colonial parkway murders: SERIAL KILLER CONFIRMED
Ten young people over four years
Virginia waterman Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr. has now been confirmed as a serial killer in the Colonial Parkway Murders. He is confirmed by both VSP and FBI as the killer of CPM victims Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski (1986), Robin Edwards and David Knobling (1987), as well as Laurie Ann Powell (1988) and Teresa "Teri" Howell in 1989. Wilmer has also been linked to the disappearance of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey in 1988 in the Colonial Parkway Murders series. His confirmed victim total now stands at 6.
Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski
October 9, 1986: Cathy Thomas, 27, a United States Naval Academy graduate and her girlfriend Rebecca Dowski, 21, a senior at William and Mary were last seen on campus. Three days later, they were found murdered in Cathy's 1981 Honda Civic at Cheatham Annex Overlook along the Colonial Parkway. They had been strangled, throats slashed, and the car and bodies were doused in diesel fuel. After an attempt to set it on fire, the car was pushed off a grassy parking area and rolled down an embankment toward the York River.
Their murder was linked to Wilmer via DNA by FBI/VSP in Jan. 2026.
David Knobling and Robin Edwards
September 20, 1987: David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, had gone out with a group of friends to a movie and arcade. After making plans to meet up later, they drove in David's Ford Ranger pickup across the James River Bridge from Newport News to the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge to a sandy parking area to be alone. Virginia waterman Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr. was confirmed as the killer of Robin Edwards and David Knobling through DNA by VSP in Jan 2024.
Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey
April 10, 1988: Christopher Newport University Students Richard "Keith" Cal, 20, and Cassandra Hailey, 18, went missing while on a first date, attending a college party in Newport News, VA. THey left the party around 1:30 am to make Sandy's curfew. Keith's red 1982 Toyota Celica was found abandoned at the York River Overlook along the Colonial Parkway at a similar site to where Cathy's car was found about a mile away. Waterman Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr. now confirmed as a serial killer in the Colonial Parkway Murders, has also been linked to their disappearance. Families await confirmation.
Daniel Lauer and Annamaria Phelps
September 5, 1989: On Labor Day weekend, traveling companions Daniel Lauer, 21, and Annamaria Phelps, 18, went missing as they drove in Daniel's 1972 Chevrolet Nova from Amelia County to Virginia Beach, VA to meet Daniel's brother Clint, Anna's boyfriend . Daniel's car was found abandoned at a rest stop along I-64. On October 19, 1989, their badly decomposed bodies were found by hunters under a blanket off a logging road about a mile away. Cause of death was difficult to determine, Anna appears to have nick marks from a knife on her hand bones. Daniel was carrying $6-800 from painting jobs he had earned working that summer, so robbery may be a motive.
colonial parkway murders Photos
About Us
Ron Little and Liberty Security
In 1989, Ron Little, co-owner of Liberty Security (later called Advance Security), a Virginia based firm, wrote a curious letter to a number of media outlets and elected leaders. In it, he appeared to out himself as a potential suspect in the unsolved Colonial Parkway Murders as well as other open murder investigations in Virginia.
Ron Little Page Page 2
The letter was written shortly before Ronald Little was deported by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service back to his
native New Zealand.
Ron Little Page 3
About Us
Ron Little Page 4
Ron Little Page 5
Ron Little Page 6
About Us
Ron Little Page 7
The distribution list from 1989