Two active cold cases from Hampton and Isle of Wight have been resolved after more 30 years, officials said during a press conference on Monday.
"We recognize this announcement has been a long time coming," said Virginia state Police Spokesperson Corinne Geller.
Representatives from Virginia State Police, Hampton Police, and the FBI gathered at VSP headquarters in Suffolk to announce Alan Wilmer, Sr. as the person they say is responsible for killing 20-year-old David Knobling, 14-year-old Robin Edwards, and 29-year-old Teresa Howell.
"I don't think I can impress enough of the significance of this announcement for the families today with us and for the investigators that's been part of this investigation for their tireless determination to bring a resolution to these crimes," said Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Dir. Lt. Col. Timothy Lyon.
One case involved the murders of David L. Knobling, 20, and Robin M. Edwards, 14, who were last seen together on Sep. 19, 1987.
On Sep. 20, Knobling's truck was located at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge parking lot in Isle of Wight County. On Sep. 23, both Knobling's and Edwards's remains were found along the shoreline of the refuge.
Knobling's and Edwards' murders have long been considered a Colonial Parkway murder: it was a double homicide and occurred in the same vicinity and time frame as the other three murders along the parkway.
News
35 years later, family without answers for Colonial Parkway Murders case
Geller, however, said as of Monday there was no physical or forensic evidence to link that homicide to the other Colonial Parkway Murders.
Wilmer has also been named a suspect in the July 1989 murder of 29-year-old Teresa Lynn Howell in Hampton.
Howell was last seen at 2:30 a.m. outside of the Zodiac Club on July 1.
At 10:10 a.m. that same day, articles of clothing were found along a treeline by a construction crew preparing for work off of Butler Farm Road.
A short time later, a woman's remains were located along the same treeline, not far from the clothing.
Geller said a missing person's report was taken out on July 4, 1989 for Howell, which lead authorities to identify the remains as Teresa Howell.
Teresa was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, according to the Virginia State Police.
Wilmer had no felonies, therefore his DNA was never in the database.
He died in his home in 2017. DNA was collected from him after he died and compared to DNA from the crime scenes.
“Part of the cold case philosophy is to go back over and start re-looking and going back through all the witness statements, all the evidence. It’s very time-consuming, very complex, but a very effective way," Geller explained.
Family members of the victims attended the announcement but declined to speak and instead provided statements that were read aloud.
All three are grateful for the closure. The Knobling and Edwards families are also grateful to know their family members’ killer can’t hurt anyone else, but they say this still leaves them with many questions.
The Wilmer family also declined interviews and provided a statement, but it was not read.
The family is shocked to learn of Wilmer’s crimes and mourns with the victim’s families and the community.
As of Monday, investigators were continuing to investigate if Wilmer may have been connected to other crimes and were asking anyone with information about him to come forward.
