A man is found deceased in a wooded area on Interstate 264 at the Effingham Street on-ramp in the City of Portsmouth
In the late summer of 1996, the life of a young Black/African American man, Waverly Leroy Cameron Jr., was tragically cut short at the age of 22. His death, which occurred around September 1, 1996, would become an enduring mystery in Portsmouth, Virginia. For days, his whereabouts were unknown, a period of uncertainty that ended with a grim discovery.
On the afternoon of September 6, 1996, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Cameron's body was found in a wooded area off Interstate 264 at the Effingham Street on-ramp. The secluded location had concealed the tragic event for some time. An examination by the medical examiner would later reveal the cause of his death: a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. It was estimated that he had been killed approximately one and a half to two weeks before his body was discovered.
The Virginia State Police opened a homicide investigation into Cameron's death. The case was entered into their cold case files, an indication of the challenges investigators faced in identifying a suspect and gathering enough evidence to proceed with an arrest. Despite the passage of time, the case officially remains active.
To date, there is no publicly available information from online sources detailing any specific suspects or arrests in connection with the murder of Waverly Leroy Cameron Jr. The circumstances surrounding his final days and the motive for his killing remain unsolved. The lack of resolution leaves a painful void for his family and community, a story without an ending and a quest for justice that continues more than two decades later.
