Emmanuel Dewayne Coble and Raquiah Paulette King

A U.S. Navy officer charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend took her to a Virginia Beach abortion clinic to have the pregnancy terminated July 20, but she refused the procedure and was found fatally shot the next day along a road in Hanover County, investigators wrote in a court affidavit that outlines the circumstances of the woman’s murder.

Rachel Pender, the mother of the 20-year-old victim, Raquiah King, told investigators that she received a sonogram image from her daughter July 20 that showed she was 12 weeks pregnant. Pender told Hanover sheriff’s detectives her daughter was having domestic issues with her boyfriend, Emmanuel Coble, “who did not want to be a father” to King’s baby, according to the affidavit.

“Rachel Pender reported that Raquiah King had made statements to her that if something was to happen to her, Emmanuel Coble was responsible,” investigators wrote. “Raquiah texted Coble’s full name, date of birth, addresses and phone numbers to Pender.”

Investigators subsequently observed the text messages between the mother and daughter to verify the account.

Just over a month after King’s nude body was found with a bullet wound to her back near the intersection of Winns Church and Greenwood roads, Hanover investigators arrested Coble, 27, charging him with King’s murder and using a firearm in the slaying. Coble holds the rank of junior grade lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and was recently assigned to the USS John C. Stennis, a nuclear-powered supercarrier temporarily docked in Norfolk.

During the course of the investigation, investigators filed affidavits outlining their case in Hanover Circuit Court to justify obtaining multiple search warrants to acquire information from several cellphones seized from Coble, a sample of his DNA, records of phone calls and text messages, and items in his vehicle.

Before she was killed, King also sent text messages to her cousin Aaron Stanley and, in those messages, she advised she was scheduled to have an abortion July 20. King told Stanley that she was leaving the child’s father — Coble — after the abortion, investigators noted in the affidavit.

As that day progressed, King texted Stanley again, telling him she was waiting for the child’s father to pick her up. Included in her final text to Stanley was a copy of a receipt from the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood at 515 Newton Road in Virginia Beach. The receipt, dated July 20 at 9:22 a.m., listed King as a patient and Coble as the person paying the bill, the affidavit says.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant for patient records and video surveillance for King on the day of her visit to the Planned Parenthood clinic. Records showed that Coble was listed as King’s emergency contact and the “responsible paying party” for King’s procedure.

In addition, video surveillance footage showed a green Chevrolet Cruze — a car that investigators said appears to be the vehicle Coble was known to drive exclusively — arriving at the clinic at the time of King’s scheduled appointment. The vehicle can be seen pulling into the parking lot, and King and Coble can be seen at the front door of the facility, according to the affidavit.

After Pender reported her daughter missing July 28, a Hampton police officer called Coble to ask him about King. Coble told the officer he had rented 975 N. King St. in Hampton to King, but she had moved out and he had not seen her in a couple of weeks. Coble’s statement that he essentially was King’s landlord and nothing more was in direct conflict with information from Pender and Stanley, who told police that Coble was in a relationship with King and she was pregnant with his child, investigators said in the affidavit.

Coble’s statement that he hadn’t seen King in a couple of weeks also conflicted with the Planned Parenthood receipt that showed he had paid for a procedure for King on July 20, the affidavit says.

Investigators also obtained a search warrant for King’s cellphone to obtain call detail records that tracked her movements prior to her body being found in Hanover. The records showed that King’s phone was in the area of her residence at 975 N. King St. at 5:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. July 20. Then at 11:49 p.m., the records show her phone left that location. There were no additional location indicators after that time, investigators noted in the affidavit.

The last text message sent from King’s phone to Coble’s phone was at 11:40 p.m., July 20 in the area where she lived.

On Aug. 5, investigators conducted a consensual interview with Coble at his home in Newport News, and Coble admitted he had taken King to Planned Parenthood on July 20 to get an abortion.

“Coble said that King had told him that the child was his,” investigators wrote. “He said that he paid for the abortion, but he guessed that she’d changed her mind and had kept the child. He said that this ‘frustrated’ him.” Coble said he then drove King back to her residence before returning to his home, where he went to bed about 9 p.m. and didn’t wake until daylight on July 21.

However, investigators using a police surveillance database found that Coble’s vehicle could be seen traveling on Adams Street at 4:44 a.m. July 21. The surveillance system took a photo of the car, according to the affidavit.

A detective then asked Coble why his car was present on the surveillance system at 4:44 a.m., when Coble said he had been asleep in his apartment until daylight; Coble replied that he did not know why, investigators said in the affidavit. The sun rose at 6:01 a.m. that day.

