The murder of David Knobling
Isle Of Wight County, Virginia · 1987
Overview
David Lee Knobling, a 20-year-old man from the Newport News area of Virginia, was shot to death in September 1987 alongside 14-year-old Robin Margaret Edwards at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge in Isle of Wight County, on the south bank of the James River. The two had driven out in David's black Ford Ranger pickup; his truck was found abandoned in the refuge parking area with the engine running, and the bodies of the two victims washed ashore days later, both shot in the head. The killings became associated in the public mind with the so-called Colonial Parkway murders, a cluster of unsolved homicides of young couples in the Tidewater region of Virginia in the late 1980s. The case stayed cold for more than 36 years. In January 2024, the Virginia State Police announced that DNA recovered from the crime scene, developed through forensic genetic genealogy and confirmed by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, had identified the killer as Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a waterman from Lancaster County, Virginia, who had died in December 2017 at age 63 before he could ever be charged. Because Wilmer had no felony record, his DNA had never been in any database and could only be lawfully obtained after his death. The same DNA work has since tied Wilmer to additional Virginia killings from the 1980s, including the 1989 murder of Teresa Lynn Howell, the 1988 murder of Laurie Ann Powell, and the 1986 Colonial Parkway murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski.
How it was solved
When David Knobling and Robin Edwards were killed in 1987, the offender left biological evidence behind, but the science of the era could not turn it into a name, and the case became one of the most haunting unsolved files in Virginia. For decades it was discussed alongside the Colonial Parkway murders, a string of attacks on young couples near the scenic parkway connecting Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, and investigators long believed a single offender might be responsible. The break came through forensic genetic genealogy. Using a DNA profile built from the 1987 crime-scene evidence, investigators traced the unknown killer through genealogical records and arrived at Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a commercial fisherman and tree-service operator who lived in Lancaster County on Virginia's Northern Neck. The Virginia Department of Forensic Science issued a Certificate of Analysis in 2023 confirming that Wilmer's DNA matched the profile from the Knobling, Edwards, and Howell crime scenes. Wilmer had died at his home in December 2017 at the age of 63. He had no felony convictions, so his DNA had never been entered into any law-enforcement database, and police were only able to obtain a confirming sample after his death. On January 8, 2024, the Virginia State Police and partner agencies held a news conference to announce that Wilmer was the man responsible for the 1987 double murder, as well as the 1989 killing of Teresa Lynn Howell in Hampton. In November 2025 authorities announced DNA had also linked Wilmer to the 1988 murder of 18-year-old Laurie Ann Powell in Gloucester County, and in 2026 the FBI and Virginia State Police announced that DNA had conclusively tied Wilmer to the 1986 Colonial Parkway murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski, the killings that gave the larger investigation its name. Because Wilmer was dead, there could be no trial; the resolution came in the form of an official identification supported by DNA rather than a courtroom verdict.
Sources
- Colonial Parkway murders
“Knobling's truck, a black Ford Ranger, was discovered on September 21 by a patrolman at the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge's parking area, with the wipers and radio on and the engine running. On September 23, the bodies of Knobling and Edwards were found... about 100 feet apart on the bank of the James River. Both victims had been shot: Edwards in the back of the head execution-style; and Knobling twice, once in the head and once in the shoulder.”
- About the Case: Colonial Parkway Murders
“Virginia waterman Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr. was confirmed as the killer of Robin Edwards and David Knobling through DNA by VSP in Jan 2024. Wilmer Sr. died in December 2017 in Lancaster County, Virginia, at age 63. Wilmer had no felonies on his criminal record, so his DNA was never obtained until it was needed to identify him following his death. Lt. Col. Tim Lyon stated: I do hope the identification of the killer brings some sense of closure and peace for them.”
- FBI closes case on Colonial Parkway double-murder after confirming suspect
“The FBI has officially linked Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. to the deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards (September 1987), discovered along the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge shoreline, and the FBI says advances in DNA technology finally cracked the case after nearly four decades. Wilmer died in 2017 at age 63 in Lancaster County, Virginia.”
- Alan Wilmer Sr. Identified in Colonial Parkway Murders
“Genetic genealogy helped officials arrive at Wilmer as a suspect, and the Virginia Department of Forensic Science issued a Certificate of Analysis in 2023 to confirm Wilmer's DNA matched the suspect's DNA at the Knobling, Edwards, and Howell crime scenes. On Monday, January 8, 2024, Virginia State Police and multiple law enforcement agencies announced a suspect in the 1987 double murder of David L. Knobling, 20, and Robin M. Edwards, 14. The suspect died at his Lancaster County, Virginia, home in December 2017. He was 63 years old.”
- DNA links Colonial Parkway killer to 4th unsolved Virginia murder, investigators say
“DNA evidence has linked the man authorities believe is responsible for the infamous Colonial Parkway murders to a fourth homicide in the 1980s. The 18-year-old woman [Laurie Ann Powell] was last seen alive on March 8 of that year, walking to a party... in rural Gloucester County. Her body was discovered on April 2 in the Elizabeth River.”
- Forensic evidence links fourth victim to serial killer behind Colonial Parkway murders
“Alan Wilmer Sr. is confirmed by both VSP and FBI as the killer of Colonial Parkway victims Cathy Thomas and Rebecca Dowski (1986), Robin Edwards and David Knobling (1987), Laurie Ann Powell (1988), and Teresa Howell (1989).”
- FBI links Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. to six Colonial Parkway murders
“Wilmer, who died in 2017, was connected to at least six murders and disappearances of young people between 1986 and 1989, including David Knobling and Robin Edwards in 1987, with the breakthrough coming through advances in DNA technology.”