On July 1, 2018, Bellamy Gamboa, a 39-year-old mother of four, was last seen at her Virginia Beach, Virginia, home in the evening. Concern grew the following day when she failed to appear for her job in Norfolk, which was highly out of character for the dedicated mother. The investigation into her whereabouts began, and on July 3, police located her 2005 gold Ford Focus parked next to a dumpster several miles from her residence.
The discovery of the vehicle raised immediate alarms; the driver's seat was pushed back much farther than would be necessary for a woman of Gamboa's height, and there appeared to be blood and vomit on the driver's side door. Inside the car were her purse, wallet, and identification, but her keys were missing. The circumstances were deemed suspicious, and on July 5, Virginia State Police issued a Critically Missing Adult Alert, believing she may have been abducted.
The focus of the investigation soon turned to Gamboa's ex-boyfriend, Lamont Johnson, with whom she lived along with her two teenage children and their own twin toddlers. Although they were no longer a couple, they continued to cohabitate. Their relationship had a history of violence, with both having previously filed for protective orders against each other in 2017, though the cases were ultimately dismissed. Nearly a month after Gamboa vanished, on July 28, 2018, Johnson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with her disappearance. Following his arrest, Johnson confessed to killing Gamboa during an argument. He admitted to pushing her down a flight of stairs and then strangling her to death.
Following his confession, Johnson detailed how he disposed of her body. He told investigators he had used his computer to search for dumpster locations and garbage routes before wrapping Gamboa's body in a comforter and plastic bags. He then placed her remains in a commercial dumpster in the neighboring city of Chesapeake. This information led investigators to conduct an extensive but ultimately fruitless search of a regional landfill, which was called off in early August 2018. Despite her body never being recovered, prosecutors moved forward with the case against Johnson. In May 2022, a jury found Lamont Johnson guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for leaving their infant children home alone while he disposed of Gamboa's car. In August 2022, he was sentenced to 25 years and six months in prison. The case marked a rare instance of securing a murder conviction without the victim's body. Official reports indicate that Bellamy Gamboa is deceased, bringing a tragic legal conclusion to a case that began with a mother's sudden and alarming disappearance.Last Seen: Jul 1, 2018
