In a quiet community in Gloucester, Virginia, the life of 36-year-old Kayron Tyrone Long was cut short in a harrowing series of events that unfolded in February 2023. His disappearance and death were connected to a violent home invasion, leading investigators down a dark path that would ultimately uncover a brutal murder.
The tragic story began to unravel when deputies from the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office responded to calls about a home invasion during the overnight hours of
February 11th and into the early morning of February 12th. Armed individuals had forced their way into a residence on Back Creek Road. In the course of their investigation into the home invasion, deputies learned that Kayron Tyrone Long, who was associated with the house, was missing. Friends reported that he was last seen at the residence on Friday, February 10th.
As the investigation deepened, a shocking twist emerged. The victims of the home invasion, Winfrey Carlton Henry Jr. and Edward Lee Hodges, became the primary suspects in Long's disappearance. Evidence gathered by the Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Virginia State Police, indicated that Long had been murdered inside the very same Back Creek Road home on February 10th. Investigators later discovered Long's buried body in the 2900 block of Carmines Island Road.
Following the grim discovery, Winfrey Carlton Henry Jr., then 24, was charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and concealment of a dead body. Edward Lee Hodges, 33 at the time, faced charges of concealing a dead body and being an accessory to a felony after the fact. In February 2024, Winfrey Carlton Henry Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. The agreement included a cap on his active prison sentence, not to exceed 20 years. The other charges against him were dropped as part of this deal. Edward Lee Hodges was also scheduled for arraignment in connection with his alleged role in the concealment of Long's body. In a related case stemming from the home invasion, three other individuals, including a juvenile, were arrested and faced multiple charges including breaking and entering, armed robbery, and malicious wounding.
