Cola Beale gets 3 life sentences in VB for murdering girlfriend, father figure

Cola Beale was sentenced to three life sentences in Virginia Beach Tuesday for the murder of his girlfriend and father figure.

Beale was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Czavi'er Hill, and father figure Clifton Baxter on March 20 after a two-day jury trial.

He admitted to these killings in a police interrogation and a jailhouse interview with News 3 back in 2022.

During victim impact statements on Tuesday Czavi'er's father, Calvin Hill, described his daughter as amazing, full of life, and always willing to help others.

Calvin said he hurts every day and knowing that his daughter was executed by someone she trusted makes it even worse.

He told the judge he believed this kind of evil should be banished.

Sherry Baxter, one of Clifton Baxter's sisters, also spoke to the court.

She described how Clifton took Beale in and was a father figure to him.

Beale killed Clifton while he was asleep on his couch.

Sherry told the court, two days before her brother's death, Clifton told her that he loved her and was proud of her for where she was at in life.

She ended her statement by saying whatever happens to Beale that he deserves it.

"He looked at me because my family helped raise Beale from a little boy to a grown man for him to do this to my family it's shocking, it's hurting, I just don't understand, and I guess I'll never understand," Sherry said.

The judge sentenced Beale to three life terms.

Two for both aggravated murder charges and a third for intentionally setting fire to a home.

After the judge's decision, News 3 asked Beale's attorney, Trevor Robinson, why this case was taken to trial after Beale admitted on camera to what he did.

"Anyone charged with a crime is entitled to a trial, a speedy and public trial and by a jury if they request and that is what he did," Robinson said. "He requested a trial by jury, the jury did its duty, and we're going to appeal the jury's decision."

Beale told the court Tuesday that he had not seen the initial interview he had done back in 2022 and that at the time he was not in the right state of mind.

Beale said what he did haunts him and that he has remorse

Watch: Jury finds Cola Beale guilty on all charges in Virginia Beach

In March of 2022, Beale shot his girlfriend, 31-year-old Czavi'er Hill, in the head inside her Virginia Beach home, prosecutors said.

Two days after killing Czavi'er, Beale returned to the home and set it on fire, prosecutors said. As a result, Czavi'er's dog was burned alive while it was caged in a kennel, prosecutors added.

Beale said he tied Czavi'er up in her room and was just going to leave her like that until he brought her dog in, covered it in bleach, and had a lighter.

"I pulled her dog in the room and I was gonna set the dog on fire, and she told me, 'No, don’t do nothing to the dog. You can take me and do whatever you were going to do to the dog to me instead,' and so that's what I did," Beale said to News 3.

Beale was arrested on March 30. Shortly after his arrest, he told News 3 that he "snapped" and shot his girlfriend in the head because her parents "kept confronting him about his plans" with their daughter.

Prosecutors said Beale also shot and killed his father figure, 73-year-old Clifton Baxter, while he was asleep on the couch inside his house. The exact date of Clifton's death is unknown, but prosecutors said he was killed sometime between Czavi'er's murder on March 22 and the morning of March 25.

Watch: Cola Beale found guilty on third murder charge

The jury found Beale guilty on two aggravated murder charges, two counts of arson, one count of abduction, two counts of using a gun to commit murder, and one count of mutilating a dog.

Tuesday Beale was also sentenced to 63 years on top of his three life sentences.

The 63 years also includes three probation violation charges, as Beale was on probation for three seperate sets of charges while he committed these murders.

Beale was also convicted of killing his cousin, 32-year-old Downing McLean. He also admitted to killing McLean during the jailhouse interview with us.

Beale said he shot McLean because he considered him to be a liability since he knew about Hill and Baxter's murders, prosecutors said.

He'll be sentenced for charges in connection to his cousin's death, including first-degree murder, on August 23 in Norfolk.

Editor’s note. In previous coverage, News 3 has referred to Clifton Baxter as Beale’s “adoptive father.” Baxter was in a relationship with Beale’s mother and continued to have a relationship with him after they broke up, but did not legally adopt him.

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