All language subtitles for American.Detective.With.Lt.Joe.Kenda.S05E01.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_untitled_track2_[eng]

The murders are
the ultimate mystery.

Where were they killed,
by whom,

and with what motive?

Were they killed deliberately
or by chance?

Questions, which, as of now,

have no answers.

[Joe] Nearly 40 years ago,

the Colonial Parkway
became a symbol of terror

for a generation
of Virginians.

[reporter] Eight young people.

All may have died at the hand

of the same killer.

It's Virginia's
oldest and largest

serial killing spree.

The Colonial Parkway Murders.

Oh, my God. There's somebody
that's targeting these kids.

A predator was hunting here...

[reporter] The cases involved
abandoned cars at notorious

lovers' lanes.

...selecting targets
at random...

[reporter] The cars contained
victims' clothing,

wallets and keys,

with no signs of struggle.

...and leaving no survivors.

It was horrible.

[helicopter hovering]

[Joe] Now,
we're able to say,

after all of those years,

the perpetrator has
finally been identified.

Serial killers always have
a pause between their events.

But as time moves on,

-the hunger returns.
-[gun cocking]

[gunshots]

"Let me do this again,

'cause, God,
it was good the first time."

[opening theme song playing]

[Joe] I spent my career
closing murder cases.

But I'm not the only one
who answered the call.

It takes a rare breed
to solve the unsolvable,

to catch a ruthless killer,

to find justice for the dead.

That's what it takes

to be an American detective.

[siren wailing]

At about 5:30
in the evening...

[sirens continue]

...two park policemen
respond to a 911 call,

reporting an accident
on the Colonial Parkway.

They are flagged down
by an individual.

They follow him
a short distance

to an embankment

above the York River,
which flows through the park.

They see a 1980
white Honda sedan,

nose-first in the river.

[car doors closing]

They immediately
work their way down,

to see if there's someone
trapped in this car.

They find two women in the car

with a ghost-like appearance.

And their throats
have been deeply slashed.

[radio beeps]

This is not an accident,

it's a homicide.

What you see in front of you

is the actual
Colonial Parkway.

My name is Danny Plott.

During the Colonial Parkway
murder investigations,

I was a special agent

with the Virginia
State Police.

Back when the 1986
murder occurred,

the Colonial Parkway
was similar,

but it wasn't
as well-maintained.

It was a beautiful
scenic drive.

But in the late '80s,
when these murders occurred,

it was... it was a pretty
dark and spooky place.

Plott is an old-time cop.

Danny has suffered the
slings and arrows, like me,

of the press and the public
and the two-bit politicians,

and so on and so on.

So, it was a natural thing
that he and I became friends.

-Hey, man.
-[Danny] Joe.

How are you?

-Good. Yourself?
-The same.

I'm still walking around.

Me and you both.

Danny first called me
because he liked my show.

I watched it an episode
of Homicide Hunter,

and Joe's...

Joe's show was wonderful.

You know, he would
say something

and then, there'd be
the, "My, my, my."

I was impressed.

And he let me know that,

and asked me what it was like
to live in Colorado Springs,

and I informed him
I had moved.

And he said,
"I live in Suffolk, Virginia."

No shit.

He asked if we could
meet for lunch.

I said yes.

Talking with Joe is
an experience in itself.

His ability with murders
is amazing to me.

I talked to him for hours

about the Colonial
Parkway Murders.

Which I had vaguely
heard about,

2,200 miles away, in Colorado.

They meant nothing
to me at the time

because they were outside
my jurisdiction.

But now, they interested me.

Danny Plott mentioned
that there's been

an enormous amount
of press coverage.

There's been a book
written about him,

all kinds of things,

and I did not disagree
with his thought process

on the entire case.

He was certainly
on the right track.

For 37 years,
the killer was unknown,

and the Colonial
Parkway Murders

was his torturous career case.

[Danny] Solving the case
became an infatuation.

It became frustrating.

Sometimes we felt like
we were really close

in finding who did
these murders.

And then, something
would knock them out of it.

Every stone that you could
think of was overturned,

yet here we were.

Nobody was in handcuffs.

The Colonial Parkway
is a rural, scenic road

that connects three
of the biggest historical

places in the
Commonwealth of Virginia.

Yorktown all the way
to Jamestown,

and the Williamsburg area.

And because
it's a federal park,

there are no structures,
no businesses, no billboards,

no marks of the 21st century.

There are trees
and bushes and vines.

So, if you're on
this stretch at night,

you're in a Stephen King
novel for 23 miles.

The Parkway also
has multiple overlooks.

You can call it
a lovers' lane.

If you wanted privacy,

it was the perfect place.

[girls giggling]

The murders started
in October of 1986.

-[sirens wailing]
-[radio chatter]

The park rangers were aghast
at what they saw.

The park police summoned

the Federal Bureau
of Investigation,

the only jurisdiction
within that park,

because it is
federal property.

[camera shutter clicking]

[Danny] The two girls,

they were identified
immediately

because their identifications
were in the car.

Cathleen Thomas.

And Rebecca Dowski.

Their throats had been
cut very badly.

This was something brutal.

What was very puzzling
to the FBI,

that blood was not in the car.

[Steve] The amount of blood

would have been substantial,
and we've never found

any bloody prints,
any bloody clothing.

Clearly, inside of that car
is not the crime scene.

Somewhere else they were
killed, and put into that car.

Was it driven there?
I don't know.

[Joe] They examine
the ground

in this pull-off area,

assuming they will find
a second set of tire tracks.

They find tire tracks

that match the tires
on the Honda,

but they find no tire tracks

of another vehicle.

[Danny] What was
really perplexing was,

the car was covered
in diesel fuel.

And there were matches...

around, where it appeared

that someone had tried

to get the diesel
fuel to light.

Diesel has a very high
ignition point.

You could light an
entire book of matches

and throw it into
liquid diesel fuel,

and all that would happen is,

the diesel fuel would
put out the fire.

It was a failed
attempt at trying

to cover up their crime.

Now, what does that tell you?

[police radio chatter]

Whoever this is
has diesel fuel.

There's a lot of people
that carry diesel fuel

in and around,
in their vehicle.

Truckers do,

people that have a diesel car,

or people with boats.

Interesting.

This was not
an easy case to solve.

Why would somebody
target two women?

There's no money taken,

and they're viciously,
I mean, viciously attacked.

Whoever is responsible
for this crime...

is an organized offender.

He has a plan.

He somehow gets control
of these people,

and then, he attacks
and kills both,

and sends the car

over the side
of this embankment.

You and I both know

it's not difficult
to push a car.

You kick it out of gear,

and one person can
easily move a car.

Sure, but remember
that it's sitting

in an overlook.
It's a paved overlook.

