RICHMOND, Va. -- Families of the Colonial Parkway murder victims are closer than ever to answers they’ve sought for nearly four decades and they will not stop pressing law enforcement until the cases are solved. Now they’re bringing a live podcast to Virginia for the public to catch up on new developments and, hopefully, generate more leads.
“There are more answers and we've just got to keep digging,” says Bill Thomas, the brother of Cathy Thomas who was slain alongside Becky Dowski in 1986.
Stretching across the historic Colonial Parkway that connects Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, the murders unfolded between 1986 and 1989, claiming the lives of eight individuals in four separate incidents. Despite decades of investigation, no one was ever brought to justice for any of the crimes.
In January, the FBI and the Virginia State police announced a breakthrough in one of the cases. Law enforcement says DNA links Alan Wade Wilmer Sr, who died in 2017, to the killings of Robin Edwards and David Knobling, as well as that of Theresa Howell in Hampton.
“What they're not publicly, but something that they have said to the families, is that they are 99 percent certain Wilmer is also responsible for the disappearance and likely homicide of Keith Call and Cassandra Haley,” Thomas tells CBS 6 News.
A fourth double homicide, those of Anna Maria Phelps and Daniel Lauer in 1989 also remains unsolved.
Thomas and cohost Kristin Dilley began the “Mind Over Murder” podcast four years ago to generate public interest in the cases but have never recorded an episode before a live audience. On Monday, April 15, the Yorktown Library will host the pair and listeners for a question-and-answer session. Special guest Joyce Call-Canada, the sister of Keith Call, whose body is still missing, is set to attend.
“We've had thousands of postcards printed up at the family's expense to pass out at this event. The FBI and the Virginia State police are looking for help in terms of asking people, ‘did they know Alan Wade Wilmer, Sr, back in the 1980s?’ He was an avid fisherman, hunter, waterman, and so people might have known him.”
If you can’t attend the live event, the pair will post the recording to their podcast feed later in the month and hold a second live session in May.
Anyone with information about Alan Wade Wilmer’s life, or tips in the other cases, is asked to reach out to investigators at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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