In the late hours of April 25, 2021, a 19-year-old female U.S. Navy Seaman named Haniah JaLinda Sturdivant was shot while sitting in her car in the 900 block of Armfield Circle in Norfolk, Virginia. Police were dispatched around 10:55 p.m. and found her suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was rushed to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery but tragically died from her injuries hours later.
Before succumbing to her injuries, Sturdivant was able to identify her shooter to the medics who were treating her.
The investigation quickly centered on Robert Laron Jackson, a 22-year-old man from Florida. Jackson had met Sturdivant through a mutual Navy friend while visiting Norfolk. He developed a romantic interest in Sturdivant, but his feelings were not returned as she had recently begun a new relationship. In the days before the fatal shooting, Jackson had reportedly told a friend of his intention to harm Sturdivant's new boyfriend, and Sturdivant herself if she got in the way. On the day of the incident, Sturdivant had been out with a group of Navy friends, which included Jackson. Later that evening, as she sat in her car outside her boyfriend's apartment, Jackson shot her multiple times before fleeing the state.
Immediately after the murder, Jackson fled back to his home state of Florida. At the time, he was already wanted on several outstanding warrants there. In July 2021, law enforcement in Miami located and arrested Jackson during a traffic stop. He was convicted and served time for his offenses in Florida before being extradited to Norfolk in February 2024 to face charges for the murder of Haniah Sturdivant. Though initially indicted for first-degree murder, Robert Laron Jackson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for the crime.
