On the morning of Friday, July 24, 2026, a tragic event unfolded at a Virginia Department of Transportation equipment staging area in Chesterfield County, Virginia, near the intersection of Route 1 and Route 288. At approximately 9:30 a.m., gunshots shattered the morning calm, leaving two VDOT contractors fatally wounded. Rai’Shon Eugene Delarge, a 30-year-old man from Emporia, was pronounced dead at the scene. His colleague, 34-year-old Philip Avery Wilson, also from Emporia, was critically injured and rushed to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Both men were employed by a company contracted by VDOT.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly pointed to a domestic-related incident. Virginia State Police identified 37-year-old Dennikia Rachelle Boyce as the suspect in the killings. Authorities have stated that Boyce was known to at least one of the victims, and they believe she specifically targeted one of them in the attack. Following the shooting, Boyce fled the scene, prompting an extensive manhunt. She was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
In the weeks following the tragic deaths of Delarge and Wilson, the search for Dennikia Rachelle Boyce has intensified. The U.S. Marshals Service has joined the investigation, elevating the case to major status and offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to her arrest. Boyce is described as a Black woman, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, and weighing around 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. As of the latest reports, she remains a fugitive. The case is a somber reminder of how domestic disputes can escalate to devastating violence, leaving families and communities to grieve the sudden and senseless loss of life. An overview of the case reveals it as an active and ongoing fugitive investigation, with law enforcement actively seeking a suspect charged with murder who has not yet been apprehended, meaning no trial, conviction, or sentencing has occurred.
