Thursday, 18 August 2022
Meet the JournalistsPremiumAucklandWellingtonCanterbury/South Island
CrimePoliticsHealthEducationEnvironment and ClimateNZ Herald FocusData journalismKāhu, Māori ContentPropertyWeather
Small BusinessOpinionPersonal FinanceEconomyBusiness TravelCapital Markets
Politics
Premium SportRugbyCommonwealth GamesCricketRacingNetballBoxingLeagueFootballSuper RugbyAthleticsBasketballMotorsportTennisCyclingGolfAmerican SportsHockeyUFC
NZH Local FocusThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay of Plenty TimesHawke's Bay TodayRotorua Daily PostWhanganui ChronicleStratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu Courier
Covid-19
Te Rito
Te Rito
OneRoof PropertyCommercial Property
Open JusticeVideoPodcastsTechnologyWorldOpinion
SpyTVMoviesBooksMusicCultureSideswipeCompetitions
Fashion & BeautyFood & DrinkRoyalsRelationshipsWellbeingPets & AnimalsVivaCanvasEat WellCompetitionsRestaurants & Menus
New Zealand TravelAustralia TravelInternational Travel
Our Green FutureRuralOneRoof Property
Career AdviceCorporate News
Driven MotoringPhotos
SudokuCodecrackerCrosswordsWordsearchDaily quizzes
Classifieds
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDriven MotoringThe CountryPhoto SalesNZ Herald InsightsWatchMeGrabOneiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
World

Killer who made chilling confession on Facebook found dead after manhunt

8 Sep, 2016 08:44 PM5 minutes to read
Earl Valentine posted a Facebook Live video after the brutal murder of his wife and child.

Earl Valentine posted a Facebook Live video after the brutal murder of his wife and child.

Washington Post
By Cleve Wootson at Washington Post

Earl Valentine had just critically injured his ex-wife and killed his namesake son in North Carolina, authorities said. He was somewhere on a dark road, possibly driving to Richmond to kill his former in-laws.

That's when Valentine went on Facebook and started broadcasting live.

"She lied on me, had warrants taken out on me," he told the camera early Tuesday, as he divided his gaze between the phone and the road. "She drug me all the way down to nothing. I loved my wife, but she deserved what she had coming."

In his chilling Facebook livestream, which was later reposted on YouTube, Valentine acknowledged that the violent chain of events he started could end in his own death.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"Pleasure knowing all y'all," he said. "I've been very sick for months. And this is something that I could not help. So I don't know if I'm gonna make it where I'm going, but if I don't, I wish all of you a good life."

Police in Norlina, a town of 1100 people just south of the North Carolina-Virginia state line, spent Tuesday and Wednesday trying to unravel what caused Valentine allegedly to kick in the door of his ex-wife's single-story home and open fire - and then admit to the crime on social media.

But more than anything, they wanted to find Earl Valentine.

Authorities from the FBI and the US Marshals Service joined local and regional law enforcement agencies in a manhunt stretching from Virginia to South Carolina, Norlina Police Chief Taylor Bartholomew told The Washington Post yesterday.

Within hours, authorities located Valentine at a motel in Columbia, South Carolina, about 450km south of Norlina.

A man who bragged about killing his wife & teen son was found at the Days Inn on Plumbers Rd in Richland Co. pic.twitter.com/tEgyyjJbz8

— Van Lott (@VanWLTX) September 8, 2016

Officials said Valentine committed suicide after being surrounded. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Related articles

World

Man fatally shot during traffic stop

07 Jul 07:07 AM
World

Watch: Shooting streamed on Facebook

07 Jul 06:49 PM
World

'Isis-inspired terror attack' in Sydney

11 Sep 04:33 AM

"He shot himself in the head," Bartholomew told CBS affiliate WLTX. "Think he felt the pressure of being surrounded by marshals. He died alone. At the end of the day, he is a coward."

