South Tidewater News

For immediate release: August 28, 2024.

Chesapeake, Va. – Matthew R. Hamel, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Chesapeake, announced that Anthony L. Johnson, age 63, was sentenced to 22 years and 11 months in prison for the murder of Valarie McElroy.

On August 26, 2024, Circuit Court Chief Judge Marjorie A. Taylor Arrington convicted the defendant of second-degree murder and sentenced him to 40 years in prison with 17 years and one month suspended, above the recommended sentencing guidelines range for the crime.

The Commonwealth’s evidence showed that the victim and defendant were previously romantically involved, but the defendant continued to pursue the victim after she ended the relationship. On November 27, 2022, the day of the murder, the defendant presented himself unannounced at the store where she worked and had to be escorted off the property. Later that day, she did not show up for a pre-arranged meeting with a friend. The Chesapeake Police Department was summoned to conduct a welfare check after unsuccessful attempts by friends and family to contact her. Officers found the victim inside her apartment already deceased from multiple stab wounds.

The defendant was also found unconscious on a bed in the apartment, bleeding from apparent self-inflicted stab wounds. The victim is survived by many friends and family members, including her brother who testified at the sentencing hearing and her two daughters who provided written statements to the court.

The case was initially investigated by Homicide Detective Hatchell of the Chesapeake Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kerry McArdle with significant assistance from Rebecca Gonzalez-Bermudez of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office Victim/Witness Assistance Program. Point of contact for media inquiries: Gloria Nuss at 757-382-3213.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 to provide resources and support.

Commonwealth V. Anthony L. Johnson (PDF)

City of Chesapeake

306 Cedar Road

Chesapeake, VA 23322

Phone: 757-382-2489

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