Today we come closer to peace and closure…a coward goes to the grand jury next.

From the Virginia Pilot https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/vp-nw-cola-beale-prelim-20220825-mlyib5wuqzgirlfuw23ddxyiae-story.html

Beale previously admitted in an interview with media to killing his girlfriend, a father figure and cousin in separate incidents in March.

C. R. Jachimiak, a Virginia Beach Police Department detective, said Beale confessed to shooting his girlfriend, 31-year-old Czavi’er Hill, and his father figure, 73-year-old Clifton Baxter.

“He was very matter of fact,” Jachimiak said. “He wanted to get the story off his chest.”

Baxter, who helped raise Beale, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his Virginia Beach home March 25. Downing D. Mclean, Beale’s 32-year-old cousin, wasfound dead March 29 in Norfolk.

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Beale is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of arson in Virginia Beach. He is accused with shooting Hill to death following an argument and then setting her house on fire. Hill’s body was discovered in her charred townhouse on March 24. Investigators said she died two days earlier.

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Jachimiak said Beale told him they had been dating for more than two years, and during an argument he tied Hill up in her bedroom. The detective said Beale told him he then brought in the woman’s dog, which he set on fire in front of her before shooting her.

Jachimiak said he then poured gasoline throughout the house and set it on fire. The following day, Jachimiak said he killed Baxter, a man who had dated his mother when they were younger. The detective said Beale claimed Baxter had “disrespected” him.

Jachimiak said Beale was able to recall dates and his thought process during the interview in the police station.

Steven Huey, a Virginia Beach Fire Department fire investigator, said it was clear from burn patterns found inside Hill’s home that the fire was set intentionally, and he was able to rule out accidental causes.

Virginia Beach District Judge Salvatore R. Iaquinto certified the charges against Beale on Thursday, sending the case to a grand jury in circuit court.

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Beale’s next hearing in the Norfolk case is set for Sept. 22.

Lauren Girgis, lauren.girgis@virginiamedia.com