In the early morning hours of August 30, 2013, the Chimney Hill area of Virginia Beach was disturbed by the sound of gunshots. When police arrived at the scene around 6:40 a.m., they discovered the body of 46-year-old John Andrew Gancarz, a male resident of Virginia Beach. He had been fatally shot.
The investigation quickly led authorities to a suspect, 57-year-old Ernest Steven Croft of Portsmouth.
Croft was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The motive for the killing was determined to be related to a personal relationship; Gancarz was the boyfriend of Croft's stepdaughter.
During the court proceedings, Ernest Steven Croft admitted to shooting John Andrew Gancarz. He entered a guilty plea to the charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm. Following his plea, the court sentenced Croft to 48 years in prison, with 23 of those years suspended. The conclusion of the legal proceedings brought a measure of closure to the tragic death of John Andrew Gancarz.
