Clifton Robert Baxter, a 73-year-old male, was found deceased in his Virginia Beach, Virginia, home on March 25, 2022. His death was the result of a gunshot wound, part of a multi-day killing spree that shocked the Hampton Roads area. Baxter, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, was known affectionately as 'Shine' and was a respected member of his community.
He had worked for over two decades as a Service Technician Supervisor at Cox Cable.
The investigation into Baxter's death quickly focused on a man he had reportedly helped raise and considered a father figure to, Cola W. Beale IV. Beale, who was 30 years old at the time, became the subject of a days-long manhunt involving U.S. Marshals, who offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture. The search for Beale intensified as he was linked to two other homicides that occurred within days of Baxter's death.
Authorities alleged that Beale's violent rampage began on March 22, 2022, with the murder of his girlfriend, 31-year-old Czavi'er Hill. Hill was found deceased from a gunshot wound in her home after a fire was intentionally set. A few days after killing Baxter, on March 28, Beale also fatally shot his 32-year-old cousin, Downing McLean, in Norfolk. Beale was apprehended in Hampton on March 31, 2022. In a jailhouse interview following his arrest, Beale admitted to the killings and expressed no remorse, stating that he would have continued to kill if he had not been caught. The motive for killing Baxter was reportedly because Baxter would not give him money.
In March 2024, Cola Beale IV went to trial for the murders of Clifton Baxter and Czavi'er Hill in Virginia Beach. He was found guilty of multiple charges, including aggravated murder, arson, and animal torture for the death of Hill's dog. In July 2024, a judge sentenced Beale to three life sentences plus 35 years for the Virginia Beach crimes. He was separately convicted of the murder of his cousin in Norfolk and faced another sentencing for that crime.