Then you have
a patch of grass.

-[Joe] Hmm.
-And there's a curb.

Not a high curb,
but there's a curb,

so someone, or some people,

were strong enough to push it,

pop it over that,

but with two passengers in it,

always felt like it was
somebody with some strength.

Likely a man.

-Could have a helper.
-Yeah.

[Joe] So, now
you have a solid view

of what this crime scene
looks like.

But you're not even
really sure how it happened.

You need an autopsy
to tell you more.

So, the FBI agents head

to the Virginia State
Medical Examiner's Office.

[water dripping]

The autopsy results show that

the girls had been dead
for a minimum of 24 hours.

Rebecca's throat was cut
and it was cut viciously.

But Cathleen was
almost decapitated.

There's a brutality in that.

I think that says
that somebody

was really angry
for whatever reason.

There was no evidence
of sexual assault

on either victim.

But they found something else.

The autopsy revealed that

both girls suffered
ligature strangulation.

A ligature is any device

used to put pressure
on the neck,

to restrict the windpipe,

to die from asphyxia.

[Danny] And in
Cathleen's hair,

there was a small
piece of rope.

[Joe] The autopsy
further decides that

the throat slashing was
accomplished postmortem.

It had nothing to do
with their death.

They were dead when
their throats were cut.

They were essentially
killed twice.

Who the hell are we
dealing with here?

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter]
Rebecca and Cathleen

were last seen Thursday night.

A Honda Civic was found
off the Colonial Parkway.

It had been rolled
into these bushes,

almost into the water.

The women were found
with their throats slit...

[Joe] The FBI agents
go and notify

the two victims' families
of their untimely demise,

and say, "Tell me
about your daughter."

My name's Bill Thomas.

I'm the older brother
of Cathy Thomas.

She was fun and smart

and, uh, a great friend.

And her attitude

was just so positive,

that people were drawn to her.

She graduated
in the second class

from the US Naval Academy
that had women.

She ended up first
serving on this ship,

a submarine tender
called the SS L. Y. Spear.

Now, it's during
this time, though,

she's also investigated

for being a lesbian.

In the 1980s,

the Navy remained archaic,

with draconian rules.

Homosexuality
was not acceptable

in any form.

Particularly so in a female.

This was not gonna be a place

that she could live
her life as a lesbian

in an open fashion.

And she resigned
her commission.

[Bill] Even though
she'd left the Navy

with great reluctance,

Cathy was actually
turning a corner

into a really happy,

less pressured,

version of her life.

She was dating this wonderful
woman, Rebecca Dowski.

Rebecca Dowski came from
Poughkeepsie, New York.

She originally attended
Dickinson College,

and had transferred

to the College of
William & Mary in Virginia.

She was a very bright student

and she really
fit in well there.

[Bill] She was in
her senior year.

Sweet, smart,
extremely athletic.

She was on the championship
women's softball team.

So, both Cathy
and Becky had this

"I can accomplish anything"
attitude.

Cathy and her girlfriend

were not accepted
by society at large.

Privacy was very
important to them.

What better place

than the Colonial Parkway
at night?

[Blaine] The FBI investigators

focused on Cathy

being in a lesbian
relationship with Becky.

Now, what really makes
that come into play is,

she had been dating
someone else.

[indistinct shouting]

[Steve] There were
all of these rumors

that one of Rebecca's
ex-lovers had gotten angry,

and retaliated against
the both of them.

He was Muslim.
The Muslim religion

does not always look

at gay or lesbian
relationships kindly.

-[indistinct conversation]
-[chuckling]

[Joe] Ex-boyfriend,
Sharif Ali,

realizes that Becky
has left him

for another woman.

He is furious.

He has very strong feelings
about homosexual behavior,

and now, he's been
passed over for a member

of the same sex,
by his girlfriend.

It makes him
an astounding suspect.

[siren wailing]

So, they bring Ali Sharif
in for questioning.

And he admits...

that he has been embarrassed
by her departure

for another female,

but he would never
do her harm.

He also has an alibi.

He was in Washington, DC
for the weekend,

200 miles away

during the time
of the killings.

He may have had a motive,

but he physically
couldn't have done it.

Over the next few weeks,

the investigation slows,

but the notoriety of the case

really starts to move.

[reporter] The two friends
were last seen together

in Dowski's dorm room
at 7:00 p.m.

Police sources think
Dowski and Thomas

then drove here,
to the Colonial Parkway.

I remember the ratings
were extremely high.

People were watching.

They were talking about
the romantic relationship

between the two.

One of the motives
for a killer

is someone that is

opposed to this
type of lifestyle.

[reporter] Friends say driving
along the Colonial Parkway

was a Thursday night routine

for Dowski and Thomas.

But what happened
October 9th wasn't routine.

It was murder.

I don't think we understood

the full gravity of
what happened out there,

in October of '86

until September of ' 87.

Then I think it took on
a different life of its own.

[police siren chirps]

[Joe] An Isle of Wight
sheriff's deputy

is out patrolling

the Ragged Island
Wildlife Management Area.

There is a black pickup truck.

The door is open

and no one is around.

Something was going on.

The truck was running,

the radio was on,

and there were shoes
and articles of clothing

in the truck.

He calls for assistance.

[police sirens wailing]

They go through the truck,
and they notice a wallet

on top of the dashboard

that contains
a driver's license.

[Danny] It was a gentleman
named David Knobling.

David Knobling
was 19 years old.

He was a resident
of Newport News.

[Joe] His mother has
already reported him missing

'cause he didn't return home

after an evening out.

[Danny] The last time
he was seen

was in the company
of a young lady

named Robin Edwards.

Robin was also
a Newport News resident,

and she was 14 years old,

and was also missing.

[Joe] Now,
everyone is alarmed.

So, where are the occupants
of this vehicle?

And what has happened to them?

Ragged Island
is a creepy place to go.

It's very secluded.

[Danny] This parking lot

was used as
a lovers' lane type area.

It sounds a lot
like Colonial Parkway.

They had a feeling
this wasn't going to end well,

and they were right.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter] Twenty-year-old
David Knobling

and 14-year-old Robin Edwards

were last seen Saturday night.

His truck was found

with the keys in the ignition,
door open,

and radio on, near
the James River Bridge.

[Joe] The Isle of Wight
sheriff's department

launches a massive search.

It's very difficult to search.

There are vines and weeds

and brush of all sorts.

They could be almost anywhere.

Personnel from
multiple agencies,

a helicopter...

[helicopter hovering]

...search dogs.

This search goes on for days.

And, unfortunately,
on the third day...

they found something.

[Michael] My dad was
out there, at Ragged Island.

Chest waders.
Walking that whole area,

looking for him.

Karl Knobling, God bless him.

There were people that
were telling Karl Knobling

not to go down the beach.

He said, "I...
You aren't gonna stop me.

I'm going down there."

David Knobling's father,
Karl Knobling,

found the bodies.

[helicopter hovering]

I can only imagine
what that's like.

Because they were not
in very good shape.

Oh, he was broken-hearted,

broken-hearted, and we were
out there with him.

It was so devastating.

Karl Knobling
was a broken man.

Yeah, my dad didn't
even have a chance

to call us and give us
a heads-up.

My mom and I...

[sighs]

We found out on the news.

I remember hearing
my mom scream.

My God.

It was horrible.

The bodies were found

further down,
on the riverbank itself.

The James River there
is brackish or brine.

It's not freshwater,
it's not saltwater.

It's a combination.

And that...

did not do good things
to human bodies.

Both bodies are bloated
from decomposition,

having been out
for three or four days.

Robin Edwards had
one gunshot wound,

execution-style,

to the back of her head.

David had two gunshot wounds.

A gunshot wound
to the left shoulder...

and one shot
to the back of the head.

I think Robin was shot first.

[gunshot]

And I think David knew

he had one chance.

We speculate

he tried to climb
a sandy clay bank,

and he was within

almost grabbing distance

of a tree line.

[gunshot]

That's where he was shot,
once in the shoulder.

That incapacitated him
enough to where...

[gun cocking]

[gunshot]

He was then shot in the back
of the head and killed.

[Michael] I totally
disagree with that.

He would definitely
not run from a fight.

Even if the guy had a gun,
he wouldn't run from it.

[radio chatter]

[Joe] So,
why are these bodies

such a long walk from where
the truck was located?

Why would they go

such a far distance
from this vehicle?

When you leave
that parking lot

and you wanna go down here,

you have to walk
down this boardwalk,

'cause all this is marshland.

-Like, swamp.
-[Joe] Mmm-hmm.

So, to get down to here,
a good little walk.

But you don't walk
down a wooden,

older boardwalk barefoot.

-Not willingly.
-No, not willingly.

So, how did they
end up down there?

Two possibilities,
in my opinion.

They were running
from somebody...

-Mmm-hmm.
-...barefoot,

because they don't have time
to put their shoes on.

Or they were
marched down there

by the perpetrator.

So, who would wanna murder

these two people
in cold blood?

Investigators go
to the families,

to see if they can
determine suspects.

[Michael] This is the way
I see my brother.

Like this one.

Just him laid back,
cutting up, having fun.

Smiling, you know?

I definitely looked up
to David.

He tried toughening me up,

and he did it with
kicking my butt a lot.

[laughing]

He was a great brother.

I met Robin through
my cousin, Jason.

We went to the same
school together.

She was always
a real cool person.

We had, sort of,
prepared ourselves

for them to find her

either hurt,

possibly drowned.

We were not prepared
to find her murdered.

Robin was the youngest

of the Colonial Parkway
murder victims.

She was 14.

She had been
through a lot in life.

She was the kinda girl
that often ran away.

She got into trouble.
[chuckles]

She could be very, very sweet

and she could be
the most aggravating

and irritating child
in the world.

Uh...

She was very independent.

[sighs]

[Blaine] But Robin was also at
a turning point in her life.

She was finally starting

to apply herself
to her classes.

She was starting
to turn things around.

[reporter] The big questions
unanswered are,

why was David with Robin
at the wildlife preserve?

And what happened
after they got there?

[Michael] That day,
I followed him out,

bummed a cigarette from him.

And we talked in the driveway

for 15, 20 minutes, I guess.

And then, he left.

I carried that
through my life,

that I was able
to say bye to him.

I don't know why.

It just seems so small now,

but, at the time, it was big.

[Joe] So, they learned
that David and Robin

were hanging out
in an arcade in the area

with their friends.

And David agreed
to take Robin home.

They are not a couple,

according to their family.

But what does the killer see?

A man and a woman.

And what would
he assume from that?

They are lovers

in lovers' lane,

as were the first two women.

Much of this is very familiar.

[reporter] The murders
are the ultimate mystery.

Where were they killed,

by whom, and with what motive?

Were they killed deliberately
or by chance?

Questions which, as of now,

have no answers.

[Danny] That drove those of us

that worked on the task force,

that we need
to find this person,

because...

they're just heartless
and brutal.

When David and Robin
were autopsied,

the investigation revealed

that Robin had been sodomized,

and there was still semen
in her cavity.

The medical examiner said,

"This sample is very degraded

because you had bodies

laying in the water
for three days."

[Joe] This is 1987.

DNA is in its infancy.

DNA databases were
either non-existent

or just starting,

but the sample was preserved.

So, now what?

[telephone ringing]

There is a possibility

the motive is sexual assault
of a female victim.

But it's only a possibility.

But why kill them?

There's no answer for that.

Despite the differences,

the similarities
are just too great.

Proximity,

darkness, area, type.

People don't get killed
in parked cars very often.

The odds are great

this is the same person,
or persons,

responsible for both.

You've got a hunter,
somebody who's busy.

A year later,

the appetite returns.

They haven't been arrested.

They probably haven't
even been talked to.

No, they haven't been found.

So, now they become convinced

that maybe
they're pretty clever.

"Let me do this again,

'cause, God,
it was good the first time."

"But I'm not gonna do it
where I did it before."

No, but still in
the general vicinity.

They kill where
it's convenient.

Places they know.

And I would be very worried
that the bodies

were gonna start
to pile up here.

Four dead, and there's
gonna be more dead,

if that theory is correct.

He's going to do it again.

He will continue
unless he is stopped.

These murders came to be known

as the Colonial
Parkway Murders.

[reporter] Police
sources claim

the two cases are so alike,

the same persons
may be responsible.

This story really picked up
from the very beginning.

It was very much an East Coast

highlighted story,

'cause double murders
were incredibly rare.

These young couples
are violently dead...

in an otherwise
picturesque place.

How could this be?

Everyone was talking about

whether this is the work
of a serial killer.

[Blaine] Once the police
realized,

"Oh, my God, we're dealing
with connected crimes,

or potentially
connected crimes,"

police presence on the Parkway
increased dramatically.

[police siren chirps]

[Bill] And that
was the first time

we heard about the possibility

of a serial killer,

or a pattern emerging.

And...

I felt the investigation
began to shift.

[Michael] It turned
this area upside down.

I mean, people were scared

to go up and down the Parkway,

and my mom was...

scared to death
when I went out.

Scared to death.

[Joe] Everyone
is very busy now,

looking for people

who seem to be
out of the area,

seem to be doing something
that doesn't look right.

