Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Man Sentenced to Life Plus 33 Years for Sexually Assaulting Mother, Carjacking Neighbor on Same Day in 2023

NORFOLK, Va. — Melvin O’Neal III, 32, was sentenced to a life term of imprisonment plus 33 years for maliciously wounding and sodomizing his biological mother* in January 2023 as well as fighting and carjacking a man right after the sexual assault. Mr. O’Neal pleaded guilty in March 2025 to the malicious wounding and forcible sodomy he committed against his mother, and a jury in October 2024 found him guilty of carjacking and unlawfully wounding the man.

Around 11 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2023, Mr. O’Neal visited his mother’s apartment on Wake Circle in Norfolk and went to the bathroom as if to take a shower. After turning on the shower, Mr. O’Neal called his mother into the bathroom to check on something. When she entered the bathroom, Mr. O’Neal began beating her over her head, he knocked her to the ground, and he dragged her to her bedroom. Mr. O’Neal then forcibly removed his mother’s clothes, continued to hit her when she resisted, and sexually assaulted her. Afterward, Mr. O’Neal demanded his mother get a cigarette for him, and she used that opportunity to run from her apartment and seek medical attention.

About 45 minutes later, Mr. O’Neal was walking around the corner from his mother’s apartment in the 900 block of Norview Avenue. There, Mr. O’Neal saw a man cleaning and detailing a car parked outside of a residence. While the car was running and the man was vacuuming the passenger side, Mr. O’Neal jumped into the driver’s seat. The man challenged Mr. O’Neal to a fight, and Mr. O’Neal gestured as if he had a weapon and told the man to get out of the car. When the man did not get out and continued to fight for control of the car, Mr. O’Neal put the car in reverse and ran it into the residence. Mr. O’Neal and the man continued to fight outside the residence until police arrived, and they identified Mr. O’Neal as the same person who committed the sexual assault which had just been reported. Based on this incident and the man’s injuries — including a severe wound to his face from Mr. O’Neal biting him — police secured charges against Mr. O’Neal for carjacking and malicious wounding.

At the hospital that same afternoon, Mr. O’Neal’s mother underwent a sexual assault examination and told police investigators what Mr. O’Neal did to her. Based on the victim’s report and the evidence collected from her home, police secured charges against Mr. O’Neal for assaulting a family member, malicious wounding, and two counts of forcible sodomy, and police secured a search warrant to collect Mr. O’Neal’s DNA for forensic testing. As part of the physical evidence recovery kit assembled from her exam, nurses collected fluids from the victim’s intimate parts that were later tested and confirmed to contain Mr. O’Neal’s DNA.

Mr. O’Neal has a history of mental illness, substance-use disorder, and traumatic brain injury, and he reported using drugs and alcohol on the day of these offenses. After being initially found mentally incompetent to stand trial, Mr. O’Neal was restored to competency, pleaded not guilty to each of his charges, and requested separate jury trials for the two incidents.

In October 2024, a jury found Mr. O’Neal guilty of carjacking and a lesser-included felony of unlawful wounding.

On March 4, 2025, which was set to be the first day of Mr. O’Neal’s sexual assault jury trial, Mr. O’Neal pleaded guilty to maliciously wounding and sodomizing his mother. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. accepted Mr. O’Neal’s plea agreement — in which the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the second sodomy charge and left Mr. O’Neal’s sentence to the sole discretion of the Court — and set Mr. O’Neal’s sentencing hearing before Judge Tasha D. Scott, who presided over Mr. O’Neal’s jury trial.

At sentencing on May 30, the Commonwealth argued that Mr. O’Neal should serve no less than 45 years in prison, which was the high-end suggestion of Mr. O’Neal’s state sentencing guidelines. Judge Scott sentenced Mr. O’Neal to serve life in prison for the charge of forcible sodomy, 10 years for malicious wounding, 20 years for carjacking, and three years for unlawful wounding.

“A life sentence, whether it is one that we argue for or not, is deadly serious. Mr. O’Neal’s crimes here were the culmination of a lifetime of criminal behavior, traumatic experiences, and mental illness. What Mr. O’Neal did to the victims in these cases, including his own mother, is inexcusable and demonstrates that he is a risk to the safety of other people,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “In this case, the criminal justice system worked. Victims cooperated and testified. A jury heard the evidence. A judge considered arguments from both parties and made an independent sentencing decision free of any constraints from a prosecutor. America’s social-welfare system, however, failed. This sentence cannot undo the harm that Mr. O’Neal’s mother and the victim of Mr. O’Neal’s carjacking and wounding suffered. Mr. O’Neal will not be in a position to commit similar crimes again, but if we as a society want to avoid seeing such tragedies play out with different victims and different defendants, we must address the root causes of crime: poverty, inadequate schooling, mental illness, and trauma, or the tragedies will go on.”

Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Kolp is prosecuting Mr. O’Neal’s cases, and Norfolk Police Detectives Patrick A. Garvey and Richard J. Wampler and led the investigations.

*We disclose the victim’s relationship with Mr. O’Neal with her consent.

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March 13, 2025

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting His Mother Following Jury Conviction for Carjacking on Same Day in 2023

NORFOLK, Va. — Melvin O’Neal III, 32, pleaded guilty on March 4 to malicious wounding and forcible sodomy after he beat and sexually assaulted his biological mother* in January 2023. Just after assaulting his mother, Mr. O’Neal also committed a carjacking, for which a jury found him guilty in October 2024.

Around 11 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2023, Mr. O’Neal visited his mother’s apartment on Wake Circle in Norfolk and went to the bathroom as if to take a shower. After turning on the shower, Mr. O’Neal called his mother into the bathroom to check on something. When she entered the bathroom, Mr. O’Neal began beating her over her head, he knocked her to the ground, and he dragged her to her bedroom. Mr. O’Neal then forcibly removed his mother’s clothes, continued to hit her when she resisted, and sexually assaulted her. Afterward, Mr. O’Neal demanded his mother get a cigarette for him, and she used that opportunity to run from her apartment and seek medical attention.

About 45 minutes later, Mr. O’Neal was walking around the corner from his mother’s apartment in the 900 block of Norview Avenue. There, Mr. O’Neal saw a man cleaning and detailing a car parked outside of a residence. While the car was running and the man was vacuuming the passenger side, Mr. O’Neal jumped into the driver’s seat. The man challenged Mr. O’Neal to a fight, and Mr. O’Neal gestured as if he had a weapon and told the man to get out of the car. When the man did not get out and continued to fight for control of the car, Mr. O’Neal put the car in reverse and ran it into the residence. Mr. O’Neal and the man continued to fight outside the residence until police arrived, and they identified Mr. O’Neal as the same person who committed the sexual assault which had just been reported. Based on this incident and the man’s injuries — including a severe wound to his face from Mr. O’Neal biting him — police secured charges against Mr. O’Neal for carjacking and malicious wounding.

At the hospital that same afternoon, Mr. O’Neal’s mother underwent a sexual assault examination and told police investigators what Mr. O’Neal did to her. Based on the victim’s report and the evidence collected from her home, police secured charges against Mr. O’Neal for assaulting a family member, malicious wounding, and two counts of forcible sodomy, and police secured a search warrant to collect Mr. O’Neal’s DNA for forensic testing. As part of the physical evidence recovery kit assembled from her exam, nurses collected fluids from the victim’s intimate parts that were later tested and confirmed to contain Mr. O’Neal’s DNA.

Mr. O’Neal has a history of mental illness, substance-use disorder, and traumatic brain injury, and he reported using drugs and alcohol on the day of these offenses. After being initially found mentally incompetent to stand trial, Mr. O’Neal was restored to competency, pleaded not guilty to each of his charges, and requested separate jury trials for the two incidents.

In October 2024, a jury found Mr. O’Neal guilty of carjacking and a lesser-included felony of unlawful wounding.

On March 4, 2025, which was set to be the first day of Mr. O’Neal’s sexual assault jury trial, Mr. O’Neal pleaded guilty to maliciously wounding and sodomizing his mother. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. accepted Mr. O’Neal’s plea agreement — in which the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the second sodomy charge and left Mr. O’Neal’s sentence to the sole discretion of the Court — and set Mr. O’Neal’s sentencing hearing for May 30 before Judge Tasha D. Scott, who presided over Mr. O’Neal’s jury trial. Mr. O’Neal faces up to life in prison for these offenses, and his state sentencing guidelines will recommend a sentence of between 25 and 45 years.

“Mr. O’Neal’s violent assaults of his mother and a total stranger seem incomprehensible, but the context of these crimes — mental illness, substance use disorder, and traumatic brain injury — offer some insight,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. O’Neal’s troubles may explain some of his actions, but they do not excuse them. I feel deeply for Mr. O’Neal’s mother and for the other victim for their hurt; they did not ask to be victims of these crimes. At sentencing, we and the defense will make our separate cases to a judge about what sentence will balance sympathy for the victims, treatment for Mr. O’Neal’s underlying problems, accountability for Mr. O’Neal’s crimes, and the protection of the community from further harm.”

Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Kolp is prosecuting Mr. O’Neal’s cases, and Norfolk Police Detectives Patrick A. Garvey and Richard J. Wampler and led the investigations.

*We disclose the victim’s relationship with Mr. O’Neal with her consent.

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