RICHMOND — A 60-year-old man died last year while facing pending murder charges, leading to a dismissal of the case, court records show.
Robert Harrell III, of Richmond, was charged with murdering 59-year-old Eddie Burleson, also of Richmond, during a confrontation at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2021. Harrell died of natural causes last year, after being released from jail.
A minute order from the final hearing in Harrell’s case says simply that the “defendant is deceased” with no further explanation. Harrell had been released from jail in April 2023, court records show.
Burleson was shot once on the 4100 block of Florida Avenue in Richmond’s southside, police said at the time. Authorities didn’t reveal the suspected motive, nor how Harrell was identified as a suspect.
Harrell’s lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.
