On Wednesday, Jamiel Graves made his first appearance by video feed in a Virginia Beach courtroom, after police charged him with killing the mother of his two children, Mandi Myers.
Written notes from his arraignment hearing show that he did not answer any questions, except to tell the judge he did not want a lawyer of any kind.
He was still appointed a public defender against his wishes.
NewsChannel 3 is uncovering even more about Graves' past including the fact that he served in the military.
Graves is a former Army reserve soldier who is now charged in the murders of two women in two different cities around Hampton Roads.
The Army Human Resources Command confirmed to NewsChannel 3 that Jamiel Douglas Graves served as a truck driver assigned to the 310th sustainment command at Fort Story.
He joined the Army Reserves in January of 2001, and was mobilized two years later in January of 2003, to serve in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Graves was on active duty for 16 months, returning home from Afghanistan in May of 2004.
But that wasn't the last trip Graves would make overseas in service to his country.
He mobilized yet again in July of 2004, but this time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He was on active duty for 22 months, returning home in April of 2006.
Six months later, Graves left the reserves, but we don't know under what circumstances, since the Army won't release the terms of his discharge.
At some point during his military career, he met Mandi Myers, and the couple eventually had two little girls together.
But the relationship ended, and friends say Graves was not around much.
That is until someone discovered Myers' body in her Virginia Beach apartment Monday afternoon.
“All you heard was knocking, the entire time, banging, and then ten minutes in the screaming started, but the banging continued,” says one neighbor.
Neighbors now say they think that banging and screaming came from Myers, trying to get help.
Beach police quickly located her ex-boyfriend that night, and became the first city to charge Jamiel Graves with murder.
Graves remains in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center without bond.
His next hearing for the murder of his ex-girlfriend will be on December 12th.
We have no word yet on a court date for the charges stemming from Phylicia Robinson's murder in Norfolk.
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Police continue to search for missing 26-year-old Norfolk woman
