x
Breaking News
More () »

Man who confessed to killings in jailhouse interview to 13News Now appears in court

Cola Beale faces a preliminary hearing for the murder of Downing McLean, who was found shot to death on Sewell’s Point Road in Norfolk.

NORFOLK, Va. — A man accused of a killing spree and leading authorities on a days-long manhunt across Hampton Roads appeared in court Thursday.

In late March, authorities found 32-year-old Downing Mclean, Beale's cousin, shot to death off Sewell’s Point Road. It's the third of three homicides Beale admitted to committing in a jailhouse interview with 13News Now in March, in addition to his girlfriend Czavier Hill and father figure Clifton Baxter, both found shot and killed in Virginia Beach.

Officers testified in today's preliminary hearing that in interviews immediately following Beale's arrest, he said he planned to shoot someone on behalf of his cousin

Beale reportedly told officers the two got into an argument before Beale admitted to shooting his cousin twice. 

An autopsy report from the Medical Examiner's Office was submitted into evidence, confirming Beale's cousin suffered from gunshot wounds to his face and torso. 

“Got fed up because he talking like, 'You not about this you won’t do nothing.' I was like 'Bro I just killed two people you don’t think I won't shoot again?' So, he kept going off and getting loud, and I went in the kitchen and shot him right in the head," Beale said in that previous interview with 13News Now.

Beale also faces one count of arson after investigators say he set a house on fire in Virginia Beach.

The case now moves to a circuit court grand jury, at the moment set for October 5, which could change based on whether the attorneys in the case can set a trial date for Beale. 

Before You Leave, Check This Out