Overview
- Virginia State Police said DNA evidence identifies Alan W. Wilmer Sr. as responsible for the 1988 stabbing of 18-year-old Laurie Ann Powell, last seen March 8 in Gloucester County and found April 2 in the Elizabeth River near Craney Island.
- The finding adds to prior links naming Wilmer in the 1987 murders of Robin Edwards and David Knobling and the 1989 killing of Teresa Lynn Howell.
- Wilmer died in 2017 at age 63, so no charges are possible, though investigators said the evidence would support prosecution if he were alive.
- Officials said the breakthrough followed work by Virginia State Police, the FBI and Hampton Police using testing funded by the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
- Investigators continue to review other unsolved cases and seek tips from the public, noting Wilmer’s mobility by boat and his distinctive blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup as potential clues.