Family IDs body as that of missing mom

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Police have identified the body found in Norfolk Tuesday as Phylicia Robinson. Her neighbor, an army reservist, has been charged in her murder.

Jamiel Graves, 29, of the 9300 block of Marlow Avenue, was already in the Virginia Beach Jail. He was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Mandi Myers, Monday.

Graves lived in the apartment where Robinson's body was found in a closet Tuesday morning. Neighbors say Graves' mother discovered the body while cleaning around 10 a.m.

Robinson was last seen alive Oct. 3..

Norfolk Police were called to the duplex in the 9300 block of Marlow Avenue Tuesday around 10:15 a.m. and located the body inside a closet in apartment B, according to Norfolk Police spokesman Chris Amos.

Amos said Wednesday morning the body was removed from the home Tuesday night. Because it appears to have been there "for quite some time," investigators were not comfortable determining a race or gender for the body.

Robinson's family and friends stood out in the cold for hours Tuesday, watching police process the scene, fearing the body was hers.

"She was like a sister to me," said Kristen Brewer, a friend of Robinson's. "It hurts real bad. It's the worst feeling in the world."

Another friend, Nia Cornick said it has been nearly two months since Robinson's family has been able to rest.

"Where is she?" said Cornick. "Her son is asking 'Where's my mom?'"

The woman who lives in Apartment B told police she found the body while cleaning. Police took both her and her husband in for questioning.

WAVY.com was first to report that the couple's adult son, who also lives in Apartment B, was arrested in the murder of another woman.

"I recognized him from the news," said Don Owens, who lives on the same street. "And I said 'Yo that's my next door neighbor!'"

Jamiel Graves, 29, is the suspect in his ex-girlfriend's murder. Police say he killed her Monday in Virginia Beach and drove her car to his home on Marlow Avenue. Robinson's friends can't help but wonder if he had anything to do with her disappearance.

"How can you be in a house and not know, or not smell, a smell like that?" Cornick said. "It's just puzzling."

"Everyone knew him from around here because he would always follow different people and they would say that," said Delori Norman, a neighbor. "He would always follow 10 to 20 feet behind you, and no matter how far you walked, if you looked back, he would be back there."

Investigators spent nearly 12 hours processing the scene Tuesday, meticulously working their way through both apartments. All the while, Robinson's friends and family watched, waiting for an answer.

One of the investigators processing the scene Tuesday night suffered a chemical burn. Sources told WAVY.com the chemical was lye, a substance known for its corrosive property and it's ability to decompose.