trying to separate these cases from the other Colonial Parkway murders.

Man linked to 1 Colonial Parkway murder case was early suspect in another

Could Alan Wilmer Sr., who died in December 2017, be responsible for another “Colonial Parkway Murder?”

www.wavy.com

This news is also unusual. Virginia State Police are saying no other LE agency can use Wilmer, Sr's. DNA to see if it matches other cold cases and sexual assaults in their jurisdiction.

MSN

13News Now Investigates has learned at least one Hampton Roads police department recently checked Wilmer’s DNA to see if he was a match for one of their unsolved cold cases. Another local police department is currently reviewing all sexual assault cases that match Wilmer’s modus operandi (MO), and a third local police department spent part of January reviewing more than a dozen cold cases from the 1970s and 80s to see if Wilmer was ever on their radar, and whether he could be considered a suspect today.

More law enforcement agencies could follow suit.

But is a legal loophole leaving a potential trail of unsolved crimes unexplored?

CODIS – or Combined DNA Index System – could instantly confirm whether Wilmer’s DNA sample matches DNA that was once collected at a crime scene and entered into the universal database.

But Virginia State Police say State law requires someone to have a conviction on their record before their DNA profile is entered into the government-run CODIS.

And a conviction is something this dead man will never have.

 

[Betty P]

Bill Thomas is our guest tonight. I hope you will join us. We go live at 10:30 PM Eastern.

Bill Thomas is our guest tonight!!

Help fund Hartford County John Doe 1977 DNA test https://dnasolves.com/articles/hartford-county-john-doe-1977/ Websleuths Unidentified Forum https://www.webs...

www.youtube.com

This was an excellent podcast, Tricia. You and Bill did a fantastic job.

I’m very disappointed in the way the FBI has treated Bill through this process. While I’ve always had tremendous respect for the FBI, I can’t condone their handling of the Colonial Parkway murders.

 

[Betty P]

Bumping this up.

I really hope Virginia reconsiders and allows Wilmer's DNA to be compared to evidence from the other Colonial Park murders. I'm not sure what Virginia leaders are thinking with this decision.

A local serial killer's DNA will not be entered into the CODIS database, 13News Now investigates why

Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the suspect in decades-old homicide cases in Hampton and IOW. Is a legal loophole leaving a potential trail of unsolved crimes unexplored?

www.13newsnow.com

 

[Betty P]

State Police dive nets no new evidence tying IW slaying to Colonial Parkway Murders - Smithfield Times

Virginia State Police divers say they’ve found no new evidence tying a recently solved 1987 Isle of Wight County double homicide to a series of still-unsolved, decades-old slayings known as the Colonial Parkway Murders following a Feb. 20 search of the waterways adjacent to the highway that...

www.smithfieldtimes.com

Divers search waterways near Colonial Parkway, but no new evidence of 1980s murders found

The dives followed up on new info obtained by investigators after Alan Wilmer Sr. was identified as a suspect in the 1987 deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards.

www.13newsnow.com

 

[Richard]

If any of these cases are linked by various reasons to the specific case that matches his DNA, and to each other, then the legal path should be clear to compare his DNA to all suspected cases - especially since Wilmer is dead.

If nothing else, such a comparison might eliminate him and point to others who might still be at large.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

State Police dive nets no new evidence tying IW slaying to Colonial Parkway Murders - Smithfield Times

Virginia State Police divers say they’ve found no new evidence tying a recently solved 1987 Isle of Wight County double homicide to a series of still-unsolved, decades-old slayings known as the Colonial Parkway Murders following a Feb. 20 search of the waterways adjacent to the highway that...

www.smithfieldtimes.com

Divers search waterways near Colonial Parkway, but no new evidence of 1980s murders found

The dives followed up on new info obtained by investigators after Alan Wilmer Sr. was identified as a suspect in the 1987 deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards.

www.13newsnow.com

It makes no sense that this guy’s DNA cannot be run through CODIS now that he is dead whether he’s been convicted of a crime or not. He has no rights that are going to be violated.
I understand why VA wanted this state law. I’m sure this scenario understandably never crossed their minds. But it’s a law that can be fixed, and they need to fix it.

 

[Betty P]

It makes no sense that this guy’s DNA cannot be run through CODIS now that he is dead whether he’s been convicted of a crime or not. He has no rights that are going to be violated.
I understand why VA wanted this state law. I’m sure this scenario understandably never crossed their minds. But it’s a law that can be fixed, and they need to fix it.

I don't know what's behind it, but I do know the VA state police and local FBI were not very helpful to Bill Thomas, brother of victim Cathy Thomas. I recommend you listen to Tricia's podcast interview with Bill, done after the killer's ID was revealed.

 

[Betty P]

I don't know what's behind it, but I do know the VA state police and local FBI were not very helpful to Bill Thomas, brother of victim Cathy Thomas. I recommend you listen to Tricia's podcast interview with Bill, done after the killer's ID was revealed.

Forgot to add the link if anyone needs it. The podcast interview is very important, JMO