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RICHMOND – King and Queen Counties Commonwealth’s Attorney Meredith Adkins and Virginia State Police announce a break in a nearly 33-year-old cold case. On October 10, 2024, Virginia State Police officers arrested Ives T. Fortune, 62, of Tappahannock, Virginia, following a grand jury indictment for rape and malicious wounding of Jennie Lee Johnson, 46, of King and Queen County.

Johnson was last seen alive on November 22, 1991, when he was leaving a friend’s residence. Johnson never returned home. His body was found the next day (November 23, 1991), in a field near Newtown Road. The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) Richmond Field Office has been investigating the homicide since its discovery.

The case was broken thanks to the hard work of agents assigned to BCI’s Richmond field office and analysts assigned to the Criminal Intelligence Division’s Unsolved Violent Crimes and Cold Cases Analytical Support Team. The analysts assigned to this investigation and retesting of evidence were funded by the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), led by the office of Attorney General Jason S. Miyares. The new evidence testing was conducted by DNA Labs International in Deerfield, Florida.

“I am proud of the dedication and hours that agents and analysts put into this case and every case,” said Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Gary T. Settle. “We are happy to be able to begin to bring closure to Ms. Johnson’s family. »

Fortune is currently being held at the Central Peninsula Regional Security Center. He is due to appear in the King and Queen Circuit Court on October 23, 2024.