NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — In July 2018, a Norfolk woman was found dead in a Norfolk hotel bathtub and to this day, no one has been charged with her murder.
Cassandra Saunders of Norfolk is the woman who was found dead by housekeepers at the Ramada Inn on Military Highway.
According to court documents, her boyfriend, Jeffrey Jenkins, of Norfolk, is facing strangulation and assault and battery charges.
And it turns out it’s not the first time he has faced such charges. Documents spell out two instances from February and July of 2018.
According to court documents, in February 2018, Norfolk attorney Jon Babineau witnessed Jeffrey Jenkins strangling Saunders, holding her above the ground, throwing her down and dragging her on West 27th Street.
Documents say Babineau called police. As a result, Saunders was treated for a fractured rib and hematomas, but survived.
Later, Jenkins was arrested and charged with strangulation and assault and battery. Fast forward one month and Jenkins was given bond and forbidden any contact with the victim, according to a judge.
The preliminary hearing was continued until July, which is the same month that Saunders was found dead in the bathtub of Ramada Inn.
A search warrant affidavit says security cameras show Jenkins leaving the hotel room and, according to detectives, no one else entered the room until the housekeeper went in later.
According to documents, Saunders was killed one day before the preliminary hearing for his strangling of her and the prosecutor says the victim could never testify.
As for Jenkins, last week he was convicted on the assault charge and sentenced to a year in jail. Jenkins is appealing that conviction.
According to the Office of the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney, the concealment of a dead body charge was nolle prossed on Monday, Nov. 5, and the strangulation and assault and battery charges went to the grand jury on Nov. 7, 2018.
According to the office, Jenkins is not charged in the murder of Cassandra Saunders and the investigation of the homicide continues.
