What Happened to Javion Magee?

On September 11, 2024, 21-year-old Chicago truck driver Javion Magee’s body was found with a rope around his neck in Henderson, NC, and his family believes there might have been foul play. This is the timeline of Javion’s final hours, as described by police:

At 1 a.m. on Sept. 10, Javion picked up a load from Pennsylvania to deliver to the Walmart Distribution Center in Henderson, North Carolina.

At around 6 p.m. that night, he went to a Walmart Center and was seen on surveillance cameras walking into the store and purchasing a rope. The video shows Javion leaving the store and giving his money to the homeless man. After, Javion enters a Hampton Inn Hotel in town and speaks to a front desk clerk before he leaves in truck less than 10 minutes later. 

By 6:45 p.m., his truck pulls into a dirt lot and the ignition is turned off. Surveillance video shows Javion exiting the vehicle and walking alone toward the woods with what is believed to be the rope he had purchased in his hand. 

Even though he returns to the truck multiple times, the ignition is turned off one final time — at 7:30 p.m. — and “never started again,” police said. Javion is seen walking away from his truck toward the trees and the video does not show him returning. 

At 10:08 a.m. on Sept. 11, police say a 911 call from the owner of a truck repair company reported “a man with a rope around his neck” outside a fence at 285 Vanco Mill Road. The caller said the man was not breathing.

Police said an investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with information to come forward at (252) 738-2200.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books.