Middle of the night gunfire leads to 1 dead In the late hours of a Monday night, April 2, 2007, the quiet of the 6000 block of Wesleyan Drive in Virginia Beach was shattered by the sound of gunfire. When police arrived, they discovered the body of 46-year-old Russell Grant Valentine Jr. lying in the yard of a residence. He was a Black male, standing 6'1' tall and weighing 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Paramedics rushed him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but his gunshot wound proved fatal, and he died a short time later. The State Medical Examiner’s Office subsequently ruled his death a homicide.
At the time of his death, Valentine was a resident of the same neighborhood where his life was tragically cut short. An investigation into his murder was launched, but despite the efforts of the Virginia Beach Police Department, the case grew cold. No suspects have ever been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. The motive for the killing also remains unclear.
Years later, the murder of Russell Grant Valentine Jr. is still listed as an unsolved cold case by the Virginia Beach Police Department's Cold Case Homicide Unit. Law enforcement continues to solicit information from the public that might lead to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for his death. His case remains a painful and unresolved chapter for his family and the Virginia Beach community.
