A deceased Lancaster County man, Alan W. Wilmer Sr., has been definitively linked through DNA evidence to the 1988 death of Laurie Ann Powell, who was then 19 and last seen in Gloucester County. Powell’s body was found weeks later floating in the James River.
The announcement was made during a Virginia State Police press conference Friday, November 14 in Suffolk County.
This is the fourth homicide linked to Wilmer, who died alone in his home in Ottoman in 2017. DNA was collected at the time for identification purposes. His DNA has since been definitely linked to four cold case investigations including the death of Teresa Howell in Hampton in 1989 and Robin Edwards and David Knobling, who were killed at Ragged Island Refuge in 1987. Edwards’ and Knobling’s deaths were among those collectively known as the Colonial Parkway Murders. Wilmer has not been linked to the other Colonial Parkway Murders.
The state police announced in January 2024 that if Wilmer Sr. were alive today he would be charged in those cases and said again Friday that if he were alive he would be charged in Isle of Wight County with the death of Powell.
For more on this story, see the November 20 edition of the Rappahannock Record.
Full video of press conference here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1G3v3U99kN/
Read our previous coverage here: https://rrecord.com/deceased-lancaster-man-named-as-prime-suspect-in-three-cold-case-murders.
