HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — The husband of a woman shot and killed on Christmas is now classified as a suspect in the case, police say.
Warrants are on file for 46-year-old Lamont Lee Lewis’ arrest, police said in an update Tuesday night. He is facing multiple charges including second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharging firearms within a building.
Lewis’ wife, Tivona Fogg, 45, was found with a gunshot wound to her chest, according to her daughter, Lenora Fogg, who found her. Lenora said she called police to meet her at her mother’s house when she grew concerned for her mother’s safety. She says Lewis lived in the same apartment.
Hampton Police Division spokesman Corporal Ernest Williams said that the responding police officer couldn’t enter the apartment building because there was no maintenance person working on Christmas Day, so they went on another urgent call.
Lenora said that when the officers came back, an employee opened the apartment door. That is when Tivona was found dead on the couch.
Family members said they haven’t been able to reach Lewis. They also say that Fogg went to the hospital about a month ago after Lewis beat her.
“She was like ‘he beat me.’ I was like ‘oh my God you need to leave him alone and don’t mess with him anymore.’ I don’t know what happened for him to come back but it was crazy,” said Fogg’s cousin Teona Graham.
The family is also concerned about Lewis’ criminal history. He is due in court in Hampton for drug-related charges next month. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, seven years suspended, in 2018, also for drug-related charges in York County.
In 2001, he was charged with murdering a man in Hampton. The charges were nolle prossed. According to a published report at the time, prosecutors couldn’t find a key witness in the case.
The medical examiner’s office has not released an official cause of death for Fogg.
Dozens of family members and friends of Tivona Fogg gathered for a candlelit vigil outside of her apartment Wednesday night.
The group prayed and released pink balloons in Fogg’s honor. Pink was the mother of four’s favorite color.
“We just can’t believe we lost our Tivona, our Voni, to a very senseless act. Christmas will never be the same for this family,” said her cousin, Tenaya Osborn Fogg.
She said she doesn’t know how the family will recover from the tragedy. Although police are still searching for Lewis, family members are urging him to turn himself in.
Anyone with information about Lewis’ whereabouts should call 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or submit an anonymous tip through the P3 Tips app.