In the spring of 2013, a verbal altercation between two acquaintances in Hampton, Virginia, escalated to a fatal encounter, leaving one man dead and another facing a lifetime behind bars. The life of Rufus Agustus Thigpen, Jr., a 57-year-old man, was cut short on April 21, 2013, inside a residence on Victoria Boulevard. That afternoon, what began as a disagreement of words took a tragic turn when Stanley Mccoy Whitehead, then 63 years old, re-approached Thigpen and shot him in the upper torso.
Emergency services were called to the scene, but it was too late for Thigpen, who was pronounced dead by members of the Hampton Fire and Rescue Division. The Hampton Police Division quickly identified Whitehead as the suspect, and their investigation revealed the prior verbal dispute between the two men. Whitehead was promptly arrested and taken into custody at the Hampton City Jail.
Following his arrest, Stanley Mccoy Whitehead was charged with one count of murder, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. These charges painted a grim picture of the events that transpired, leading to the untimely death of Rufus Thigpen Jr. and the subsequent legal battle to bring justice for his death. The case then moved to the Hampton courts to begin the legal process that would determine Whitehead's fate.
