ON THE LOOSE

Police on the Hunt for ‘Armed and Dangerous’ Sex Offender Suspected in Three Slayings

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $10,000 award for information leading to Cola Winborne Beale IV’s arrest.

Virginia authorities said they’re on the hunt for an “armed and dangerous” sex offender who’s wanted in connection with three separate slayings.

Virginia Beach police have already charged Cola Winborne Beale IV with second-degree murder in two killings, and they now say he’s also implicated in the slaying of a 32-year-old man who was found dead in his home on Monday, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

Arrest warrants for Beale were issued Monday, but he has yet to be located, and the U.S. Marshals Service has offered a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone with information that could help with his arrest.

“Beale is a convicted sex offender with a history of possessing firearms and should be considered Armed and Dangerous,” the Marshals said in a statement, adding that he has tattoos on both of his forearms. “Geneva” is tattooed on his right forearm.

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The hunt for Beale comes after 73-year-old Clifton Baxter was found dead from gunshot wounds in his home on Thursday during a welfare check by Virginia Beach police. Neighbors said Beale had intermittently lived in Baxter’s home over the years and described him as Baxter’s son, though it remains unclear whether he was a biological son or not.

Baxter’s neighbors mourned his death, recalling his welcoming presence in the community.

“He was a kind and gentle man. The kind that always looked out for others,” Gina Padon told The Pilot. “He’d always tell me, if I ever had any trouble to come to him first.”

Beale was also charged in connection with the death of Czavier Hill, 31, who lived about a mile and a half away from Baxter’s home. Hill was found shot dead in her home on March 23 after a fire was reported at the house. Police have confirmed that Beale and Hill were in romantic relationship.

According to a news release from the Norfolk Police Department, Beale is also a primary suspect in the murder of Downing M. McLean, 32, who was found dead on Monday. A cause of death has yet to be released.

Beale is a convicted sex offender, having pleaded guilty to sexual battery against a minor in 2018, and has a history of firearm possession, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.