In the late summer of 1993, a series of killings cast a shadow of fear over Virginia's Hampton Roads region. The eighth victim in what would become a decade-long spree of terror was Robert A. Neal, a 24-year-old African American man from Suffolk. Though he faced personal struggles, Robert was a father of two who, just the day before he vanished, had been talking with the mother of his children, Pam Morgan, about moving in with them and their family. He had a confidence that sometimes masked the challenges he faced. "He always figured he could handle any problem that might come his way," Morgan later recalled.
On September 8, 1993, that confidence was tragically overcome. Robert’s body was discovered dumped along Old State Road, an isolated roadway in the neighboring city of Chesapeake. He had been strangled to death, and his body was left nude. This detail was a chilling signature, linking his death to a string of other unsolved homicides in the area that targeted men. His death was one of several that occurred in a terrifyingly short span, deepening the mystery and the dread that gripped the community. Morgan provided investigators with a crucial piece of information: she told them that Robert had a friend named Elton.
For years, the investigation into Robert’s murder was part of a much larger, multi-jurisdictional effort to find the man newspapers would dub the "Hampton Roads Killer." Detectives pieced together a pattern of crimes that stretched from 1987 to 1996. The victims were often men connected to the gay nightlife of Norfolk and Portsmouth, or those living transient lifestyles, which meant their disappearances sometimes went unreported for days. Robert himself struggled with crack cocaine addiction and would occasionally disappear for periods, which complicated the timeline of his final days. The killer’s method was consistent: he strangled his victims and left their unclothed bodies in remote areas, often near interstates, suggesting a quick escape.
The sprawling investigation, involving multiple police departments and the FBI, finally led to a breakthrough. On May 6, 1997, police in Portsmouth arrested Elton Manning Jackson, then 41, for the 1996 murder of the last victim in the series, Andrew "Andre" Smith. While Jackson was only charged with and tried for Smith's murder, authorities publicly named him the sole suspect in the string of up to twelve killings, including Robert Neal's. Evidence presented at trial showed Jackson's pattern of luring men into sexual encounters that turned violent, often involving restraints and attempted strangulation.
In August 1998, a jury convicted Elton Manning Jackson of the first-degree murder of Andrew Smith. The prosecution built its case on forensic evidence and the testimony of three other men who had survived violent encounters with Jackson, describing a similar method of attack. On October 27, 1998, a judge sentenced him to life in prison, bringing an end to his reign of terror.
Though Jackson was never tried specifically for the murder of Robert A. Neal, his conviction brought a measure of resolution to a case that had once seemed unsolvable. The series of killings officially ceased after Jackson's arrest. As of the early 2000s, Jackson was serving his life sentence at the Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville, Virginia. Robert Neal’s case is considered closed, his death attributed to one of the most prolific serial killers in Virginia's history.
