NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk police said they have arrested four people in connection to a 2011 cold case killing of an Old Dominion University student.
Christopher Cummings was shot and killed on June 10, 2011, in his home, which was just off of ODU campus in the 800 block of West 42nd Street. Cummings' roommate was also seriously hurt in the shooting.
Investigators said the home had been burglarized before the murder.
Cummings, who was 20 at the time of his death, was the nephew of Congressman Elijah Cummings, the late U.S. Representative from Baltimore.
On Thursday, Norfolk Police announced four men are facing multiple charges stemming from the deadly shooting.
32-year-old Kwaume L. Edwards, 31-year-old Javon L. Doyle, 30-year-old Ahmad R. Watson, and 28-year-old Rashad D. Dooley have been indicted on 15 charges each. All four men are from Newport News.
“While my son is lying cold in his coffin, these guys are out there running the streets, so it’s good to have them off the streets," Christopher's dad, James Cummings, said.
Christopher's murder happened a decade ago, but his dad said it still feels like yesterday.
“As far as life is concerned, life won’t change that much for us because we will never get our son back and we have to live the way we have been living," he said.
Now, James is hoping for some "poetic justice."
“I’m hoping that one guy that he will be arraigned in the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse. I think that will be poetic justice," he said.
All four suspects are charged with the following:
- Homicide
- First-degree murder
- Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder
- Use of a firearm in commission of first-degree murder
- Burglary with the intent to commit murder with a deadly weapon
- Conspiracy to commit burglary with a deadly weapon
- Use of a firearm in commission of an armed burglary
- Aggravated malicious wounding
- Use of a firearm in commission of aggravated malicious wounding
- Attempted second-degree murder
- Use of a firearm in attempted commission of second-degree murder
- Two counts each of discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling
- Attempted robbery
- Use of a firearm in commission of a robbery
Police said three of the suspects are in Virginia jails without bond.
Edwards is in Buckingham Correctional Center, Doyle is in Norfolk City Jail, and Dooley is in Hampton Correctional Center.
Watson is awaiting extradition from out of state. The US Marshals Service said he was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland.
"For more than a decade now, investigators have been relentless in their efforts to solve this case," said Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone in a news release. "They have followed up on every lead necessary to ensure the Norfolk Police Department was able to deliver justice to both the surviving victim and to the Cummings family. I want to recognize all the hard work and the level of commitment and professionalism of all those who were involved in bringing this investigation to a close."
One of the suspects, Kwaume Edwards, has been tied to three previous murders.