[Danny] After the murders,
people realized

they may be going
to the Colonial Parkway

at their own risk,
but it didn't stop 'em.

I'm sure the last thing
they thought of

is that they would get
approached or grabbed

on the Colonial Parkway.

It scared a lot of people,
but, unfortunately,

it didn't scare 'em all.

[reporter] The families
held a vigil, a memorial,

to remind us all
the killer is still out there.

The pressure exerted
by the press and by the public

results in the formation

of a Colonial Parkway Murders
task force,

where agencies come together.

More heads
are better than one.

Danny Plott was a trained

and experienced
homicide agent.

Plott became in command.

We were given
a conference room

and told to have at it.

The common theory
at the time is that

the perpetrator
is driving around

the Colonial Parkway area,
looking for victims,

parked in a car,
alone in the dark,

in a lovers' lane
kind of area.

[Danny] One thing we tried,

we took a male agent
and a female agent,

and we put them in cars.

Different nights,

different times,

and waited to be approached.

I worked some surveillance.

I had a beard,

I had actual hair.

I was lucky enough
to know who I was with,

but you run out of things
to talk about

after a couple hours.

Surveillance is cool
in the movies.

It is far from it
in real life.

We were approached.

-Police!
-[gun cocking]

But all we did was,

I think, scare
the living daylights

out of somebody that just

was hoping they could
see naked flesh.

Somebody that just
kinda hung around

and tried to look in.

Nobody wished any more
for an arrest

than those of us that were
on that task force.

Your killer is a shadow
in the night.

You're pedaling a bike
that is stationary.

And no matter
how hard you pedal,

it goes nowhere.

The task force
established tip lines.

[telephones ringing]

And you get hit
with tons of tips

that are just crazy.

Many people will
call in and report

that little green men
from Mars

are responsible for this.

[telephone ringing]

But every once in a while,

somebody says something
that sounds reasonable.

And you pay attention to that.

There was a man
named Sammy Rieder

that said he saw
Robin and David.

Maybe here's a lead
we can work with.

[reporter] Sam Rieder
was at Ragged Island,

and remember seeing
David's truck.

I just took one quick
look around.

I flashed my headlights
back in the brush,

but I couldn't see anything.

He paints himself
as an eyewitness.

They bring Sammy Rieder in,
they talk to him.

So, Mr. Rieder says

that he stops at Ragged Island

on his way home from a date.

He notices this truck.

He said that he saw

Robin and David
get out of the car.

[Joe] He admires the truck.
Said it's very nice,

very clean.

[Danny] The truck was running,

the radio was on.

[music playing on radio]

[Joe] So, he says
all these things,

none of which
is earth-shattering,

because it's what
the press reported.

[Danny] Another
statement was...

[gunshots]

"I heard two shots.

They had to be coming
from the marshland,

way in the back.

I decided it was time
to leave, and I left."

There are several things wrong

with Rieder's statement.

[Blaine] There were actually
three shots fired that night.

Two were fired
at David Knobling,

and one at Robin.

Sammy didn't mention anything
about them being barefoot,

but their shoes
are in the car.

The sand down there
is not smooth sand.

It is made up with a lot

of jagged shells, et cetera.

[Joe] It is
extremely unlikely,

not wearing shoes or socks,

that they would walk
this far in rough terrain

on their own accord.

Somebody marched them down

to the place where they died.

They did not
get out of the car

and go strolling down there.

[Joe] He is
inserting himself

in a serial killer
investigation.

Now, why would he do that?

[Danny] When Mr. Rieder
was pressed,

he finally admitted,

"Well, I took money out
of David Knobling's wallet."

I don't know if he figured

if he came up with this tip,

and they found his prints
somewhere on the truck,

he would be able to say,

"Well, I was just looking in."

Well, I think he did it out
of trying to cover his ass.

[Joe] What he saw
was a wallet,

and he took advantage of it.

Oh, Sammy,

why are you wasting
our time with this?

He didn't kill two people.
He didn't know who did.

Law enforcement
were very frustrated

with the investigation.

They weren't solving the case.

People were fearful.

I've noticed
that a lot of girls

aren't walking on campus
by themselves,

especially late at night.

Obviously, we have to,
uh, consider

that there's a dangerous
person, or persons,

still in the community.

[Danny] We needed
this task force

to try to,

if not tie these
murders together,

find common denominators,

or separate them.

[telephone ringing]

Plott is experienced
and he's smart.

He sees the rivers,

and he said,
"Hey, look at this map.

What is around all
of these crime scenes?

Water."

How do you move in water?

You move in water in a boat.

The thing I remember
about the autopsies

of Cathleen and Rebecca

was this rope that was found.

It was a piece
of nautical rope,

which, to me, nautical rope
is either used

on a boat,

or used to tie up a boat.

Now, that is
an interesting fact.

What if our man is a boater?

Maybe we've been
thinking about this

wrong the entire time.

How did he approach
these people?

If he used the boat
in some way,

I think he had to anchor
the boat on the river,

and use a smaller boat
to come to the bank.

We've got a trolling motor.
It makes literally no sound.

So, you can maneuver
around in this water

and nobody even
knows you're there.

You have no obligation,
legally,

to put lights on your boat.
You're not at sea.

You're in inland waterways,

no one's gonna question you.

-You're a waterman.
-Right.

The word "waterman" is
very specific to this area.

It's people who are involved
in the oyster business

and the fishing business,
in the York River,

in the James River,
in the Rappahannock River.

They have their own dialect,

they have their own language.

Generationally,
all the way back

to the colonial period.

This could be a waterman.

That's someone we need
to concentrate on.

So, what else do we know?

The toys used in these crimes

are the toys that
watermen use as tools.

Most of these boats
have diesel motors.

[motor whirring]

Diesel was used in Rebecca
and Cathleen's murder.

Whoever killed them
brought diesel fuel

with them to the scene.

We have an extremely sharp

instrument that cuts
their throats.

Fishermen take care
of their knives.

-Part of their living.
-Part of their living.

Sharp as a razor.

You can filet a fish
in a heartbeat.

This all became known
as the waterman theory.

[Joe] Danny Plott
and other cops
he brought with him

to survey
the fishermen in the area.

These are an unusual lot.

They operate in private.
They're loners.

They are tough as oak.

They did not take kindly

to being, you know,
even interviewed.

They picked a lifestyle

that they don't want
to interact with people.

And for strait-laced FBI guys

to walk into
a waterman bar and say,

"Hey, we want to ask
some questions."

They're not going to get
any progress from that.

At this point,
it's an all hands on deck

sort of investigation.

But as it turns out,

shortly they will discover
even that is not enough.

[telephone ringing]

[typing]

[imperceptible]

[Joe] The park police
have informed Danny Plott

they have found
yet another abandoned vehicle

on the Colonial Parkway.

