VA Laurie Ann Powell, 18, Gloucester County, March-Apr, 1988

[Betty P]

Laurie Ann Powell was on a date with her boyfriend the night of March 9, 1988. They had argued that night and Laurie asked her boyfriend to drop her off at the Gloucester County "Little Sue" store. From there she began walking home on Route 614, but was never seen alive again. A month later, in April, Laurie Powell's body was found near Craney Island, stabbed 5 times in the back.

Powell, who was 18 at the time, was found dead with multiple stab wounds almost a month after she was last seen alive around midnight on March 9 in Gloucester County. She had left her boyfriend’s car after an argument, and was last seen walking on Route 614 in Gloucester County toward Route 17.

Her boyfriend was investigated (and failed a lie detector test) but never charged. He later died in 2016.

1988 killing of Gloucester woman still under investigation, State Police say

The killing of a Gloucester woman that’s potentially connected to the “Colonial Parkway Murders” is still under investigation 36 years later.

www.wavy.com

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

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Were there more Colonial Parkway murders? Since October 1986, 10 On Your Side has covered what are now known as the “Colonial Par…

www.wavy.com

Some have speculated that Laurie Ann Powell may be another victim of the Colonial Parkway killer. One week after her body was found, Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey went missing from Keith's car on the Colonial Parkway.

Looking at a map, the locations seem to align with the Colonial Parkway murder locations, Wilmer's home and the areas where he trolled in his boat, leaving bodies.

Craney Island to State Route 614

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[Mountain Mama]

According to a news brief, forensic evidence ties Alan Wade Wilmer to Laurie’s death.

She was in such a vulnerable position after fighting with her boyfriend and ultimately being stranded late at night in the region. With Wilmer not far away. It is so tragic. So senseless.

Laurie is his 4th known victim. How many more is what needs to continue to be investigated.

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.

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.

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/gloucester/forensic-evidence-links-man-to-fourth-murder-in-1980s-cold-cases/

 

[dotr]

Nov 14, 2025
DNA evidence links Colonial Parkway serial killer to Virginia teen's cold case murder, investigators say