VA VA - The Colonial Parkway Murders, 1986-89

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

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 www.youtube.com
 
I am not Sherlock H. said:
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
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It's Bay Auto Services.
 
dotr said:
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?
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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.

www.wavy.com

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 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.


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

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 www.youtube.com
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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.
 
www.smithfieldtimes.com

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

www.13newsnow.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 www.13newsnow.com
 
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.
 
Betty P said:
www.smithfieldtimes.com

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

www.13newsnow.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 www.13newsnow.com
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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.
 
StarryStarryNight said:
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.
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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 said:
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.
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Forgot to add the link if anyone needs it. The podcast interview is very important, JMO
 
www.dailypress.com

FBI suspects Northern Neck man in second Colonial Parkway murder case, families told

The FBI has told two more families that Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the primary suspect in another Colonial Parkway case — a presumed double slaying that Wilmer was suspected of some 36 years ago.
www.dailypress.com www.dailypress.com
By PETER DUJARDIN June 16, 2024 Huge article1718591664681.png
'about a month ago, Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley — who run the “Mind over Murder” podcast — delivered news during a recording before a packed house at the Yorktown Library. Thomas said the FBI told the Call and Hailey families that federal agents are nearly certain Wilmer killed them.

Thomas, 67, of Connecticut, is an older brother to Cathy Thomas — a Naval Academy graduate who was killed in the first Colonial Parkway slaying in 1986. A retired executive in the entertainment industry, Thomas now spends plenty of hours these days on the parkway cases.''

“They said they were 99% sure that Alan Wade Wilmer was responsible for the disappearance and likely homicide of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey,” Thomas said. “They said that privately to the families.”
 
dotr said:
www.dailypress.com

FBI suspects Northern Neck man in second Colonial Parkway murder case, families told

The FBI has told two more families that Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. is the primary suspect in another Colonial Parkway case — a presumed double slaying that Wilmer was suspected of some 36 years ago.
www.dailypress.com www.dailypress.com
By PETER DUJARDIN June 16, 2024 Huge articleView attachment 510890
'about a month ago, Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley — who run the “Mind over Murder” podcast — delivered news during a recording before a packed house at the Yorktown Library. Thomas said the FBI told the Call and Hailey families that federal agents are nearly certain Wilmer killed them.

Thomas, 67, of Connecticut, is an older brother to Cathy Thomas — a Naval Academy graduate who was killed in the first Colonial Parkway slaying in 1986. A retired executive in the entertainment industry, Thomas now spends plenty of hours these days on the parkway cases.''

“They said they were 99% sure that Alan Wade Wilmer was responsible for the disappearance and likely homicide of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey,” Thomas said. “They said that privately to the families.”
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He was in the area that night, he even admitted it. The FBI is still looking for possible DNA on evidence left behind in the car

Because Call’s and Hailey’s bodies are still missing, DNA testing has been hampered. A divers’ search of a section of the York River in February failed to turn up any new leads. Keith Call’s Toyota was returned to the family — and sold off — decades ago.

But sources said the FBI still has some evidence from the crime scene that is being retested with more advanced techniques.
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“There’s stuff at the lab, but I have no idea what,” Hailey-Holman said. “They don’t go into specifics.”
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Wilmer seems to be a good suspect in some of these murders for a number of reasons, a major reason being the DNA evidence.

Two questions come to mind:
- What other murders or rapes did he commit?
- Did he have any associates involved with his crimes?
 
Richard said:
Wilmer seems to be a good suspect in some of these murders for a number of reasons, a major reason being the DNA evidence.

Two questions come to mind:
- What other murders or rapes did he commit?
- Did he have any associates involved with his crimes?
Click to expand...

The FBI and state of Virginia are deliberating on whether or how to use his DNA to compare with evidence from other crimes. They ran it through CODIS, but there were no "hits". According to a previous news story, Virginia wasn't going to allow his DNA to be used to compare with Colonial Parkway or other crimes. Maybe they will change their mind, but without DNA comparison it will be difficult to tie him to other crimes without witnesses who saw him or his truck or similar evidence.

Here's the article

www.smithfieldtimes.com

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

The Call and Hailey murders left no DNA as the victims' bodies were never found. It sounded like they might test some clothing and other evidence left behind in Keith's car. The statement that LE has said its highly likely Wilmer killed them is based on other circumstantial evidence.
 
By Courteney Stuart July 1, 2024
cvillerightnow.com

Colonial Parkway murder victim’s brother calls for more info in cold case DNA matches - Cville Right Now

Over the past six months, law enforcement officials have announced DNA matches in two of Virginia’s highest profile cold cases, but the brother of one victim says his relief at the new information in both the Colonial Parkway killings and the Shenandoah Park murders has been marred by the way...
cvillerightnow.com cvillerightnow.com
1719841843428.png
'Thomas says the announcement of the DNA match to Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr. in the Shenandoah Park murders case also left him with more questions.''
''Listen to the full interview with Bill Thomas here.''
 
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