Investigators also obtained a search warrant for Coble’s vehicle and, during processing, a chemical used to detect human blood was sprayed inside the car’s trunk. The chemical reacted to multiple spots in the trunk and indicated the presence of blood. Detectives also found an elastic hair band that matched a hair band recovered from King’s wrist during her autopsy, investigators noted in the affidavit.

Coble is being held in the Pamunkey Regional Jail pending a Dec. 6 preliminary hearing on his charges in Hanover General District Court. Authorities said they plan to seek additional charges against Coble in the death of King’s fetus.

In July 1976, a crowd filled The Pass, a restaurant and music venue at 803 W. Broad St. in Richmond. The Pass opened in 1975 and was in business for about four years. In its short time, notable artists performed there, including John Mayall, Stanley Turrentine, Lydia Pense, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Earl Scruggs, Nicolette Larsen and Robert Palmer.

In February 1989, an exerciser made her way around the new outdoor track at the YMCA fitness center on Franklin Street in downtown Richmond. “Eighteen laps to the mile,” a Y official said.

In June 1977, Virginia State Penitentiary conducted a 12-hour shakedown and uncovered an array of items hidden throughout the prison, including about 100 “sharpened instruments.” The facility was located along Spring Street in Richmond.

In January 1978, Bill Heindl, a co-founder of the Heindl-Evans Inc. construction firm, oversaw progress on building a footbridge in James River Park at Texas Avenue in Richmond.

In July 1980, Matthew J. Robinson Jr., president of Imperial Broom Co., stood in his shop off Jennings Road in Henrico County. He was the fourth generation to run the family operation, which started making brooms in 1900.

In June 1960, Harry L. Donovan (dark suit), his handcuffs covered by a jacket, was escorted from the U.S. Marshal’s Office in downtown Richmond, en route to a four-year term in federal prison in Atlanta. For decades, Richmond was the center of Donovan’s numbers operation; he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of failing to pay wagering taxes.

In July 1959, cars were parked along 17th Street in Richmond looking toward Main Street.

In November 1961, Gov.-elect Albertis S. Harrison Jr. sat with wife Lacey (right) and daughter Toni. In a profile about the rising first family of Virginia, the three shared that they enjoyed playing bridge together, and Toni said she liked playing golf with her father while quizzing him about political affairs.

In June 1981, Neville D. McNerney led his granddaughter Christi on a ride in Prince George County. The retired Army infantry officer raised, trained and showed mules and donkeys as a hobby. And while the agricultural need had declined, McNerney’s miniature animals were popular for recreational use such as riding and show-ring competitions.

In April 1973, the annual dredging of the James River channel in Richmond was underway. The previous year’s flooding had deposited a great amount of silt, so Atkerson Dredging Co. would be busy. The project, which usually took a week, was expected to require more than a month.

In December 1957, firefighters battled a blaze at L.R. Brown & Co., a furniture store on Hull Street in South Richmond. The warehouse blaze destroyed many pieces intended for Christmas gifts.

In October 1976, architect Robert Winthrop held a brick believed to be from the 1811 Richmond Theatre fire. Winthrop was working on the restoration of historic Monumental Church on East Broad Street, which was built on the theater site as a memorial to those who died in the fire. The restoration work uncovered burned bricks and traces of the original theater wall.

In September 1954, presidents of four upper classes at Collegiate School in Henrico County gathered at the entrance to discuss school matters. From left were senior Bernice Spathey, junior Jane Durham, sophomore Dorothy Ewing and freshman Terry Bunnell.

In April 1963, Laura Vietor was recognized for her longtime nursing work at Sheltering Arms Hospital in Richmond. She was awarded the Elizabeth D. Gibble Volunteer of the Year Award for her many years of service, which included full-time volunteer nursing even after retiring at age 65.

In August 1966, Boy Scouts from Troop 644, sponsored by the Henry Fire Department in Mechanicsville, began a 58-mile James River voyage from Richmond to Jamestown aboard homemade rafts. Eleven boys and four adult supervisors participated in the five-day journey, with only paddles and tide to propel them. The 50-mile trip badge the boys earned would move them one step closer to becoming first-class Scouts.

In April 1971, Newton Ancarrow paused during a trek through Richmond’s new James River Park to examine a blossoming wildflower. Ancarrow, a crusader for cleaning the river, had started studying and photographing wildflowers five years earlier, seeing them as a tool to tell the story of pollution’s threat to the James. Passion and hobby intersected, and he had made more than 35,000 color slides of local wildflowers.

This March 1959 image shows the Richmond skyline from the south bank of the James River.

In June 1952, motorcyclists raced in the 10-Mile National Motorcycle Championship at the Atlantic Rural Exposition grounds in Henrico County. More than 4,000 spectators saw Bobby Hill of Columbus, Ohio, the nation’s top racer, ride bike No. 1 to victory in the 20-lap championship race.

In September 1952, Mrs. John Garland Pollard (center), associate director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, discussed plans for the museum’s membership campaign with Junior League volunteers Mrs. Edward Epps (left) and Mrs. Richmond Gray.

This November 1955 image shows the iconic Hofheimer building at 2816 W. Broad St. in the Scott’s Addition area of Richmond. The building, with a distinctive Mediterranean-style roof and minaret, was built in 1928 by Herold R. Hofheimer to house his business, Hofheimer Rug Cleaning & Storage Co.

In August 1967, morning commuters driving along Monument Avenue near the Henrico County and Richmond border welcomed a break in the clouds and some sunshine after a week of continuous rain.

This July 1964 image shows the James River from an overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the time, Lynchburg engineer W. Martin Johnson, a proponent of river development who was president of the James River Basin Association, was urging exploration of how industries could benefit from the river’s watershed of roughly 10,000 square miles in the state.

In June 1972, a farm in Columbia, a James River town in Fluvanna County, was largely submerged after the remnants of Hurricane Agnes brought some of the worst flooding in decades to many parts of the state. In Richmond, the swollen James peaked at 36.5 feet.

In July 1987, the Arby’s restaurant at 2311 W. Broad St. in Richmond was preparing to move next door into a new, larger building (left). The old space was to be converted into a Dairy Queen that would be owned by the same family that owned the Arby’s. Together, the restaurants would employ about 50 people

In July 1947, “The Soldier,” as many people called the patient of Central State Hospital near Petersburg, sat outside a sentry box he had built on the grounds. The psychiatric hospital dates to 1869, when a former Confederate facility known as Howard’s Grove Hospital was designated as a mental health facility for African-Americans.

In August 1963, June Hudnall (left), head nurse of the Medical College of Virginia Hospital’s Clinical Research Center, connected an artificial kidney to a patient who was a transplant candidate. Dr. John Bower and Barbara Hale are at back. The research center focused on patients warranting intensive study, including those slated to undergo rare operations.

In July 1941, children took a homemade cart for a spin along North 19th Street in Richmond. They built the toy in the spirit of “Gasless Sundays,” a means of conserving resources in a national defense drive ahead of U.S. entry into World War II. The cart was fashioned from an orange crate, old baby carriage wheels and scrap lumber.

In October 1970, the Richmond Scenic James Council led canoe and walking tours for about 200 people to highlight the natural beauty of the river. Here, Tom Brooks (front) and son Tom Jr. (rear) handled the paddling while Mrs. John Demitri and children Johnny and Lisa enjoyed the view.

In September 1962, Frederic S. Bocock of the Historic Richmond Foundation and Mrs. Cornelius F. Florman stood in front of one of four new plaques honoring patrons of Church Hill renovations in Richmond. Florman was the granddaughter of Mrs. Richard S. Reynolds; the plaque pictured cited Reynolds’ role in restoring Hardgrove Cottage on North 24th Street.

In July 1959, DuPont scientist Meredith Miller checked experimental cellophane coatings at the plant in Chesterfield County. The factory was developed in the late 1920s to produce rayon and began making cellophane in 1930, a material that used a similar production process.

In July 1965, employees of M&B Headwear Co. Inc. picketed outside the Richmond factory, one of the country’s largest suppliers of military caps. The strike involved about 300 members of the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, which was seeking a roughly 15-cent-per-hour raise over two years for some workers. The union said the average hourly wage for the employees, most of whom were women, was $1.35.

Raquiah King’s body was found in Hanover County on July 21. Emmanuel Coble is charged with killing her.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

The incident is still under investigation. 

"The fact is that serious allegations have been made, and we have one chance to get this right."

With expansion of train routes in Richmond, Norfolk and other parts of Virginia, the commonwealth’s passenger rail system had a 30% increase in Amtrak ridership last month compared to June, new data shows.

Robert W. Sprouse didn't notify authorities of his error or tell them he had "fixed" the mistake until confronted, officials said.

Richmond police have identified the victim in Wednesday’s homicide near the Creighton Court neighborhood.

The fast-food restaurant chain Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is planning to open two Richmond-area locations this fall.

Hope Gas Inc., also known as Dominion Energy West Virginia, has about 300 employees and 111,000 customers. 

Because of a production issue, some comics did not appear in the Friday edition of The Times-Dispatch.

When the Richmond City Council returns from its August recess Tuesday, the members will meet privately to discuss police protocols after the city's police chief earlier this summer claimed that authorities had prevented a mass shooting without any conclusive evidence of such a plot.

Emmanuel Dewayne Coble and Raquiah Paulette King

Raquiah King’s body was found in Hanover County on July 21. Emmanuel Coble is charged with killing her.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.