VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A murder suspect who was arrested late Wednesday night and charged with killing three people over the last week has a long criminal past and a family history of violence, according to court documents.
Cola Beale III, the father of Hampton Roads murder suspect Cola Beale IV, killed his wife back in 2014.
Beale III is currently behind bars after being sentenced in 2015 to life with all but 40 years suspended for the murder of June Carlita Beale in their Gaithersburg, Maryland, home on July, 27, 2014. Family members say June Carlita Beale was Beale IV’s stepmother.
Police reports said officers found her dead with trauma to her body, after a member of the church the Beales attended notified authorities just before 10:30 a.m., telling them Beale had just called to say he killed his wife.
Beale III fled to Norfolk after the murder, where he was later taken into custody “without incident” after calling police to admit what he had done, the Washington Post reported.
At the time, police said they had responded to the couple’s Maryland home at least once before for a domestic dispute.
Now, his 30-year-old son is charged with the killings of three close contacts — his girlfriend, a cousin and a father figure.
Cola Beale IV was apprehended late Wednesday night in the Buckroe area of Hampton by the Hampton Police Division’s SWAT Team and is currently in the Virginia Beach City Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday in Virginia Beach district court.
Police say all three victims were found dead in separate incidents from gunshot wounds. After the shooting of Beale’s girlfriend, 31-year-old Czavi’er Hill, on Thursday, March 24 in the Campus East area of Virginia Beach, police say Beale lit the house on fire.
That was the first of the three murders, police say.
The day after, officers found 73-year-old Clifton Baxter dead from a gunshot wound on Linda Court in Virginia Beach. He was a father figure for Beale and helped raise him, said Ashley McLean, the sister of the third victim, Downing McLean.
Downing McLean was found dead from gunshot wounds inside a Norfolk home around 3:35 p.m. on Monday, March 28. McLean’s sister says Beale had a close relationship with her brother.
“They grew up together. My aunt, who is [Beale’s] mother, we would all have cookouts and gatherings, and things of that sort, they were always together,” she said. “He trusted him, just like a brother. That’s why it’s so hard to believe, and so shocking. It’s just a hard burden to swallow.”
Court documents show that Beale is no stranger to police.
Beale IV is also a convicted sex offender.
In 2013, Beale pleaded guilty to robbery, conspiracy and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Four years later, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13.
While he was out on probation for those charges, he was caught driving while intoxicated on Naval Station Norfolk in 2019.
He was found guilty of that federal DUI charge and sentenced to spend five days in jail.
“I was just a bit shocked. Stunned. It’s sad, it’s a sad situation,” said one neighbor who lived near Beale III and his wife.
