– PRESS RELEASE FROM VANCE COUNTY SHERIFF CURTIS BRAME
The Vance County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the death of 21-year-old Javion Magee. This morning, Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, members of his command staff, and detectives met with Javion’s family to express our condolences and to walk family members through the details of our investigation to date. Investigators offered to take Javion’s family to Vanco Mill Road where his body was found. Javion’s family requested to see and were shown evidentiary photos. Local minister Pastor Opie Terrell also attended the meeting and led a word of prayer. Sheriff Brame wants to ensure the public his office is being as transparent as possible, while most importantly, being respectful of Javion’s grieving family.
The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and concluded Javion did not have defensive wounds, and there were no signs of physical or sexual assault. Javion did have hemorrhaging around the soft tissue of the neck. Toxicology results are still pending, therefore autopsy results are not complete at this time.
The following is a timeline of events from the GPS on Mr. Magee’s commercial vehicle, witness statements, the 9-1-1 call, and results of cell phone exploitation, which led up to detectives arriving to discover Mr. Magee’s body.
September 10, 2024, approximately 01:00 hours- Mr. Magee left Hazelton, Pennsylvania after picking up a load of goods to deliver to the Walmart Distribution Center in Henderson, North Carolina. Mr. Magee traveled I-81 South to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, then to Highway 15 towards Frederick, Maryland. The truck gets onto I-270 South and drives to I-495 to I-95 towards Virginia.
September 10, 2024, 06:50 hours- The truck makes a stop at a truck stop on Highway 207, 12 miles North of Ashland, Virginia for approximately one hour. Investigators are working to obtain video from the truck stop to review.
September 10, 2024, 07:50 hours- The commercial truck leaves the truck stop and travels on Highway 1 South.
September 10, 2024, 08:00 hours, the vehicle travels on I-95 South, merges onto I-64 in Richmond, Virginia.
September 10, 2024, 08:20 hours, truck merges back onto I-95 South.
September 10, 2024, 08:50 hours, the truck continues onto I-85 South in Petersburg, Virginia, traveling south into North Carolina.
September 10, 2024, 09:54 hours, vehicle is on I-85 south.
September 10, 2024, 10:04 hours, vehicle enters Vance County and travels to Chex Truck Stop in Middleburg, North Carolina. Surveillance video shows Magee walking into the truck stop alone, using the rest room and getting food from the truck stop grill. Magee is seen walking back to his truck and getting in his truck alone.
September 10, 2024, 12:21 hours- vehicle leaves Chex Truck Stop traveling south on I-85 into Henderson, North Carolina.
September 10, 2024, 12:37 hours- truck arrives at the Walmart Distribution Center in Henderson and the contents are unloaded.
September 10, 2024, 16:53 hours, the truck leaves the Walmart Distribution Center. Within 5 minutes, GPS shows the truck is idling in a dirt parking area in front of 285 Vanco Mill Road, Henderson, North Carolina. Approximately ½ mile from the Walmart Distribution Center.
September 10, 2024- 17:44 hours, the truck travels Northwest on West Andrews Avenue. At 17:49 hours, the truck pulls onto Young Street and is idling. The truck then goes to a parking lot at the corner of West Andrews Ave and Vance Street at 17:53 hours. Magee exits the truck and walks to a local smoke shop at 422 East Andrews Avenue to purchase tobacco products. Surveillance footage shows Magee making a purchase at the store, he is alone. The truck leaves the area at 18:01 hours. The truck travels west on Andrews Ave to the intersection of I-85 and merges onto I-85 south.
September 10, 2024, 18:11 hours, the truck travels to the Walmart Supercenter located on N. Cooper Drive in Henderson, North Carolina. Mr. Magee is seen on surveillance footage from at least 5 cameras walking into the store, making a purchase of a blue in color Ozark Trail rope, and exiting the store. Magee is alone according to video footage while he shopped inside the store and when he returned to his truck outside the store. Magee is seen wearing a white t shirt, black shorts, white socks, and dark colored crocs. Magee uses a self-checkout to make the purchase, obtains a receipt for the purchase and is seen leaving the store with the blue rope in his hand. Magee returns to his truck and leaves the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter at 18:22 hours.
Further review of surveillance footage from Walmart also shows as Magee was leaving the Walmart Parking Lot on September 10th, he stops, exits his truck, and gives something to a homeless person sitting at the entrance. The person was identified and interviewed by investigators. As a result of the interview, it was learned that Magee gave the homeless person money. Magee told the person that “I don’t know how much it is, but if I had more I would give it to you.” It was a total of $228 that was given to the homeless person. The witness confirmed that after Magee gave the money, he got back into his truck and left the parking lot.
September 10, 2024, 18:28 hours, Magee pulls into the Hampton Inn Hotel located on Ruin Creek Road and parks around the back of the building. Surveillance footage from the hotel shows Magee walking from the back of the hotel to the front wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and dark colored crocs. Magee is also wearing a black backpack Magee enters the hotel alone at 18:32 hours and walks up to the front desk. Magee speaks to the hotel clerk and exits the hotel at 18:34 hours and walks towards the back of the hotel.
September 10, 2024, 18:35 hours, the truck is turned on, and at 18:36 hours, Magee’s truck is seen on video surveillance leaving the hotel parking lot and making a right turn onto Ruin Creek Road.
September 10, 2024- 18:45 hours, the truck approaches the intersection of Andrews Ave and US1 Highway, and at 18:50 hours, the truck exits US1 Highway onto Vanco Mill Road.
September 10, 2024, 18:52 hours, the truck pulls back onto the dirt lot at 285 Vanco Mill Road and the ignition is turned off. Surveillance footage from the area shows Magee exiting the driver’s side of the truck wearing a white shirt and black shorts. Magee is seen walking away from the truck alone towards the wood line on the eastern side of the dirt lot. Magee is carrying an object in his hand. Magee walks back up around a trailer and to the front gate of T&R Tractor & Truck Repair, then walks back to the wood line of the lot.
September 10, 2024, 19:00 hours, Surveillance video shows Magee re-enter the truck and the GPS shows the truck ignition is turned on. From the video, it does not appear Mr. Magee has anything in his hand at the time he re-enters the truck.
September 10, 2024, 19:28 hours, the truck is still in an idling state.
September 10, 2024, 19:30 hours, the ignition is turned off and is never started again. Magee is seen on video walking away from the truck towards the trees alone. The video does not show Magee walking back to the truck after this time.
September 11, 2024, 10:08 hours, Vance County 911 received a call from the owner of T&R Truck Repair of a man with a rope around his neck on the outside of the fence at 285 Vanco Mill Road. The 911 stated that the male was not breathing and appeared to have died by suicide.
Vance County EMS, Bearpond Fire Department and Vance County Sheriff’s Office Deputies respond to the scene. Additional supervisors and detectives were called to the scene to begin the investigation.
Detectives could see the victim had a rope wrapped around his neck a total of 11 times and the other end of the rope was wrapped around a tree branch. The rope was tight. The victim was in a seated position with his legs extended out and his left foot crossed over his right foot. The victim was wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and black crocs. The crime scene was photographed.
No identification was found on the victim, but a cardboard wrapper for the blue rope was found lying next to the victim. The brand of rope was Ozark Trail which is a brand sold by Walmart. A detective took the wrapper for the rope to Walmart in an attempt to identify the purchaser of the rope. It was discovered that the rope was sold to the victim on 9/10/2024 at 18:20 hours. The victim was identified from the use of his bank card at the checkout as Javion Magee. A copy of the video was obtained for evidence. The detective saw on the video Mr. Magee was driving a white semi-truck. The information was passed to those at the scene on Vance Mill Road, who located a truck in the parking lot matching that description.
An employee of T&R Tractor & Truck Repair told investigators on the scene that the trucking company had called their shop requesting they check on the driver because the truck had not moved. The truck was unlocked and investigators found a wallet with an Illinois identification with the name Javion Magee and an address in Aurora, Illinois. The photograph on the identification matched the person found nearby. A cell phone was also located in the truck, and a receipt from Walmart in Henderson for the purchase of the rope with the date and time that matched the transaction date and time on surveillance video just obtained from Walmart by detectives.
Based on this information, investigators contacted the Aurora Illinois Police Department and requested they send an officer to the address listed on the identification for a death notification. Aurora Police Officers contacted Javion’s Father and notified him of Javion’s death. Javion’s body was transported to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
According to KLLM trucking, this was Javion’s first time making a delivery to Henderson. They also learned KLLM Trucking was Javion’s first trucking job after obtaining his commercial driver’s license earlier in 2024.
September 13, 2024, The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Javion’s body. The Pathologists determined Javion did not have any defensive wounds and there were no signs of physical or sexual assault. Javion did have hemorrhaging around the soft tissue of the neck. Further findings of the autopsy are pending toxicology. The Pathologists did speak to Javion’s Mother and explained the preliminary autopsy report.
The Vance County Sheriff’s Office has submitted search warrants to several companies hoping to fully access Mr. Magee’s phone. We have been able to see some of the recent searches from Javion’s phone and are working through proper legal authorities to obtain more information in hopes of having a complete picture of what occurred before Javion’s body was found on the morning of September 11, 2024.
Sheriff Curtis R. Brame continues to release as much information as possible about this investigation, again while being respectful to Javion’s family during this difficult time. The Vance County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate and is asking anyone with information to come forward, call the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252-738-2200.