194. The Colonial Parkway Murders Secrets with Bill Thomas, Part 2
From The Silver Linings Handbook by Jayson Blair
March 10, 2026 · 59 min
About this episode
Bill Thomas discusses the Colonial Parkway murders and the mishandling of key suspect Alan Wade Wilmer Sr.
In this episode, Bill Thomas, the brother of Colonial Parkway murder victim Cathy Thomas, and I continue our discussion on the cases. We revisit how Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. became a major but mishandled suspect after the 1988 disappearance of Keith Call and Cassandra Hailey, whose abandoned car coincided with reports of a man in a distinctive, waterman‑rigged pickup confronting couples while posing as law enforcement. His work on the water gave him plausible access to remote roads, docks, and peninsulas without attracting attention. Bill walks through the FBI’s early search of Wilmer Sr.’s home and truck—where agents found weapons and restraints—yet he was released after polygraphs. Only years after his death in 2017 did manual DNA comparisons revive the case, ultimately linking him to multiple murders, including Cathy and Becky Dowski. We also introduce Liberty Security, a small local company with repeated proximity to several victims and their families, and its owner, Ron Little— one reason Wilmer Sr.’s identification does not close the cases. The episode reframes the pattern of violence as a broader set of “Peninsula Murders,” shaped by waterways, jurisdictional seams, and Wilmer…
People in this episode
Host: Jayson Blair
Guest: Bill Thomas
Topics covered
- Colonial Parkway Murders
- true crime
- law enforcement
- DNA evidence
- victim advocacy
- unsolved cases
Keywords
- Colonial Parkway Murders
- Bill Thomas
- Alan Wade Wilmer Sr.
- FBI
- DNA evidence
- true crime
- victims
- law enforcement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: FBI, Liberty Security
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