In the early morning hours of April 26, 2013, the quiet Buren Street in Hopewell, Virginia, was shattered by the sound of gunshots. Inside his home, Richard Miles Hawthorne Jr., a 41-year-old Black male, was fatally wounded. An armed intruder had broken into the residence just before 6 a.m. When Hawthorne confronted the individual, the encounter turned deadly, and he was shot and killed, with his mother mere feet away. This violent act marked the first homicide of the year in the city of Hopewell, leaving a community of close-knit neighbors in shock and fear.
Richard, born on November 7, 1971, was a graduate of Fluvanna High School and a member of the Evergreen Baptist Church. Described by his family as having a heart of gold, he was a man who wanted nothing more than to be there for his loved ones. His sudden and violent death left a void in the lives of his mother, siblings, and a host of other relatives and friends who cherished him.
The Hopewell Police Department launched an investigation into the homicide, treating it as not a random act of violence. Police Chief John Keohane indicated that Hawthorne might not have been the intended target. While authorities noted that Hawthorne was a registered sex offender, they emphasized that this was unrelated to his murder. Investigators processed the crime scene and pursued strong leads, interviewing several persons of interest. Despite these efforts, no arrests were publicly announced, and no suspects were officially named in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The police urged anyone with information to come forward to help bring justice to Richard Hawthorne's family.
