James Ash

On the morning of Thursday, April 30, 2009, residents of an apartment complex on Grady Street in Chesapeake, Virginia, made a grim discovery. In the backyard of the complex, they found the body of 19-year-old James Arthur Ash. Police were called to the scene around 6:30 a.m. James, a Black male from Norfolk, was pronounced dead, and though authorities did not immediately release a cause of death, they quickly began investigating his case as a homicide. The Chesapeake Police Department later confirmed that James had been killed by a gunshot wound.

At the time of his death, James, who was known by the nickname "Lil James," was a resident of Grayson Street in Norfolk. Just one month prior, on March 31, 2009, Norfolk police had issued warrants for his arrest, charging him with murder and the use of a gun during a felony. He was wanted in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Johnie L. Silver Jr. at the Oakleaf Forest apartment complex on Greenleaf Drive and Campostella Road in Norfolk. Police had described James as being 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 220 pounds, with low-cut black hair and a goatee. He was known to frequent the Berkley, Diggs Park, and Oak Leaf Park areas of Norfolk.

The investigation into James's own death fell to the Chesapeake Police Department. The circumstances surrounding his killing remain shrouded in mystery, with no suspects or motive ever publicly identified. His death was one of several homicides that occurred in Chesapeake in 2009, a year that saw multiple unsolved killings in the Hampton Roads area. The initial news reports provided few details about the crime scene on Grady Street or what might have led to the fatal encounter.

James Arthur Ash was laid to rest following a funeral service held on Friday, May 15, 2009, at the Berkley Avenue Chapel of Metropolitan Funeral Service in Norfolk. His family published an obituary announcing the service, remembering the young life that had been cut short. Beyond these brief public notices, little is known about James's personal life, his family, or his aspirations. His story is tragically defined by the two violent deaths that marked the last month of his life: one in which he was the accused, and the other in which he was the victim.

For more than a decade, James's murder has remained unsolved. There have been no arrests and no new leads publicly released by law enforcement. His case is now listed among the dozens of cold case homicides being handled by the Chesapeake Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Squad. The department continues to seek information from the public that might help bring a resolution to these long-unanswered cases and provide closure for the victims' families.

The investigation into the homicide of James Arthur Ash is ongoing. As of November 2026, his case remains an active cold case with the Chesapeake Police Department. A cash reward of up to $5,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest in any Chesapeake cold case. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Chesapeake Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers can remain anonymous.