3 years later, still no answers: Case of 19-year-old found dead in Colonial Heights remains unsolved
VENN
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WRIC) -- Three years later, police are still searching for who shot and killed a 19-year-old Chesterfield County man and left his body under a tarp in Colonial Heights.
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, a citizen reported he had found human remains along the woodline of the 1300 block of Yacht Basin Drive. With assistance from Virginia State Police, on Jan. 3, 2023, the Colonial Heights Police Department identified the victim as 19-year-old Marcus James Johnson.
Johnson, of Chesterfield County, was reported missing by his family on Nov. 27, 2022. He was last seen on Nov. 16, 2022.
It's been more than three years since Johnson initially went missing and a suspect has still not been identified.
"The Colonial Heights Police Department remains committed to pursuing justice on his behalf," the department said in a Facebook post on Monday, Nov. 17.
Police are asking the public to come forward with any information regarding what may have happened to Johnson.
What do we know about Johnson's death?
19-year-old Marcus James Johnson of Chesterfield County. (Photo: Chesterfield County Police Department)
Johnson, pictured above, was described by the Chesterfield County Police Department as a 5-foot-9-inch-tall Black man with black hair and brown eyes. He weighed about 195 pounds.
He was last seen leaving his Chesterfield home in the 2100 block of Esquire Road on Nov. 16, 2022.
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The clothes he was last seen wearing are pictured below. They are described as blue jeans, a white puffer jacket, a red cap, dark blue winter gloves and Nike "Tune Squad" sneakers.
The clothing Marcus James Johnson was wearing at the time of his disappearance. (Photo: Colonial Heights Police Department)
The clothing Marcus James Johnson was wearing at the time of his disappearance. (Photo: Colonial Heights Police Department)
The clothing Marcus James Johnson was wearing at the time of his disappearance. (Photo: Colonial Heights Police Department)
The clothing Marcus James Johnson was wearing at the time of his disappearance. (Photo: Colonial Heights Police Department)
The clothing Marcus James Johnson was wearing at the time of his disappearance. (Photo: Colonial Heights Police Department)
At this time, the Colonial Heights Police Department does not believe that Johnson was killed within the city. Investigators believe the crime happened elsewhere and the suspect then moved Johnson to Yacht Basin Drive.
His family later told 8News that, per his death certificate, he had been shot multiple times.
“You have to face God with what took place with Marcus,” said Johnson's aunt, Phyllis Hudson, in a previous interview with 8News. “Marcus didn’t deserve to die like that. He was a good kid. I pray that justice would be done.”
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The person who found Johnson, Tommy Douglas, previously told 8News that he'd gone over to clean up the woodline when he found Johnson beneath a plastic tarp. He immediately called 911.
“I wish I came over sooner,” he said at the time. “I had seen [the tarp] probably a couple weeks earlier. Then he wouldn’t have been laying there that long.”
Douglas said it isn't uncommon for things like bottles, cans or other types of trash to be tossed into that wooded area, so the tarp didn't immediately alarm him. It was when he went to clean up the area that he found Johnson.
If any of this information sounds familiar to you, or if you know anything that could help investigators solve this homicide, you are asked to contact the Colonial Heights Police Department. You can do so either by phone at 804-520-9329 or by email at velasquezc@colonialheightsva.gov.
"Your cooperation may be vital to this ongoing investigation," police said.