The keys are in the ignition,

the car is running
and nobody's around,

and Plott's heart
is in his throat.

They're going, "Oh, shit!
Here we go again."

The Colonial Parkway
serial killer

is back in business.

[sirens wailing]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Joe] Danny Plott
is very concerned.

Where are the people
from this car?

[indistinct radio chatter]

[imperceptible]

This has a lot of similarities
to the other murders.

[Andy] Lovers' lanes,

near water,

only one mile

from the Thomas-Dowski
crime scene.

One mile. Are you kidding me?

The Park Rangers
informed Plott

that they ran
a registration check
on the vehicle

and determined
it's owned by Keith Call.

They contact Call's parents.

They report him missing
that morning.

The parents say
he was with a female
named Cassandra Hailey.

And Cassandra Hailey's parents
also report her missing.

Where are they?

[male reporter] Some
of their clothes
and the car keys

found inside the car.

[female reporter] A Navy
security team looks
through the woods.

Park Rangers use
a Bloodhound and a boat

for air scent over the water.

Other dogs combed
the beachfront area.

[male reporter] A dog traced
the couple's scent
to the water's edge.

And then the scent ends.

[Joe] The dogs
are telling them

those bodies
are in this water.

But they're not there now

because water moves
and it moves bodies with it.

[Danny] I searched the Parkway

in a company
of United States Marines,

who walked an arm length
away from each other

across the whole area,
near where that car was found.

The search dogs
take the scent,

and they march directly
to the York River.

And that night the nor'easter
had been passing through.

-Right. High waves.
-High current.

Sixty, 70 mile-an-hour winds
and driving rain.

So, they are disposed of,

killed by
some method or means.

They go in the York River,

the nor'easter comes,

and sweeps somewhere

out to sea,

maybe all the way out.

[squawking]

Wouldn't take much.

And these two poor,
unfortunate young people

are never found.

Not a trace of them.

The families
couldn't even have a funeral.

♪ Amazing grace ♪

♪ How sweet the sound ♪

[Doug] I didn't want to think
the worst to start with.

All of a sudden, you know,
there's all these police
calling the house.

And then, as the day went on,

you just kind of came
into that reality

that something had happened.

Keith just vanished
into thin air.

[Joyce] Keith was really just
a good-hearted kid,

and you just don't ever think

that when somebody
walks out of the door,

it's going to be
the last time you see 'em.

[Doug] He was into computers,
you know.

We had some of the first.

He was in there
banging away
on his Commodore 64

and learning
everything about that.

And he was just
like that '80s guy.

In 1988, when this happened,

he was in his first
semester of college.

And then with Cassandra,

they were friends.

And she was really
a pretty girl.

Cassandra was the "it" girl.

I mean, she was a cheerleader.

She's got
a magnetism about her.

She was very bright.

She was really looking forward
to completing her education

and going on with her career.

They went out
that night to a movie,

and then they decided

to stop by some
kind of college party
going on there.

[male reporter] Friends
confirmed Keith and Sandra

partied at
the University Square
Apartments, April 10th.

They left around 2:00 a.m.

Then disappeared.

[Danny] And then Cassandra
had to be home
at a certain time.

They said their goodbyes,

and that's the last time
anybody saw them.

The Parkway was not a place
that you went like that,

and just left your car there.

Keith was more
responsible than that.

The other murders
had already happened,

Keith wouldn't
have went there.

It always haunted me,

and it haunts me to this day,

that we did not find Keith
and Cassandra's remains.

We have to find
the murdering son of a bitch
who did this.

[Joe] They finally decide,
"All right,

let's go back and start over."

[Danny] About six months
into the FBI task force

of the Colonial Parkway
murders,

we had come
to a couple of conclusions.

Looking at all the scenes,

the vehicles, the wallets out,

we decided
who we were looking for

was a person of authority.

So imagine now
it's nighttime here.

You're with somebody
you care about.

You're not really
thinking about anything.

And then suddenly...

[knocking at window]

[Danny] There's a knock
on your window,

and a man
with a flashlight says,

"What are you doing here?

You're not
supposed to be here."

[Joe] What if this killer
poses as a policeman?

In the process of somebody
getting out their ID,

he pulls a gun.

So he now has control.
Could that be?

Of course it could.

[Blaine] During this era
you could buy an old cop car,

complete with
a sidelight et cetera,

for 300 bucks
at a police auction,

and duplicate being a cop.

We decided to hold
a press conference

with the FBI's blessing,

and it exploded.

[Blaine] It reached the point

where even
in the newspaper articles,

they were warning people
to verify

if they were being
pulled over,

that it was really
a policeman.

[Danny] The media took it
and ran with it

because it made a good story.

[Joe] Nothing about this
seems to work,

and then you begin
to convince yourself

that nothing will ever work.

Law enforcement are running
out of room at the morgue.

This is one serious guy.

He's not gonna stop.

As cases go on for years,

they become more difficult.

The Colonial Parkway murders
have slowed down.

Nothing much
has been happening.

No news, no new events.

[telephone ringing]

An anonymous tipster
calls the task force

and says an individual
has been harassing couples

in the lovers' lane pull offs
on the Colonial Parkway.

They called him a Peeping Tom.

Really?

Now that is interesting.

Who might you be,
Mr. Peeping Tom?

And what are you doing
on the Parkway?

[squawking]

Through a FBI
or state police tip line,

we get a tip
that a man in a blue truck

is stopping
and looking in parked cars

on the Parkway.

They get a tag.

The tag reads EM-RAW.

"Eat 'em raw."

What do you eat raw?

[both] Oysters.

[Joe] Hmm.

[Danny] That truck
comes back to a waterman

named Alan Wilmer.

So now, the FBI has somebody
that they can look at.

[Joe] This could be him.

This could be
the Colonial Parkway killer.

And they need to act fast.

[Danny] The FBI
and the Virginia State Police

now have what appears
to be a viable suspect.

The FBI surveils him.

Goes to his residence,

where they find him
cleaning his truck.

[Blaine] They noticed
Wilmer was out

spray painting
the back of his vehicle

and that he was bleaching
the interior of the vehicle.

Now, why would he do that?

Is he concealing evidence?

Maybe this is our guy.

They immediately go
to get a search warrant.

[Joe] The FBI returned
to Wilmer's place.

They present him
with the warrant.

He is cooperative.

He steps aside,
and they search the premise.

They do the search warrant
of his truck.

Doesn't reveal a whole lot,

but the search of his house

reveals... several things.

[Joe] They find an enormous
supply of pornography.

They find guns,

they find pairs of handcuffs

and other bondage devices.

