Use your gun and shoes to kill the prostitute, Virginia Russell, the murderer thought that someone else would have to take the blame for his crime. However, he did not expect that his carelessness would help the police uncover the truth.
Tragedy on the Night
Virginia Russell (30 years old) had lived in regret for many years after causing a horrific accident due to drunk driving. On that night, she was driving her boyfriend home after the two had attended a party. On a deserted stretch of road, the car swerved off the lane, rolled over, and threw both of them out. Virginia’s boyfriend died on the spot.
Authorities later determined that Virginia’s blood alcohol level at the time was twice the legal limit. She received a 6-year prison sentence.
After being released from prison, Virginia struggled to find employment. She accepted housecleaning jobs on request but worked as a prostitute at night.
On November 12, 1996, while visiting a relative at the hospital with her family, her phone rang with a request for her to come to an apartment. It was 8:54 pm and the last time her family saw her alive.
The next day, a man walking his dog discovered the body of a woman lying face down in a park in Columbia, South Carolina. Her hair was matted with blood, and she was missing one shoe.
The victim was identified as Virginia Russell, who had died sometime between 9 pm and midnight the previous night. The autopsy revealed that she had been shot three times in the head.
Clues at the Crime Scene
At the scene, investigators found a small wallet containing $2 in loose change and an empty purse. Virginia’s family confirmed that they belonged to her. They stated that on the night of her murder, they had seen Virginia with hundreds of dollars in cash in her wallet.
One of her shoes was found some distance away, likely from her trying to run or the perpetrator dragging her body, causing the shoe to fall off. A strand of hair from a stranger stuck to the victim’s clothing was determined to potentially belong to the killer. Two empty bottles of Michelob Light beer were found near the body.
A few days later, the police discovered Virginia’s car in a parking lot, with blood stains and a spent shell casing inside. An unopened bottle of Michelob Light beer was found in a cardboard box in the car, matching the two empty bottles at the crime scene.
The police theorized that Virginia and her killer had drunk beer together in the car before he shot her dead, then dragged her to the park. There, he fired two more shots into her and took the money from her purse.
The police traced a call to an apartment belonging to a man named Justin Bullard. Justin owned a fish tank cleaning business and lived with a roommate. Although Justin claimed he had no knowledge or involvement in the murder, the police found evidence suggesting otherwise.
The Suspicious Friend
The police traced the last call received by the victim, Virginia Russell, to an apartment belonging to a man named Justin Bullard. Justin owned a fish tank cleaning business. Although Justin insisted he had no knowledge or involvement in the murder, the police found evidence suggesting otherwise.
First, Justin had no way to prove that he was alone at home when the murder occurred. He owned a semi-automatic pistol. Subsequent expert analysis revealed that the type of ammunition fired from this gun was the same type that killed Virginia Russell. This was the murder weapon.
At Justin’s apartment, the police also found a phone book with pages advertising prostitution services. More importantly, Justin’s black military-style shoes had Virginia’s blood on them.
Justin was utterly surprised that his belongings were linked to the victim. After some thought, this man made a statement that astonished the police. According to Justin, someone must have taken his belongings to commit the crime and then returned them to his apartment to frame him. At that time, Justin was living with a roommate named Trevett Foster. Recently, he had also allowed another friend, Roy Beck, to stay with them.
Justin’s suspicion was not unfounded. Tests performed on the strand of hair found at the murder scene showed that it did not belong to Justin but to Roy Beck.
The Suspect Emerges
Investigating Roy Beck’s background, the detectives found that this man was no stranger to the police. Roy had previously had a run-in with a 20-year-old prostitute at his former residence.
According to the girl’s statement, Roy had used the name David Davis when calling her to come to his apartment for “services.” When she entered the apartment, she found it lit by candles. However, this was not due to the owner’s romantic gesture but because the electricity had been cut off due to non-payment.
Before she could say anything, the man held a knife to her throat, raped her, and took $300 from her wallet. Finally, he told her to run away and never come back.
From the address provided by the girl, the police determined that the tenant of the apartment was Roy Beck. As a teenager, Roy had committed robberies to buy drugs.
When they arrived at Roy’s rented apartment, he had disappeared, but inside they found three empty Michelob Light beer bottles and many spent shell casings. The police suspected Roy’s involvement in Virginia’s death, but he had now vanished.
From a few phone numbers Roy had written on scraps of paper in the apartment, the investigation team tracked down some of his acquaintances. One of them provided information about Roy’s former girlfriend. The girl helped make contact, and they arranged to meet Roy at an apartment complex. At that moment, the police swooped in and arrested the suspect.
Evidence from the Beer Bottles
The police suspected Roy Beck’s involvement in the death of victim Virginia Russell, but when they arrived at Roy’s apartment, he had disappeared.
From a few phone numbers Roy had written on scraps of paper in the apartment, the investigation team tracked down some of his acquaintances. One of them provided information about Roy’s former girlfriend. The girl agreed to help by contacting and arranging to meet Roy. As soon as the suspect appeared, the police swooped in and arrested him.
In his statement to the police, Roy denied all allegations. This man claimed that his friend, Justin Bullard, was the real perpetrator. Meanwhile, Justin Bullard insisted that Roy had taken his shoes and gun on the night of the murder. After committing the crime, Roy returned to the apartment and put everything back in its place to frame him.
A friend of Roy’s named Larry Barlow testified that Roy had once told him about a plan to rape and rob a prostitute, and had asked Larry to join him, but Larry refused. However, the authorities still faced difficulties in proving that Roy had killed Virginia and stolen her money.
Finally, to uncover the true culprit, the investigation team sought to prove that the two beer bottles near the victim’s body, the two bottles in Roy’s apartment, and the one bottle in Virginia’s car all came from the same production batch.
They contacted the beer manufacturer, requesting the product codes and related information. The brewery confirmed that all six beer bottles were produced on October 17, 1996, and were from the same case. With this information, the investigation team had sufficient evidence to charge Roy.
A Fitting Sentence
The prosecutors alleged that Roy had used the phone in Justin Bullard’s apartment to call Virginia on the evening of November 12, 1996, arranging for the girl to come to his apartment for prostitution services. He then put on Justin’s shoes and took his gun before returning to his apartment to meet the victim. After drinking the three beers together, they engaged in sexual intercourse. Afterward, when Virginia went to the bathroom, Roy took all the money from her wallet.
The investigators believed that Roy and Virginia had known each other previously, so she could potentially identify him. This prompted him to decide to kill Virginia to eliminate the lead.
Subsequently, Roy and Virginia got into her car and drove to the park. There, they talked and drank two of the three beers in the car. When Virginia was not paying attention, Roy pulled out the gun and shot her dead, then dragged her body to another location. During the process, he dropped two of the beer bottles in the park.
In November 1997, the judge sentenced Roy Beck to life in prison without the possibility of parole for First-Degree Murder and Robbery. Roy later filed an appeal but was unsuccessful.
