In March of 2022, a tragic series of events unfolded in Virginia Beach, beginning with the death of 31-year-old Czavi'er Hill. On March 22, Ring doorbell footage from Hill's home on Baccalaureate Drive captured the sound of an argument between her and her boyfriend, Cola Winborne Beale IV, followed by a distinct 'pop.' This was the moment Beale shot and killed Hill. For two days, he came and went from her home, taking her car and personal belongings, including the handgun he had used to murder her.
The full horror of the situation was discovered on March 24, when firefighters responded to a fire at Hill's residence. Inside, they found her body; she had been bound with duct tape. Beale had returned to the house with a gas can, deliberately setting it ablaze. The fire also claimed the life of Hill's dog, who was trapped inside a crate. After setting the house on fire, Beale drove Hill's car a short distance away and set it on fire as well.
Beale's violence did not end with the death of his girlfriend. Following her murder, he went to the home of Clifton Baxter, a 73-year-old man he considered a father figure. Beale shot and killed Baxter while he slept on his couch. His body was discovered on March 25 after a concerned friend requested a welfare check. Beale then murdered his cousin, Downing McLean. He later confessed to investigators that he killed McLean because he knew about the previous murders and was considered a 'liability.' A multi-day manhunt ensued, and Beale was apprehended by a SWAT team in Hampton on March 30, 2022.
During police interrogations and in a jailhouse interview, Cola Beale IV confessed to the three murders. He claimed he 'snapped' and killed Hill because her parents were questioning his intentions for their relationship. In March 2024, a jury found Beale guilty of two counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of Hill and Baxter, along with charges of abduction, arson, animal cruelty, and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Two months later, in May 2024, he was also convicted of first-degree murder for killing his cousin. In July 2024, for the murders of Czavi'er Hill and Clifton Baxter, Beale was sentenced to three life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