I am not saying that makes you
someone that kills people,

but you put
everything together,

this is not your average guy.

[Joe] They continue
to talk to him.

He denies any knowledge
of any of this.

Denies everything.

They have no evidence
that could result
in an arrest.

They decide that they
will have an FBI polygraphist

take a shot at this guy.

[Danny] Mr. Wilmer
was interviewed,

and he did admit
to being on the Parkway

and approaching
a vehicle or two.

[Blaine] Which was
very useful information.

But his story changed
a little bit.

He said, "Yeah, I was on
the Colonial Parkway,

but I wasn't in that
particular pull off.

I was in another one.

I walk around out there

and I look for places to fish,

nothing wrong with that."

And there isn't
anything wrong with that.

So he takes the polygraph.

And the polygrapher says,
"He didn't do this.

He's innocent."

And the FBI looks
at that polygraph
and then says,

"Well, you [bleep]
better be right."

The FBI decided
that him passing a polygraph

and the lack
of direct physical evidence

was enough to say,

"He's not the one."

[Joe] He looks good,
nothing happens.

He moves on,
and so does the task force.

[Danny] FBI and state police,

if one of us got a lead,

you know, we'd let
the other one know.

But the leads,
they just weren't there.

And, you know,

uh, family member...

They weren't shy,
and I don't blame them.

And they sometimes

weren't shy
in the media, you know.

"My son, daughter...

Sister, brother...

Brutally murdered.
What are you doing?"

[Doug] You didn't hear
nothing about it,
the FBI didn't.

Didn't talk to anybody.

And then Joyce

would consistently
pick up the phone

and call them up

and ask them
about the case and all that.

[Joyce] It seemed
like... sighs]

...they weren't giving us
a lot of information.

It just kind of went dead.

And I didn't handle it
very good at all.

And even to this day,

that is the worst thing
that's ever happened.

It's just like
somebody walks out the door

and they're fine,

and they just don't come back
and you don't have answers.

You don't have a body.

The anxiety was terrible
at that time.

You know, it's just
not knowing
what happened to him.

Just nothing but anxiety.

It just doesn't go away,
you know.

You have to become
your own advocate

because no one else
will do it for you.

We're the ones now

kind of trying
to advance this case.

I'm looking for answers.

Who killed my younger sister
and her girlfriend?

All of these other families,

mine included,
deserve answers.

All our answer was,

"We're doing
everything we can."

It had been years.

Nothing.

[siren wails]

Labor Day weekend, 1989,

and a Virginia state trooper
is investigating

an abandoned vehicle
in a rest area

that's left running
with the keys in the ignition.

And when he ran the tag,
of course,

ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

This is the car
of a missing person.

The car comes back
to 21-year-old Daniel Lauer

reported missing
with 18-year-old
Annamaria Phelps.

The Colonial Parkway killer
is back.

And maybe this time
he's left the waterfront.

[Joe] The investigators
are instantly suspicious

that this is
the Colonial Parkway killer.

But what's different?

[female reporter speaking]

They call it
the New Kent rest area.

[Joe] This rest area

is many miles
from the Colonial Parkway.

This is inland,
not the waterfront,

where he has been for years.

[Danny] So I went up there
and I found the car.

A gold Chevy Nova
with black primer.

[Joe] He sees this car,

clothes in the back seat,

the key is in the ignition,

car running.

It is no question
it is deja vu.

We're dealing
with the same guy.

Annamaria Phelps
was an 18-year-old
young lady

from Amelia County, Virginia,

who had recently
dropped out of school.

[Blaine] School
wasn't for her.
She wanted to work.

She wanted
to get ahead in life.

She wanted to be on her own,

and she had a boyfriend
named Clinton Lauer.

The other victim,
Daniel Lauer,

was her boyfriend's brother.

[Blaine] Daniel,
he was a horse lover.

He liked riding.

He was six foot tall.

He was a dominating force.

Anybody that handles horses.
He wasn't a weakling either.

Daniel was doing very well.

His father
had a painting business,
and he worked there.

His father had gotten him
a Chevy Nova.

In many respects,

he was on the right path
for independence himself.

And Daniel had decided

he wanted to kind of get out
on his own.

And the plan

was for Annamaria Phelps
and Daniel Lauer

to drive to Virginia Beach.

And the best way
to get there was on I-64.

[car starting]

[tires screech]

[Danny] We learned
from the families

that they never arrived
in Virginia Beach.

[Joe] If they are
in fact missing

and they're not in this car,
then where are they?

Could the Colonial
Parkway killer

have abducted and killed them,
just like the others?

[radio chirps]

Where are these people?

What has happened to them?

And the search begins.

[Danny] There was a search
by special agents

of the Virginia State Police

and troopers
of Virginia State police

in the general area.

No Annamaria
and Daniel, again.

It's very frustrating,

and I can only imagine

what it's like
for the families.

We really love
both of them very much.

And, um,
if there's anything at all

that you can do to help,
we'd appreciate it.

[Joe] Six weeks later,
on October 21, 1989,

two turkey hunters
find something shocking.

[Danny] I get a call.

"Hey, we need you to go
near the New Kent rest area."

I'm there.

There was a logging road.

That was the best way
to describe it.

And there was a deputy
stationed there,

and I stopped and he said,
"Go up here."

You didn't walk very far up
the fork in the road,

and then you went
into the woods.

I could see they already
had a tent set up.

[Joe] They find skeletonized
remains of humans.

Two skulls and bones.

[Danny] These are
two young people
that, unfortunately,

the best way
to describe it nicely

is they melted
into the ground.

They were so badly
decomposed at the time

that it was very difficult
to determine

exactly what happened.

[Danny] That's me
with a shovel in my hand.

I would have been

thirty-three, maybe.

I believe that
it had rained slightly,

as you can tell.

One man's wearing a raincoat.

The bottom photo

is Annamaria's locket.

That was found
at the fork of the road.

We speculate that that maybe

was where she was killed,
and that locket came off.

When the general area
was searched,

there was, you know,
very little to find.

No bullets. No knife.

No anything.

[male reporter] An autopsy
confirmed the body
of Annamaria Phelps.

Another body is believed
to be Dan Lauer.

The skeletal remains

were taken
to the Smithsonian Institute

with the forensic
anthropologist
Dr. Doug Owsley.

[Joe] Autopsies of skeletons
yield little
other than sex and age

and any wounds
to the bone structure.

[Danny] When he examined
the skeletal remains,

Dr. Owsley found

what he deemed a knife wound

on Annamaria's left hand.

And he speculated that

if someone is getting ready
to cut your throat,

you hold your hands up.

And it was
a diagonal knife wound

on her third finger.

That's the only trauma

that he could say.

[Joe] Is this
the Colonial Parkway killer?

