On a tragic evening in Roanoke, Virginia, the life of 46-year-old Taniko Roxanne Belt was cut short. The events of May 2, 2021, began to unfold around 11:30 p.m. when police received a call about shots being fired in the vicinity of the Cove apartment complex. Shortly after, another report came in about a single-vehicle accident on Peters Creek Road. Responding officers discovered a car that had crashed into the median and struck a power pole. Inside, they found Taniko Belt, unresponsive.
It was soon determined that she had sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The subsequent investigation by the Roanoke Police Department quickly connected the car crash to the earlier reports of gunfire. Detectives determined that the incident had originated at the apartment complex where Belt, a mother who was born on August 14, 1974, had been fatally shot before her vehicle crashed. The investigation revealed a history of a recent romantic relationship between Belt and Todd Emanuel Manns.
Within days, the investigation pointed to Todd Manns as the primary suspect. On May 7, 2021, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Roanoke Police arrested the 35-year-old and initially charged him with second-degree murder. Authorities indicated that Manns and Belt were known to each other and described the killing as an isolated incident. Manns was taken into custody without incident during a scheduled visit with his probation officer five days after the murder.
During the trial, the prosecution presented a compelling case against Manns. Eyewitnesses testified to seeing him at the Cove apartment complex immediately after hearing gunshots, tucking a metallic object into his waistband before fleeing the scene. The forensic evidence was substantial; a handgun found in Manns' vehicle was ballistically matched to the bullets that killed Taniko Belt. Furthermore, DNA evidence found under Belt's fingernails could not exclude Manns as a contributor. Cellphone records also placed him in the immediate vicinity of the shooting and showed that he had been trying to contact Belt multiple times just before her death.
Ultimately, a jury found Todd Emanuel Manns guilty of first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of murder. He later appealed the conviction, arguing that the evidence was insufficient and did not preclude the possibility of another perpetrator. However, the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the trial court's judgment on March 26, 2024, stating that there was 'ample evidence' for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Manns had intentionally killed his former girlfriend, Taniko Belt.
