Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Virginia Suspect Linked to 1988 Teen Cold Case Murder | Crime Alert 6AM 12.23.25

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Virginia Suspect Linked to 1988 Teen Cold Case Murder | Crime Alert 6AM 12.23.25 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime alert. I'm John Lemley at this hour. Investigators in
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  Speaker 1: Virginia say they finally identified the person responsible for the
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  Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight murder of eighteen year old Laurie Ann Powell.
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  Speaker 1: Her body was found in the Elizabeth River near Craney
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  Speaker 1: Island after she disappeared that March. She had been stabbed
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  Speaker 1: multiple times. The suspect is Alan Wilmer, Senior, who died
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  Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen at the age of sixty three. Through
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  Speaker 1: modern DNA analysis, authorities recently connected Wilmer to Powell's killing,
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  Speaker 1: even though he died more than a quarter century ago.
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  Speaker 1: Wilmer was already suspected in several other murders, including the
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  Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven killing of David Knobling and Robin Edwards,
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  Speaker 1: part of what became known as the Colonial Parkway murders,
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  Speaker 1: as well as the nineteen eighty nine slaying of Teresa
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  Speaker 1: Lynn's spaw Howell. Investigators say they are now reviewing other
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  Speaker 1: unsolved cases from the region and to determine whether Wilmer
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  Speaker 1: may have been involved in additional murders. For the Powell family,
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  Speaker 1: this long delayed identification offers a measure of closure. Powell's
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  Speaker 1: sisters said that Laurie quote didn't wait for life to happen,
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  Speaker 1: She made it happen. Authorities continue to evaluate whether more
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  Speaker 1: cases could ultimately be tied to Wilmer.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks John for the latest crime and justice news. Go
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: to crime online dot com and please join us for
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: our daily podcast Crime Stories. More crime and justice news
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  Speaker 2: after this Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news.
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  Speaker 2: Crime Online John.
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  Speaker 1: Limley believes have arrested a man in connection with the
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven murder once thought potentially related to the
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  Speaker 1: Gilgo Beach serial killings. Sixty six year old Andrew Dykes
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  Speaker 1: was taken into custody and Tampa, Florida on a warrant
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  Speaker 1: from Nassau County, New York. He faces two counts of
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  Speaker 1: murder in the deaths of twenty six year old Tanya
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  Speaker 1: de Denise Jackson and her two year old daughter, Tatiana
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  Speaker 1: Marie Dikes. Jackson's remains, originally unidentified and referred to only
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  Speaker 1: as peaches because of a distinctive tattoo, were found in
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  Speaker 1: Hempstead Lake State Park in nineteen ninety seven. Years later,
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  Speaker 1: skeletal remains of her young daughter washed ashore near Gilgo
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  Speaker 1: Beach during a search related to other missing women earlier
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  Speaker 1: this year. Genetic genealogy helped law enforcement confirm their identities
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  Speaker 1: and ultimately led investigators to Dikes, who is the toddler's father.
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  Speaker 1: He is being held in Florida while officials in New
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  Speaker 1: York seek extradition. Although this case had once been grouped
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  Speaker 1: with the Gilgo Beach killings, authorities say there is currently
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  Speaker 1: no evidence linking Dikes to the other victims in that case.
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  Speaker 1: Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot
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  Speaker 1: while on duty in Washington, d c. Not far from
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  Speaker 1: the White House. The attack claimed the life of twenty
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  Speaker 1: year old Sarah Bestrom. Her colleague, twenty four year old
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Wolf, survived and remains hospitalized. Officials say Wolf has
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  Speaker 1: shown encouraging signs of recovery, including responding to commands, giving
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  Speaker 1: a thumbs up, and moving his toes. His head wound
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  Speaker 1: continues to heal, but he is expected to remain under
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  Speaker 1: intensive medical care for several more weeks. The suspect, twenty
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  Speaker 1: nine year old Romano La Luckenwall, an Afghan national, was
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  Speaker 1: also wounded in the exchange and has fleeted not guilty
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  Speaker 1: to murder and related charges. Authorities have described the incident
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  Speaker 1: as a targeted attack on federal forces deployed to assist
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement in the capitol. The shooting has sparked renewed
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  Speaker 1: debate over the role of the National Guard troops in
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  Speaker 1: civilian policing and raise concerns about security even in areas
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  Speaker 1: considered highly protected. A newly released internal affairs report concludes
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  Speaker 1: that the death of a nineteen year old trainee with
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  Speaker 1: the Rutland City Police Department in twenty twenty three was
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  Speaker 1: preventable and that supervising officers failed to follow department policy
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  Speaker 1: during a pursuit. The trainee, Jessica Ebenhausen, died when Suspectate Riom,
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  Speaker 1: attempting to flee, collided nearly head on with her cruiser
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  Speaker 1: on Woodstock Avenue. The review determined that the chase should
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  Speaker 1: never have been initiated, officers lacked proper authority and did
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  Speaker 1: not adhere to key pursuit guidelines. Riom, who was injured
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  Speaker 1: in the crash, initially faced charges that included negligent operation
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  Speaker 1: causing death and fleeing from police. With the report now public,
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  Speaker 1: his defense attorneys questioning the appropriateness of the most serious charges.
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  Speaker 1: Arguing the supervisory failures within the department significantly contributed to
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  Speaker 1: the fatal outcome. The findings portray a broader breakdown in procedures,
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  Speaker 1: suggesting that Ebenhausen's death stemmed not only from the suit itself,
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  Speaker 1: but from systemic lapses within the police department.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks John for the latest crime INSICE news. Go to
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: crime online dot com and please join us for our
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best to
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved thomisides. With
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  Speaker 2: this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace.