Man Shoots Himself After Being Wanted In Slaying Girlfriend

PARKSLEY — The suspect in a Hampton Roads-area homicide fatally shot himself Friday at a traffic stop on U.S. Route 13 here.

Clarence Justin Clayton, 29, of Nelsonia, was pronounced dead at the scene, Accomack County Sheriff Larry Giddens said.

Authorities had been searching for Clayton, who was driving a red 2006 Mercedes-Benz, since the Thursday night shooting of his former girlfriend in the city of Portsmouth.

The woman, Mary Jane C. Abad, 22, of Virginia Beach, had two young children and was three months pregnant, according to reports. She had been shot several times.

Giddens said Clayton was believed to be armed and dangerous and faced a charge of first-degree murder and a weapons charge. He also was charged with stealing the vehicle.

The vehicle was observed at 9:20 a.m. Friday on Nelsonia Road. Accomack deputies initiated a traffic stop on Lankford Highway.

Before they could converge on the vehicle, Clayton shot himself, Giddens said.

The incident took place near the highway’s intersection with Whites Neck Road.

Investigators from the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office and Detectives from the Portsmouth Police Department are currently processing the 2006 red Mercedes-Benz and surrounding area.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this case by the Virginia Department of Transportation and Parksley Police Department.

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