New Year's Eve Murder of RJ Lockwood Remains Unsolved

Police

December 31, 2009

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Six years ago, RJ Lockwood was found dead four days into the new year inside the Overtown loft where he was staying with friends. The last call that had been made from his cell phone was to 911 at 11:57 p.m. New Year's Eve.

At the crime scene, authorities came to the conclusion that Lockwood had died of a drug overdose. Not until January 7, 2004, did the county medical examiner determine that drugs hadn't been the cause of the death. A gunshot wound to the chest would send authorities into a frenzy into now trying to solve an apparent homicide.

Unfortunately, after discovering the body three days earlier, police had told Lockwood's roommate, Stefan VonFouts, to clean up the place after the body had been removed. This despite VonFouts' suspicion that somebody had been in the apartment with Lookwood.

New Times covered the murder mystery in a 2004 feature story, "Hardcore and Bleeding." To this day, Lockwood's murder remains unsolved, mainly because of the authorities' sloppy investigation at the scene.

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Jose D. Duran is associate editor of Miami New Times where he primarily oversees the arts and culture and music beats. Jose joined the New Times staff in June 2008 but has been covering Miami culture since 2005. His work has also appeared in publications likeVice, Billboard, and Spin. He’s earned numerous accolades including placing first for Weekly Newspaper Contest: Business Reporting from the Florida Press Association in 2020; placing third for the Writing: Light Feature from the Florida Press Club in 2019; and placing third in Weekly Newspaper Contest: Best Obituary from the Florida Press Association in 2015. Jose holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida.

Contact: Jose D. Duran

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