Garland Lindwood Lindwood Joyner

Garland Lindwood Joyner, Jr., was a dedicated 14-year veteran of the Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia and a U.S. Air Force veteran. A married father, the 39-year-old male detective was known by all accounts as an excellent police officer. His life, however, came to a violent and mysterious end in the pre-dawn hours of March 18, 1984, leaving behind questions that would linger for decades.

That chilly Sunday morning, residents near Warwick Creek, a stream that marks the border between Gates and Chowan counties in rural North Carolina, were startled by the sound of gunfire. One neighbor reported hearing three quick shots around 5:30 a.m., a brief pause, and then a final, fourth shot. Later that day, Detective Joyner’s body was discovered floating face down in the murky creek water. He had a single, fatal gunshot wound to his chest. Investigators also found his jacket and outer shirt removed, and personal items from his wallet scattered and floating in the water.

Initially, authorities from multiple agencies, including the Portsmouth Police and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, concluded that Detective Joyner had died by suicide. The theory was that he had taken his own life due to debts from bad investments, hoping his family could collect on life insurance policies. The medical examiner noted the death was from a close-contact wound, and investigators suggested he would have had to be sitting on the bridge railing to fall into the water as he did.

This conclusion, however, never sat well with his family, friends, or colleagues, who could not reconcile the man they knew with the official ruling. For 30 years, the case remained officially closed, a source of unresolved pain for his loved ones. His wife, Lillie Joyner, was reportedly "thrilled" when, in 2014, the Portsmouth Police Department, in collaboration with the FBI, announced they were reopening the investigation into her husband's death.

The decision to reopen the case was prompted by the emergence of new, undisclosed evidence. After a thorough re-examination of the circumstances, investigators officially reclassified Detective Joyner's death as a homicide. It is now widely believed that at the time of his murder, Joyner was deep into a dangerous investigation concerning a gun-smuggling operation. This new classification confirmed the long-held suspicions of those closest to him.

Information that surfaced after the case was reopened painted a grim picture of Joyner's final days. His wife recounted that he had gone to meet with men who had issued threats against her and their teenage daughter. A friend of the detective also stated that Joyner had mentioned he was meeting someone connected to this long-running and perilous investigation. These accounts suggest Joyner was knowingly walking into a dangerous situation, not despairing over finances.

Despite the reclassification to homicide and the new leads that pointed to a targeted killing, the investigation has yet to yield an arrest. The individuals responsible for the murder of Detective Garland Joyner have never been identified, and they remain at large. The case is a painful reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face, even when off duty and across state lines.

Decades after his death, the hunt for answers continues. The Portsmouth Police Department keeps the investigation active, hoping that someone with information will finally come forward. Fliers have been posted in communities along the North Carolina highway near where his body was found, bearing the word "Homicide" and asking for the public's help. As of March 2024, forty years after he was killed, the case remains an open and active cold case, with his killer or killers still unpunished.