The Colonial Parkway murders
Virginia · 1986–1989
Across four years, young couples vanished or were killed along a quiet 23-mile colonial-era parkway through the Virginia tidewater — and the case haunted investigators for nearly four decades before DNA pointed to a long-dead waterman.
Overview
Between 1986 and 1989, at least ten people — most of them young couples — were killed or disappeared in and around the Colonial Parkway, a 23-mile scenic road connecting Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown in Virginia. The first known victims, Cathy Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Dowski, 21, were found in a car pushed down an embankment near the Parkway in October 1986. Other incidents followed in 1987, 1988, and 1989, several involving couples found at or near lovers'-lane areas, with at least one couple, Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey, never recovered. The killings were investigated for decades by the FBI and Virginia State Police as an interconnected series. In 2024 and again in 2026, authorities used modern forensic testing to link several of the murders to Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a Virginia waterman who died in 2017.
Where it stands
The case remains officially open, with some incidents resolved and others still unsolved. According to CBS News, the FBI's Norfolk field office announced on January 21, 2026 that DNA testing had linked Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. — who died in 2017 — to the 1986 murders of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski; per WRIC, authorities had earlier connected Wilmer to the 1987 deaths of David Knobling and Robin Edwards and to other slayings. WRIC reports that the disappearance of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey remains unsolved. The renewed scrutiny followed years of FBI and Virginia State Police review of the interconnected cases.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- Alan Wade Wilmer Sr., a Virginia waterman (deceased)
The FBI's Norfolk field office, per CBS News and WRIC, used modern forensic DNA testing to identify Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. — who died in 2017 — as responsible for several of the Colonial Parkway slayings, including the 1986 killings of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Dowski and the 1987 killings of David Knobling and Robin Edwards.[4]
Sources
- Colonial Parkway murders
“The Colonial Parkway murders were the serial murders of at least ten people in the U.S. state of Virginia between 1986 and 1989.”
- Who Were The Colonial Parkway Murder Victims?
“All eight murders remain unsolved.”
- FBI closes case on Colonial Parkway double-murder after confirming suspect
“Investigators continue to actively pursue unsolved cases related to the Colonial Parkway murders.”
- Suspect in "Colonial Parkway murders" in Virginia linked to 2 more cold-case killings, FBI says
“Our message today underscores that we will not stop, we will not forget, and we will seek justice no matter how long it takes.”
- FBI solves two additional Colonial Parkway murders with new evidence
“I am incredibly proud of the work done by the men and women of FBI Norfolk, whose tenacity and commitment to justice never wavered.”