On November 23, 2014, deputies responded to a shooting call at about 4:38 a.m. at a home on Roachs Lane in Dillwyn, Virginia, and found 65-year-old Radford Thomas Ranson, known as Hook, and 51-year-old Kenneth Dean Beasley dead. Ranson had sustained several cuts and a fatal wound to his arm. Beasley had been shot once and stabbed more than 20 times. A third man present, 39-year-old Gregory Anthony Taylor, was arrested at the scene; authorities said there was no indication anyone else was involved in the double homicide.

Taylor was charged with multiple felonies including two counts of first-degree murder and a capital murder count for the killing of multiple persons. At his April 2016 trial the defense argued Taylor acted in self-defense after feeling threatened; the prosecution said the killings showed malice and premeditation. The judge convicted Taylor on capital murder and two counts of first-degree murder and imposed two life terms plus additional time for firearm convictions.

Did anyone in Dillwyn know Ranson or Beasley well enough to shed light on what happened that night?