A Virginia man, Adrian Lewis, has been found guilty of the murder of his wife, Shanitia Eure-Lewis, in the summer of 2022.
This conviction comes despite the fact that Shanitia’s body has never been recovered according to a report by Law and Crime on Monday, October 2, 2023.
Shanitia Eure-Lewis, a 35-year-old woman, was last seen alive on July 17, 2022, according to the Newport News Police Department.
Her sudden disappearance prompted immediate concern, and the Virginia State Police declared her “in extreme danger” the following day.
What followed was a series of events that led to her husband, Adrian Lewis, being charged with her murder.
After approximately 2 1/2 hours of deliberations, a jury in Newport News returned a guilty verdict for Adrian Lewis on one count of murder in the first degree on September 28.
Notably, the jury found him not guilty on a lesser count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Valerie Spencer Muth expressed her understanding of the jury’s decision, acknowledging that there may have been some reasonable doubt in certain aspects of the case.
Nevertheless, she emphasized the Commonwealth’s satisfaction with the guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
The prosecution faced the challenge of not being able to conclusively determine the exact cause of Shanitia Eure-Lewis’s death.
However, they were successful in convincing the jury of Adrian Lewis’s guilt and his role in her disappearance.
During the trial, witnesses provided troubling insights into Adrian Lewis’s behavior.
It was revealed that he had displayed extreme jealousy and had openly threatened to kill his wife multiple times due to his suspicions of her infidelity.
Ironically, Lewis himself was leading a double life involving infidelity.
Shanitia’s alleged affairs were never substantiated, making Lewis’s accusations appear as something of a sidelong admission of his own wrongdoing.
Testimonies from friends and acquaintances painted a picture of a tumultuous relationship.
She had expressed a desire for a divorce, and Lewis had rationalized his actions by insisting she must be cheating on him.
One particularly disturbing detail emerged during a pretrial hearing in December 2022, when Lewis reportedly told several people at a Christmas party that he would kill his wife if she ever cheated on him.
This statement was made alongside admissions of his own infidelity.
Shortly after Shanitia went missing, Lewis made a sudden attempt to leave the country, purchasing a plane ticket to Jamaica.
Fortunately, he was apprehended just before boarding the plane, preventing his escape.
The trial, presided over by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Bryant Sugg, began on September 19 and was the first murder case in the jurisdiction to be tried without the victim’s body
Adrian Lewis is now awaiting sentencing, scheduled for January 19, 2024.
