Death of Williamsburg teenager found near Windsor ruled a homicide

Published 1:50 pm Monday, January 16, 2023

The death of a Williamsburg teenager whose body was found in Isle of Wight County over the weekend has been ruled a homicide.

Isle of Wight sheriff’s deputies found 18-year-old Aonesty Selby lying dead on a dirt logging path in a remote area of the county off Blue Ridge Road, roughly one-and-a-half miles outside the town limits of Windsor, on Jan. 13. According to Capt. Tommy Potter, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, they’d been called to the scene around 9:30 that evening to a reported sighting of a deceased female.

According to an updated press release the Sheriff’s Office distributed Jan. 16, the state medical examiner’s office in Norfolk has determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound.

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Selby’s family had reported her missing earlier Friday after telling police they’d not heard from her since Jan. 11.

Investigators initially treated the incident as a “suspicious death.” Selby had turned 18 on Jan. 10 and is believed to have been “in the company of several individuals just before her death,” according to the press release.

Potter couldn’t say how long Selby’s body had been lying on the dirt path.

“The medical examiner’s report is preliminary at this time,” Potter said. “They look to investigators to find out the last time anyone had contact with the victim, which would be the last known time she was alive. Therefore, the medical examiner does not provide those specific details.”

Potter also declined to confirm who had called in the tip that drew deputies to the dirt path, though other media outlets have reported Selby’s family to have done so.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Selby from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13 is being asked to call the crime line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or use the P3 tips cellphone app. Information that leads to an arrest can earn the caller a cash reward of up to $1,500 while remaining anonymous and not having to appear in court.

The investigation is ongoing.