Hours earlier, Bartholomew said he had talked to Valentine on the phone; the Norlina police chief described the suspected killer as "cold and callous," saying he showed no remorse for the shootings.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"For somebody that had just done something like that, he was calm but he was aggressive," Bartholomew told The Post on Wednesday. "He was trying to pump me for information. His main focus was to make sure his ex-wife was dead."

Bartholomew quoted Valentine as saying that he wouldn't be taken alive and that he planned to kill his in-laws, then himself.

Police said later that Valentine drove to Richmond after killing his son and injuring his ex-wife, then turned around and drove south, to Columbia.

Keisha Valentine and her teenage son had moved to Norlina nearly nine months ago to get away from her abusive ex-husband, Bartholomew said.

She was granted a year-long domestic violence restraining order, but it expired last month. The police chief said there's evidence that Earl Valentine had exchanged heated words with his ex-wife's family on Facebook.

Still, it's unclear what prompted Tuesday morning's assault on Hyco Street.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

About 1.30am Earl Valentine burst through the front door of the house and marched to his ex-wife's bedroom, Bartholomew said. Keisha Valentine leaned against the door, trying to keep him out, but he managed to shoot her anyway.

Their son, awakened by the commotion, confronted his father. But the teenager fell to the floor and was shot in the chest.

Before he died, he called police and told them what had happened.

If he had been captured alive, Earl Valentine faced a first-degree murder charge in his son's death, Bartholomew said.

Since Facebook Live launched in April, millions have used the service to offer a glimpse into the big moments and small details of their lives.

Philando Castile's girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath of the police shooting in which he was killed.
Philando Castile's girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath of the police shooting in which he was killed.

The view isn't always pretty.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Earl Valentine is the latest example of a person using Facebook Live to discuss a violent act - or to showcase the act itself.

In June, Larossi Abballa, a terrorism suspect accused of killing a French police captain and his partner in their home, broadcast the aftermath of the attack on Facebook Live. An occasionally tearful Abballa, speaking a mix of French and Arabic, swore allegiance to the Islamic State militant group and encouraged others to follow his example and kill police.

A month later, a Georgia mother went on her daughter's Facebook account to broadcast herself beating the teenager - punishment for posting sexually explicit pictures on the site.

"This is my page now," Shanavia Miller told the camera after she fixed her hair. "Now I'm gonna need y'all to send this viral. Please share this because I'm not done. More to come."

A July shooting in Norfolk that injured three men was inadvertently captured on Facebook Live. In the video, three men are sitting in a car, smoking and listening to rap music. Five minutes into the video, there's a series of 30 gunshots.

And after police in Minnesota fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July, his girlfriend opened Facebook and began livestreaming the aftermath. The video was viewed millions of times, sparking outrage and widespread protests.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

The nascent live-streaming service is raising philosophical questions about the power of unfiltered Internet video that can reach millions instantly.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

World

'Extreme' China heatwave threatens to disrupt globe

18 Aug 12:32 AM
World

Mosque bombing in Kabul kills 10, including prominent cleric

18 Aug 12:21 AM
Premium
World

Custody fight sparked murder of 8 family members, prosecutors say

17 Aug 11:52 PM
World

Trump supporters decry 'political persecution' after estate raid

17 Aug 11:13 PM
Premium
World

The Trump investigations, explained

17 Aug 10:55 PM

Most Popular

Wet, warm and windy: Auckland and Northland battered by heavy rain overnight
New Zealand

Wet, warm and windy: Auckland and Northland battered by heavy rain overnight

17 Aug 09:25 PM
Nelson to New York: TV's David Lomas and an emotional reunion of long-lost father and son
Entertainment

Nelson to New York: TV's David Lomas and an emotional reunion of long-lost father and son

17 Aug 08:59 PM
'Frightening, out of control' - Nelson residents flee as river bursts; Auckland also in firing line
New ZealandUpdated

'Frightening, out of control' - Nelson residents flee as river bursts; Auckland also in firing line

17 Aug 08:33 PM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2022 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP