Suspect turns self in

Published 9:51 pm Friday, November 19, 2010

A man accused of using a dead woman’s credit cards after her homicide turned himself in to Roanoke, Va. police Friday.

O'Neal

Larry N. O’Neal, 32, was wanted for three felonies in connection with the use of Katina Jones’ charge card. Suffolk police had set up a Facebook page as part of the search for O’Neal.

Jones, 31, was found dead in her Crowdy Boulevard apartment Nov. 7 when her child’s father came to the house because he was unable to get in touch with her.

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Jones was a single mother who worked two jobs to support her 8-year-old daughter. She had gotten off the midnight shift at the Harris Teeter on Bridge Road just before her murder.

Police initially said they wanted to speak with O’Neal in connection with her death. He was then referred to as a “person of interest,” and then as a suspect.

The case became the first time Suffolk Police dedicated a separate Facebook page to solving a single crime.

“In this particular case, detectives learned that the victim and the suspect previously knew each other and had recently reconnected on Facebook, so they were both Facebook users,” city spokeswoman Debbie George said. “We felt we could use this social media tool to get the information out nationwide.”

The Facebook page featured details of the crime, as well as a description and photo of O’Neal. On Friday evening, the page boasted 1,230 fans.

Last month, Jones and O’Neal conversed via Facebook about his request for a ride home from the Greyhound bus station in Norfolk. O’Neal was hoping for volunteers to give him a ride, and Jones responded asking what time he would be arriving. The exchange occurred on Oct. 28, but it does not say when O’Neal would be arriving in Norfolk. Police had believed O’Neal was traveling by bus back to Houston, Texas, after Jones’ death.

O’Neal’s Facebook page lists his hometown as Portsmouth. Jones graduated from Churchland High School in 1997, according to her Facebook profile.

To view the Facebook page, log in on Facebook and search “Catch Katina’s Killer.”

Anyone who has information is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers to Crime Line never have to give their names or appear in court, and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.