SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — They are the toughest cases to solve, and often times they’re never solved.
So, when it was announced Jan. 8, DNA connected three murders dating back 36 years, it was a big deal.
According to State Police, Alan Wilmer Sr., who died in 2017, was responsible for killing David Knobling and Robin Edwards in 1987, and Teresa Lynn Howell in 1989. The Knobling-Edwards case was part of the Colonial Parkway Murders.
With that in mind, since 2021, the city of Suffolk has been ramping up the Police Department’s Cold Case Unit.
Today, the man in charge of the unit sat down with 10 On Your Side.
10 On Your Side noticed in the last few months back to September that almost every week Suffolk is sending out information on cold cases in the city. They are put out on the anniversary in which they were filed.
They’re tough to crack for a reason.
Suffolk has stepped-up their cold case alerts to a new level.
They have a part time detective, a full-time detective, and a desire to put fresh eyes on old cases.
“Closure isn’t really what I’m looking for, because can you really ever give a victim’s family of a homicide closure,” said Suffolk Police Detective Patrick Araojo.
He said he’s looking to get answers to questions.
“It’s to generate these witnesses, possible witnesses that are willing to come forward,” Araojo said, “and talk to us about information that they possibly didn’t give at the time.”
Suffolk has posted 23 cold cases to its social media accounts since September.
And since the creation of Suffolk’s Cold Case Unit, it has solved seven cases. They include:
- Victim: Junior Bivins — year of case: 2001, year solved: 2015
- Victim: Melik Powell — year of case: 1998, year solved: 2008
- Victim: Carl Turner — year of case: 1997, year solved: 2011
- Victim: Robert Cromer — year of case: 1994, year solved: 2011
- Victim: Domoniky Mizzelle — year of case: 1994, year solved: 2008
- Victim: Diane Holland — year of case: 2005, year solved: 2007
- Victim: John Price — year of case: 2009, year solved: 2010
Araojo is emotional remembering 81-year-old Marion Reid, found dead in her home in 1990 after her house was broken into.
“She was sexually assaulted. and bound and left to die in her house,” Araojo said. “She’s found by neighbors and relatives probably within three days of the incident. … She lived 81 years, and that is how it ended.”
And it is still a cold case.
One of the most recent Suffolk postings is Brian Pettinger. Thirty-six years ago, Feb. 1, 1988, he was found floating in the James River.
He had been tied up.
“You have seven legal pads of handwritten notes,” Lt. Gary Myrick told us back in March 2021.
10 On Your Side was investigating whether the Pettinger case was related to the Colonial Parkway Murders because Pettinger was found in the James River between the time of the Knobling-Edwards case in September 1987 and the Keith Call Cassandra Hailey disappearance in April 1988.
Myrick agreed to review the Pettinger physical evidence for DNA testing in the lab.
Nearly three years later, Araojo said that has been done.
But it is still a cold case.
Pettinger’s brother, Steve Pettinger, who lives in upstate New York, told 10 On Your Side that the work Suffolk’s Cold Case Unit is doing is important.
“It means someone is doing something about it down there in Suffolk,” Steve Pettinger said. “I feel like my hands are tied here, but the jurisdiction down there and the Cold Case Unit they have, I want to see that continue and I want to see more investigating of it.”
Suffolk has also posted six Cold Case YouTube videos
“I review the cases, and the case notes from prior investigators,” Araojo said, “and I can’t judge their level of investigation. … Again, at the time that they investigated, things where different, methodology was different, technology was different.”
Araojo said these are sometimes painfully slow-moving investigations, and it impacts him.
“Well, it is sometimes difficult to separate yourself from a victim’s story doing this as long as I have,” Araojo said. “It’s very easy to become jaded. … In our profession, we see the dark side of life every day. Not many people have to deal with that.”
More information
Here are links to the 23 cold cases Suffolk Police have posted to their social media accounts from September 2023 through this month. They all highlight the anniversary of when the cold case was initially reported.
