Two Arrested, Charged With Bealeton Murder
By Alexandra Bogdanovic
Michael Jay Riley, 23, of James Madison Highway in Bealeton and a 17 year old were each charged with murder after Fauquier County detectives and members of the Blue Ridge Narcotics Task Force located them late Friday night, police said.
Both suspects were still in Fauquier County when they were apprehended.
An acquaintance found Thomas James Norton, 61, dead in his Long Street home in Bealeton when he went to take him to church on Easter Sunday.
As part of the investigation, authorities obtained search warrants on Friday night for two separate houses. In each case, detectives said they were looking for “any items bearing the name of Thomas Norton.”
In a criminal complaint filed in General District Court, police said Riley “made statements to others that he was involved in the beating death of Thomas Norton.”
Riley also had items that were taken from Norton's residence when Norton was killed, according to the complaint.
Information about the juvenile's alleged involvement in the crime cannot be disclosed because of his or her age. That could change if a court determines the teen will be tried as an adult.
In the meantime, both suspects are being held without bond.
Riley is scheduled to appear in General District Court at 9 a.m. June 8.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com