Well, of course it is.

There's a change
here and there in the MO.

But so what?

Either way, they work.

[male reporter] The
couple's disappearance

is strikingly similar
to others,

including Robin Edwards
and David Knobling.

The only difference is that

they were found in the woods

instead of in the river.

The victims are in cars.
There's two of them.

They're probably
very vulnerable.

He strangles, cuts the throat

of Rebecca and Cathleen.

He shoots David and Robin.

He disposes of the bodies,

however it was done,

of Keith and Cassandra.

And then lays
the other two side by side.

[Joe] There are
a couple of things
that are different,

but there are some things
that are not.

[Danny] Two on the Parkway,

two within easy driving
distance of the Parkway.

[Joe] His method up to now

has been the sea
and the water.

Now his method
is a concealment
in the deep woods.

What does that mean?

Did he become fearful

of the increased
patrol activity
on the parkway?

Probably.

He doesn't want
to stop killing.

He just wants
to stop the police
from getting close to him.

And the reality
is he may never be found.

This individual has eluded
law enforcement for years.

If he's shifting his MO

and he's committing
other murders,

we may not even
recognize them as his.

He's a killer.
That's what he does.

The question always becomes,

"Has he done other crimes?"

Of course he has.

That's what's kind of scary.

There's going to be
other victims.

How many did he kill?

We have no clue.

[Joe] There have
been eight dead.

There's a possibility
there are others dead

that we don't even know about.

And the case
continues to be cold

despite their focus
on it for years.

They've gotten nowhere fast.

[Danny] After the task force,

I worked several years
in the fugitive unit
as a special agent,

which took me away from it,

and it was given
to somebody else.

But I worked
in and around the same office,

and I did not have
the least bit problem saying,

"Hey, anything new
with Ragged Island?

Anything new
with the Parkway murders?"

"No, go away."

Despite all the effort,
despite all the leads

and all
of the investigative work,

the years begin to tick by,

and no justice has been
found for the family.

[Michael] My mom and my dad

kept in touch with the police
over the years,

and I took it
with a grain of salt.

I had zero expectation

about finding out
who killed my brother

after the tenth year,

the twentieth year,
the thirtieth year.

And it's been a horrendous
waiting game the whole time.

Just a cold waiting game.

That's all it's been.

[Joyce] It's not like
it was forgotten,

but it's just like,
"What do you do?"

None of us were brought up
in law enforcement.

None of us had any background
on what to do

if your brother
is abducted or murdered.

[Bill] So you've got
eight victims,
16 moms and dads.

We've lost
nine of them so far.

Both of my parents
passed away.

It's been 37 years.

I can't really say it gets
easier to talk about.

All of these victims

have been dead much longer
than they were alive.

[Joe] Many
of the investigators
involved in this are retired,

but this is not a case
anybody ever forgets.

It's been very hard on Danny.

[Danny] I retired
from the state police in 2013,

but those murders have never
been far from my mind,

and I still
remember the frustration

of, "Why can't we
find this person?"

[door creaking]

[Joe] It's the worst feeling
in the world.

You feel like a failure.

You feel like
you haven't done your job.

You know better.

You did everything
humanly possible.

It just wasn't enough.

And you beat
yourself up for that.

[siren wails]

[Joe] December 2017,

law enforcement responds
to a 911 complaint

about a foul odor emanating
from a private residence.

[indistinct radio chatter]

They find a badly
decomposed body

that basically
is a bed full of soup.

[Danny] The decay
was horrible.

They don't know
if they're dealing
with a natural death,

a suicide or a murder.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Joe] The autopsy reveals

advanced arterial sclerosis
and blocked arteries.

In other words,
his heart got blocked up,

and it stopped and so did he.

They take samples
of these remains

for the purpose
of obtaining DNA

and the possibility
of using it

to identify the individual.

Little did anyone know
this was someone

who was directly
under their noses
the entire time.

January of 2024

was when we got
the first substantial break

in the
Colonial Parkway murders.

[Joe] A detective
is going through
the daily crime sheets,

notices this death case.

Looks at the name
and recognizes it.

It was from years ago.

I was called
and the person said,

"The name Alan Wilmer
mean anything to you."

And I said, "Yeah...

Parkway murder suspect."

[Joe] This was the guy

that was identified
by an anonymous person

as a Peeping Tom
on the Colonial Parkway.

The FBI looked at him

and they let him go
because they couldn't
prove anything.

Suddenly, there's a connection

back to the Colonial Parkway.

Which means
a connection, potentially,

to all
the Colonial Parkway murders.

Which means you start looking

for where do we have DNA

that we might
be able to compare.

Robin Edwards
had been sodomized,

and to the credit
of the Virginia State police,

they managed to maintain

some of the samples
of that DNA for ages.

Alan is deceased,

but now we
have a DNA sample from him.

And they compare that sample

taken from the victim

to the sample taken
of Alan Wilmer Sr.

and it's a 100% match.

Well, my, my, my.

After decades
of work and effort

and theorizing,

they finally have a name

all these years later.

Alan Wilmer Sr. is...

the Colonial Parkway killer.

The best way to put
what I was, was ecstatic.

You know, I was ecstatic.

I was also humbled

and...

a little bit irritated
at myself

that...

I knew that Alan Wilmer

was a great suspect.

[Joe] But who is this guy?

Who is Alan Wilmer Sr.?

What was Alan Wilmer besides
a murderer and piece of shit?

He was a waterman.

[Joe] He was
a commercial fisherman

specifically who farmed

clams and oysters.

He spent
the majority of his time

on his boat,

a vessel he named Denni Wade.

[Blaine] From
a geographic perspective,

the anchor point is
the York River,

and that's where
he worked every day.

It makes complete sense

that it was
a waterman all along.

[Joe] Also, Wilmer was
an avid hunter.

He belonged to a hunt club

not far from the area

where the fourth
murder victims were

discovered skeletonized.

[Blaine] When you look
at Phelps-Lauer,

their bodies were found

on a private hunting reserve.

Is there a connection?

We don't know.

But where there's smoke,
there's often fire.

[Joe] Everything
about Alan Wilmer's life fits

the entire style

of the Colonial
Parkway Killer.

He moves by boat.

He's around at night,

where you can see

the lovers' lanes
from the water.

Everything about him seems
to come together

once he's identified

and firmly linked

scientifically to one victim.

[Michael] The FBI had
called us,

and they let us know

that they had a DNA match.

I was shocked.

I was absolutely shocked.

[Joyce] I got a call

from our case agent,

and they were bringing up
Alan Wade Wilmer.

It was just like,
"Oh, my God". [chuckles]

"Oh, my God".

