NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — In a rapid trial that went from jury selection to a verdict in a day-and-a-half, a jury convicted Cola Beale of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his cousin Downing McLean. It’s his third murder conviction in two years.
Beale, who was also found guilty of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, has two prior convictions from Virginia Beach in March 2022 after he murdered his girlfriend Czavi’er Hill and the man he considered his father, Clifton Baxter.
Even the defense agreed that Beale shot and killed McLean. But defense attorney Thomas James urged the jury to consider the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
“Three murders is infinitely worse than one murder, which itself is unimaginable,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said shortly after the verdict.
Beale and McLean were in an apartment on Sewells Point Road after the first two killings, according to court testimony, and Beale told investigators he killed his cousin days later after Beale refused to kill someone on his cousin’s behalf. McLean was shot once in the mouth and another in the back.
Beale told investigators McLean was drunk, crazy and belligerent, and warned his cousin that “if I shoot you, you’re not gonna sit down, you’re gonna lay down.”
Beale gave McLean a 10-second warning, a five-second warning, and then carried through with his threat. He used his 9 mm pistol to shoot McLean once in the mouth and then in the back.
“Mr. Beale was very violent,” Fatehi said. “He himself said in the interviews he did with the local media that had he not been arrested, he would’ve killed again. Mr. Beale is a danger to the community.”
Beale confessed to investigators as well as to WAVY and other local media. He told WAVY in 2022 that he didn’t have any apologies at the time, but said in another interview earlier this year that he had remorse.
Fatehi gave more weight to Beale’s confession than other murder confessions because it explained details.
“‘Yes I did it, but’ is not a confession. ‘Yes I did it, and here’s why,’ like we see in this case, is, and is frankly pretty rare.” Fatehi said.
Three other people were there in the apartment when Beale murdered McLean. Fatehi said he didn’t need to call them as witnesses, because Beale had already confessed.
Sentencing for Beale on the first-degree murder conviction is set for late August.
