Monday, February 11, 2008

Who Killed Tina Virgil

Tina Louise Virgil disappeared in late February or March of 2006. Tina's sister was worried when she didn't hear from her sister after three weeks so she called CMPD and made a 'Missing Person' report.

Tina Virgil lived at 1500 Greenview Place with her boyfriend Rayford Leon Thomas. Virgil and Thomas had a history of domestic violence and both were arrested one month prior to her disappearance for assaulting each other.

CMPD followed up on the Missing Person report in May and December 2006. Detectives spoke with Virgil's sisters and attempted to contact her boyfriend Rayford Thomas in December. Thomas said he would come to the police station to be interviewed but he never showed up.

On March 22, 2006, loggers in Anson County discovered a large garbage bag in a creek on Smith-Ferry Rd. The bag contained a woman's body. Police interviewed the one resident who lives on Smith-Ferry Rd. He told police he saw a suspicious small blue or purple pick-up truck drive down the road three to four days before loggers found the body. The man said he remembered seeing the truck because it drove down the road at a high rate of speed and twenty minutes later, the same truck came speeding back down the road. He saw one person in the truck but he couldn't tell if they were male or female.

Detectives in Anson County and the SBI were unable to identify the body until February 26, 2007. Dental records confirmed the woman found in Anson County last March was 42-year old Tina Louise Virgil. Police said Virgil was a homicide victim and say she was killed by blunt force trauma.

On February 20, 2007, a Special Agent with the SBI interviewed Rayford Thomas. He told the agent he last saw Tina Virgil on March 8, 2006. Thomas said he and Virgil had an argument and Tina walked out the door never to be heard from again. He said Tina did not pack a bag and he never looked for her. He said he gave Tina's clothes to his ex-wife. In addition, Thomas stated his parents are from Anson County and the agent noted he drives a blue/grey pick-up truck.

On March 5, 2007, a search warrant was issued to search Thomas' truck. Crime scene technicians took swabs from the truck and seized the truck bed cover, a tire iron and a Spear .380 spent shell casing. The search warrant did not detail the items they collected from the home.

Oddly enough, Aaron Wood was found shot to death seven days ago on March 7, 2007 at 1501 Greenview Place... one house away from Thomas. CMPD, SBI and the Anson County Sheriff's Office are working together to solve the Virgil case.

Maura O?Neill is a freelance writer and an editor and researcher of a popular crime blog dedicated to crime and justice in Charlotte, NC.

Maura?s research and writings have appeared in The Charlotte Observer, FOX At-large with Geraldo, Creative Loafing, WCNC News 6, WBTV News 2, News 14 Carolina and Maura has appeared on the WBT 1100 Keith Larsen show to discuss her work.

Maura O?Neill PO Box 17022 Charlotte, NC 28227 E-mail: on_crime@yahoo.com

http://www.crimeincharlotte.com

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