In the early morning hours of March 31, 1987, the quiet of Willis Church Road in Henrico, Virginia, was broken by a grim discovery. A passerby, at approximately 6 a.m., spotted a figure lying by the roadside and immediately alerted the authorities. Upon their arrival, Henrico Police found the body of 19-year-old Judson Melvin Calvin. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that Calvin, a male, had been shot with two different firearms, a 9mm and a. 38, suggesting the presence of at least two assailants. The nature of the killing led detectives to suspect it was drug-related, possibly an act of hostility or an attempt to send a message. Evidence at the scene and the circumstances of his death pointed to the likelihood that Calvin knew his killers and had accompanied them to the secluded location under a false sense of security; a gun was found in his belt, but he never had the chance to draw it.
The tragedy of Judson Calvin's death was compounded by the fact that it echoed a similar fate that had befallen his cousin, William H. 'Bozo' Winston Jr., who had also been murdered almost exactly a year earlier. This connection has led to speculation that Calvin may have been killed because of what he knew about his cousin's slaying. Despite the passage of decades and ongoing efforts by cold case investigators, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Judson Calvin's murder. His case remains an unsolved homicide, leaving his family with unanswered questions and a sense of justice unfulfilled.
