‘Justice was served’: Cola Beale IV says he has remorse after verdict
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Sitting behind a glass panel, Cola Beale IV said he has remorse for what happened after being found guilty Wednesday of murdering his girlfriend and father figure in Virginia Beach nearly two years ago.
WAVY-TV 10’s Lauryn Moss: “Do you feel remorse for what you did.”
Beale: “Yes, ma’am.”
This is different than what he told WAVY in 2022. He didn’t have any apologies and even admitted to killing his girlfriend, a fatherly figure and his cousin.
“Because what’s done is done. I ain’t lying no more. They ain’t lying no more. So I’m going to keep it just like I sent it. I did everything individually for a different reason,” Beale said in 2022 when asked if he had any apologies.
Beale said at the time he was in a “blackout.”
“The first time you spoke with me, I was still in that trance as I was still blacked out because I had this came from being on the run … so I still was in that mode,” Beale said Wednesday. “I had time to actually see myself, to actually hear myself speak for the first time in trial. I got a clear mind and I’m seeing it as like, ‘OK, this was the person that caused this madness.’ Now I got a chance to kind of get my head right.”
Beale expressed remorse and even gave an apology to the victim’s families.
“I definitely apologize for everything that happened, but I know what happened” he said. “The apology is not enough.”
“At this point, I hope … you can move past this and get well and I know it’s going to take some time to get everything back together like it was, but I hope in due time you get well and get better and just take it day-by-day, and there’s always going to be somebody looking down on you and making sure that they continue to feel love.”
Wednesday, he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and a man he called “Pop” in Virginia Beach.
Man found guilty for murdering girlfriend and father figure in Virginia Beach
It took the jury of six women and six men about an hour to deliberate before reaching that verdict Wednesday.
“Justice was served,” Beale told 10 On Your Side.
He said it wasn’t easy watching the evidence in the trial.
“Honestly, when you see people that you had a genuine love for in those positions and some of those crimes,” Beale said, “it doesn’t make you feel good at all. …You got to have some kind of remorse because the love that you have for each individual is still there.”
After the verdict was read, he said, “Can y’all get this sh** over with.” Beale said he wanted to be sentenced the same day.
“I’m like, ‘OK, I’m ready to get this over’ with the family sitting right behind,” he said. “Like they got to come back to court again and watch me get sentenced. They’re ready to get it over with. I’ve been ready to get over with for 24 months now. I’m ready to move on.”
Beale’s sentencing is set for July 2. Beale said he doesn’t know if he wants to speak during the sentencing if given an option.
This verdict means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Beale said he tries not to think about that.
“I try not to think about it too much because that could play with your mind, too,” Beale said. “And they could be looking at four corners for the rest of your life. And I’m just 32. The life is until I die. I try not to let that play with my mind.”
Beale told 10 On Your Side it’s upsetting he did something similar to his father. His father, Cola Beale III, killed his wife back in 2014.
“But following in her footsteps, it’s a sad thing that I had to go through the same situation, but with worse charges or similar charges,” Beale said. “But now, I know that I have to get my mind right and … to do better than that.”
Beale still faces charges out of Norfolk related to the death of his cousin. The pre-trial in Norfolk is set for May 17.
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