Virginia State Trooper Leo Whitt, a 48-year-old male, was a twenty-year veteran of the force, a husband, and a father to a son and daughter. On the night of Friday, April 12, 1985, his life was cut short during what began as a routine traffic stop on Interstate 95 in Prince George County. The man he pulled over had a violent recent past and a desperate desire to escape.
Earlier that day, the suspect had escaped from a drug treatment facility in Maryland, where he was committed after ten
felony convictions. His flight to avoid the consequences of his past actions led him on a crime spree. He stole a car, assaulted and robbed his stepfather, and then headed south on I-95 with a hitchhiker he had picked up along the way, bragging to his companion about his violent acts.
It was on this southbound journey that Trooper Whitt initiated the fateful traffic stop. As he approached the vehicle, he was shot twice, once in the neck and once between the eyes, with no opportunity to even draw his own weapon. The suspect fled the scene, leaving the trooper to be discovered by a passing motorist. An extensive search ensued, leading to the apprehension of the suspect and his companion in the early morning hours in a Richmond suburb.
The man who pulled the trigger was identified as Gregory Warren Beaver Jr. His companion, Andrew Peter Sanborn, was charged with grand larceny of an automobile. Beaver was charged with capital murder. In court, he pleaded guilty to the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of a law enforcement officer for the purpose of interfering with the performance of his official duties. He was subsequently sentenced to death. After years of appeals, Gregory Warren Beaver Jr. was executed in 1996 for the murder of Trooper Leo Whitt.
