A Portsmouth man accused of killing his neighbor with an ax told witnesses the victim would not steal from him anymore, according to newly obtained court documents, before burning the body and dumping it in a ditch adjacent to his property. Gregory Michael Coffey, 53, is charged with first-degree murder and defiling a dead human body in the death of 47-year-old Gordon Randolph Tillman Jr., whose remains were found near a home on Elliott Avenue in September.
Witnesses Say Coffey Struck Tillman With an Ax
According to court documents obtained by WAVY.com, two people witnessed the killing and told detectives that Coffey struck Tillman in the head and body with an ax. The documents say the killing occurred Aug. 30 at Coffey's residence in the Highland Biltmore area of Portsmouth, where Tillman reportedly visited often. Per the same documents, Coffey told witnesses that Tillman had been stealing from him and said, “He won't steal none of my s*** anymore.” Coffey is also accused of telling someone, “I can't let him get out of here like that — I'll go to jail for life.”
Investigators recovered an ax from the left side of Coffey's garage after a witness told them where to find it, the documents state. Officials also located large areas of blood on the property, burned bone fragments, and multiple marks on the garage's ceiling and walls consistent with an ax, according to the station's report. The documents further allege that Coffey asked a witness to apply chemicals to the body to prevent odor and decomposition, and separately asked a witness's son to help conceal and burn the remains — a request the son refused, per the report.
FBI Found Body in a Ditch Under Plywood
FBI agents located Tillman's heavily decomposed body in a ditch near Elliott Street and Woodstock Street, hidden under plywood, according to the documents cited by WAVY. Police allege Coffey placed the body in the ditch after burning it. The case had been unfolding publicly for weeks before that detail emerged: Tillman was reported missing by his brother, Raymond Kevin Poole, on Sept. 2, according to the Daily Press, though one earlier WAVY report had cited Aug. 31 as the date Tillman went missing.
A tipster contacted police on Sept. 21 with knowledge of a body's location at the Elliott Avenue property, according to the court documents, which led investigators to execute a search warrant there. Reporting has varied on exactly when the remains were recovered — the documents cited by WAVY point to a Sept. 22 search, while WTKR reported the remains were found during a Sept. 25 search. The Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the remains were human, and fingerprints positively identified them as Tillman's.
A Shooting Complicated the Timeline
Days after Tillman vanished, a shooting unfolded inside the Elliott Avenue residence on Sept. 3 that left Coffey injured; he was treated and later released from the hospital, per WAVY's earlier coverage. Raymond Poole, the brother who had reported Tillman missing, was arrested Sept. 11 and charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with that shooting. Police have said there is no evidence of a serial-killer case and that only one body was found on the property.
Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins said Tillman was dismembered and that parts of his body were burned and decomposed, and the chief thanked eight agencies — including the FBI, NCIS and Virginia State Police — for assisting with the investigation, according to WTKR. Police have not released a motive for Tillman's death, and detectives continue working with local and federal agencies, with an increased police presence expected in the area, per 13News Now.
Charges and What Comes Next
Coffey was arrested Sept. 30 and arraigned the following morning in Portsmouth General District Court, where he was appointed a public defender, according to WTKR's account of the proceedings. He is being held without bail, with a next court appearance set for November.
Under Virginia law, murder other than aggravated murder — including specified killings involving robbery, burglary or abduction — is classified as first-degree murder and punishable as a Class 2 felony, according to the Virginia Code. Separately, state law addressing violations of sepulture makes unlawful disinterment or displacement of a dead human body a Class 4 felony and prohibits willfully and intentionally physically defiling a dead human body, per the Virginia Code.
