Richmond, Virginia — December 22, 2011
Just three days before Christmas, 56-year-old Bonnie Marrow made a visit no parent should ever have to make.
She drove to Oakwood Cemetery off Nine Mile Road to spend time at the grave of her son, Robert Lee Cox Jr.
Robert had been shot and killed in June 2010 while sitting inside his vehicle on Seibel Road in Henrico County.
He was only 22 years old.
The pain of losing her son never left Bonnie.
It followed her every day, including that December afternoon.
She had no way of knowing she would never make it home.
Gunfire on Nine Mile Road
After leaving the cemetery, Bonnie climbed into her black Acura and drove along Nine Mile Road.
As she approached the intersection of Mechanicsville Turnpike, gunfire suddenly erupted.
Multiple bullets tore through her vehicle.
Unable to maintain control, Bonnie crashed near North 25th Street and Q Street.
When first responders arrived, they found her slumped over the steering wheel.
She had been shot multiple times.
A mother who had already buried one of her children had now lost her own life.
One Family. Two Unsolved Murders.
Investigators have stated they do not believe Bonnie Marrow’s murder is connected to the killing of her son.
Even so, both cases remain unsolved.
Within the span of just 18 months, one family endured two devastating homicides.
Bonnie’s husband lost his wife.
Her loved ones lost the woman who had held their family together.
And the questions that have haunted them for more than a decade remain unanswered.
Who was waiting on Nine Mile Road that afternoon?
Who fired into Bonnie’s vehicle?
Why was she targeted?
Someone has lived with those answers while Bonnie’s family has lived with unimaginable loss.
Bonnie Marrow was more than a victim.
She was a devoted mother.
A wife.
A nurse.
A woman whose life had already been forever changed by tragedy before violence claimed her own.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Bonnie Marrow is urged to contact the Richmond Police Department at 804-646-6741.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished