2 People From Maryland Found Dead Near Crash In Virginia Were Deliberately Killed, Police Say
TURBEVILLE, Va. (AP) — A couple from the greater Washington area found dead near a crashed car in southern Virginia were deliberately killed, authorities said.
Virginia State Police have ruled the deaths of Ntombo Joel Bianda, 21, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Ayanna Munne Maertens Griffin, 19, of Germantown, Maryland, as homicides, news outlets reported.
Troopers were called to a single-car crash early Saturday on Route 58 in the Turbeville community of Halifax County, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the North Carolina line. Troopers said that stretch of road is isolated and isn't heavily used in the overnight hours.
Troopers found Bianda and Maertens Griffin near a 2009 silver Nissan Maxima with Virginia license plates that appeared to have run off the road and into the median. Investigators determined the two were killed and didn't die in the crash. An exact cause of death wasn't immediately released.
Bianda and Maertens Griffin recently graduated from Northwest High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, near the nation's capital.
State Police are asking the public to help "piece together the circumstances," including where the pair may have been coming from. Anyone with information can contact Virginia State Police.
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