NORFOLK, Va. — An ongoing undetermined death investigation in Norfolk has been ruled a homicide.
On Sunday just after 9 a.m., police were flagged down near 1600 Amelia Street for a report of an unresponsive man in a yard, the Norfolk Police Department said.
Officers found the man, later identified as 55-year-old Gary Robinson, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following an autopsy that was performed on Tuesday, the incident was ruled a homicide.
The news about the suspicious death ruled a homicide has some neighbors feeling uneasy.
"It hurt me because that's just a horrible thing to do. How could one person do that to another person?" said 85-year-old Faye Nash, who lives across the street from where Robinson was found. "My daughter and son-in-law came out of the house Sunday to find the two homes taped off and forensics units looking in the grass between the homes. That's where the man was."
"I just happened to come out here the other day and they had the streets blocked off," said another neighbor, Wayne Giddens, who has lived in the neighborhood for 18 years. "I'm very familiar with the community and I hope things get a little better out here because...it's getting rough by the day."
Kevin Midgette said he's the one who found Robinson early Sunday morning. He was walking on Amelia Street when he saw Robinson laying face down in the yard and he checked to find the man feeling cold.
Little did Midgette know, the man lying on the ground was his close friend of 20 years.
"When I came back, he was in the grass," Midgette explained. "It's just so hard to talk about him...He was very fun. We would argue...yeah we would argue, but overall, he was my best friend."
A small memorial is now wrapped around a telephone poll just around the corner, filled with memories from people who knew Robinson in the neighborhood. Midgette said he doesn't know who could have hurt his friend or why, but he hopes investigators find answers soon.
"I think everybody out here...really loved him," Midgette said with his head hanging low.
13News Now reached out to Norfolk Police multiple times about what exactly resulted in Robinson's death, but we did not receive a response. Detectives have not listed any suspects at this time.
The investigation remains ongoing. If you have any information that may help investigators, you can call the Crime Line at 1-888-562-5887. You can also submit a tip online at P3Tips.com.