On May 3, 2018, the body of 22-year-old Tahjmere Terrell Hopkins was discovered on the front porch of a residence on St. Matthew Street in Petersburg, Virginia. The shocking discovery was made by a neighbor. Hopkins was found naked, bound to a metal chair, and gagged. It was evident he had been subjected to a brutal assault before his death.
An autopsy would later confirm the horrific nature of his final moments, revealing that he had been beaten and shot four times in the head.
The sheer violence of the act led investigators to believe the murder was personal and that Hopkins likely knew his killer or killers. Despite the brutality of the crime, which one former police chief described as one of the most brutal he had ever seen, no arrests have been made in the years following the incident.
The investigation into Hopkins' death has remained open, with his family, particularly his mother and father, publicly pleading for justice and for anyone with information to come forward. His mother believes crucial clues may be hidden within her son's social media accounts, which were deactivated shortly after his murder. She has urged police to delve into his Facebook activity prior to his death. The Petersburg Police Department has reportedly assigned a new detective to the cold case and continues to seek leads from the public. As of now, the murder of Tahjmere Terrell Hopkins remains an unsolved and haunting mystery for his family and the community.