Our family went through

so much frickin' heartache
and pain

wondering
what the [bleep] happened

to my brother, you know?

And come to find out,

they had the right guy
the whole frickin' time.

[Joyce] When you talk
about anger,

there has been like

35 years' worth of anger.

It's just-- it's maddening.

There he was
in the very beginning.

[Bill] I'm still angry
about it to this day.

I thought it was outrageous.

They told my family

they were looking at watermen.

This is that guy.

Is he responsible

for Cathy and Becky's murder
as well?

[Blaine] It always
makes me wonder,

could law enforcement
have prevented

the things that followed?

The deaths, the loss of life.

[Danny] The FBI decided

that him passing a polygraph

was enough to say

he's not the one.

The decision was made,

and that wasn't made by me.

I can't say we let him go,

but...

we didn't do enough.

I would have done anything,

threatened him,

anything else to try
to get him to admit to it,

but I don't think he was
the kind of person that would.

[Joe] He passed
a polygraph, but so what?

He also happens
to be a sociopath,

so he doesn't react.

Thus a polygraph is useless.

He's not capable of emotion.

[Danny] Someone like Wilmer,

"I killed two people today.

Big deal."

That's what makes him
so dangerous.

Why is there only a DNA hit
on one case

when there are
four double murders

that everyone says
are connected?

One possible answer is

no evidence contained
any perpetrator DNA.

[Danny] Robin
and David's murder,

that is the only one
of the four

that there was actual
known DNA evidence.

[Joe] So what is known

about the four
Colonial Parkway
double homicides?

[Blaine]
At the very beginning,

the FBI behavioral profilers
said watermen.

[Danny] The first three,

'86, '87, '88,

all of them took place

right against the water.

Either the York River

or the James River.

You're dealing with a creature
from the Black Lagoon.

[seagulls squawking]

[Joe] It's possible
that in the first murder,

he spots Cathy and Rebecca...

[girls laughing]

[Joe] ...in Lover's lane

together in a car,

approaches them.

He strangles them
and he slashes their throats.

And he put them
in Cathy's Honda,

soaked it in diesel fuel,

tried to burn it.

Then he shoved it
over the embankment,

assuming it would sink
in the river and disappear.

His attempt at disposal
is a disaster.

In the second killing,

David Knobling
and Robin Edwards,

he sodomizes Robin Edwards

and he shoots her
in the back of the head.

[Joe] David is shot
in the shoulder...

and the back of the head.

They're thrown in the river,

assuming they'll float away,

but they wind up trapped
under the embankment.

Another failure.

However, DNA this time
remains behind,

which ultimately becomes
his undoing.

[Danny] By Keith
and Cassandra's murder,

he had perfected his craft.

[Joe] If this was
his third murder,

he abducted and killed them,

threw them in the water.

He went out and he fished,
clammed, oystered

from that boat.

How hard would it have been
to take them out on that boat

and dispose of their bodies?

It would have been very easy.

[Joe] The fourth murder,

Daniel Lauer
and Annamaria Phelps,

they are discovered miles away
from the parkway.

[Danny] My best speculation is

they stopped

at the eastbound rest area
of New Kent.

That's where Wilmer took
control of them.

And then they were carried
to these two positions

where they were found.

It seems he learns
from his mistakes.

He gets better
at disposing of remains.

But what is his deal
about couples?

Does he hate them?

What motive could there be?

Maybe just a willingness
to kill.

And perhaps that's
the only motive he needs.

Now we learned
that Wilmer's sphere was
even larger.

We now have some evidence

that we can weigh
against these other cases.

[Danny] Here we have
Alan Wilmer.

We have him tied to the murder
of Robin and David.

Luckily, we got DNA from that.

But that wasn't the only crime
his DNA hit on.

He was tied to another murder
of a lady in Hampton.

[Joe] There was
a 29-year-old woman

named Teresa Howell

who left a nightclub
and disappeared.

She was found naked,
strangled, and raped.

And the perpetrator DNA

was none other
than Alan Wilmer Sr.

[Blaine] We now know
that he killed people

that were alone,

so the net gets cast
pretty wide

to look at cases

that this guy may have
been involved with.

[Joe] Well, it's always
difficult to say

what will happen now.

Will the DNA science
advance further?

Will they be able
to determine something

from some of these cases

to link him directly
to the crime?

It's entirely possible.

Prosecution will never occur.

You can't prosecute
a dead guy.

But I hope he's facing
some kind of judgment.

Well, you would hope so.

You would hope so.

Perhaps he moved
to a higher court.

If we had had hindsight
in law enforcement in general,

FBI, state police,

Isle of Wight County
Sheriff's Office,

this would have been
handled different.

But the only answers
we can really for sure give is

to Ms. Howell's family,
the Knobling family,

and the Edwards family.

The FBI
and the Virginia State Police,

they have not stopped.

And I hope they can tie him
to any and all of them.

All these families
deserve answers.

This completely destroyed
my mother.

In one night, she lost
her only daughter,

her youngest child,
and her best friend.

This is a solvable case.

All it takes is time,
attention, and resources.

It's not something
that we ever wanted,

to be burying
a younger brother.

Keith was just
starting out his life.

He had aspirations.

He was a good kid.

I hated that he didn't have
the opportunity

to grow up, you know,
and to have a family.

I mean, that guy robbed Keith.

He robbed him
of a whole entire life.

That was my big brother,
man, you know?

Doesn't get
any tighter than that.

I mean,

[choked up] it's not fair.

I missed so much with him.

So much.

I know my life would have
been so much different

if he was still in it.

God, I wish he was still here.

[Joe] Some people never
have to pay the bill

for what they've done
in their life.

They just croak,

like everybody does.

I'll be quite frank with you.

I hope there is a special,
special place in hell

for this man.

And every day
what he did to those kids

is done to him

for eternity.

Then, maybe,

it'll be a little bit
of justice.

[Joe] There's supposed to be
justice and punishment.

That's not always the case.

Wilmer denied
the hangman's noose.

However, he died
in his hovel of a trailer

and turned
into a puddle of DNA.

No one cared about Alan.

Maybe Alan didn't either.

He cared about killing,

and he got pretty good at it.

[interviewer
speaking]

[man speaking]

There are people
in this world

who are patently evil.

[woman]
My mind went to that.

Someone took her,
someone is trafficking her.

I just felt like
I gotta solve this case.

A lot of murderers are
emotional when

they take a life...
not him.

He's cold as ice.

[distant gunshot blasts]

How much worse will it be
if we don't get who did this?

And I'm like, what?

What do you mean
they've been murdered?

[Kenda]
We're not just the police,
we're the murder police.

When Cain busted
a cap in Abel,

did he send a uniform
to take the report?

No, he sent
a [bleep] detective.