On the morning of April 26, 2013, an armed intruder broke into a home on Buren Street in Hopewell, Virginia. When 41-year-old Richard Miles Hawthorne Jr. confronted the person just before 6 a.m., he was shot and killed; his mother was in the home mere feet away. The shooting was recorded as Hopewell’s first homicide of 2013.

Richard Hawthorne, born November 7, 1971, was a Fluvanna High School graduate and member of Evergreen Baptist Church. Family members described him as someone who cared deeply for his loved ones. Hopewell Police said investigators did not believe the killing was a random act and suggested Hawthorne may not have been the intended target; they also noted his status as a registered sex offender was unrelated to the homicide. Officers processed the scene, interviewed persons of interest and asked the public to come forward.

If anyone on Buren Street or in the neighborhood that morning saw anything or has information, please share it with investigators.