Man Found Burning on Roadside Identified

By Sam Thrift Wednesday, January 11, 2012

James City County Police have identified the man whose body was found burning Jan. 3 on the side of road in the 9300 block of Merrimac Trail in James City County. Although police had released images of the dead man's tattoos in the hopes of identifying him, the victim was identified through dental records.

The Richmond Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the victim Tuesday as Aakir Omar Ali, a 37-year-old man from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area, according to a press release. Ali legally changed his name from Omar Green sometime in 2008.

Police are asking for help from anyone who may have seen Ali or his vehicle, a 2002 red Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Virginia license plate XSH-2371, on the day of his death. The car was found in the 2800 block of Somme Avenue in Norfolk after midnight on Jan. 9. The vehicle has damage to the left rear, above the Jeep logo and between the license plate and taillight.

Ali was last seen on the morning of Jan. 3 at his job at the Calvary Cemetery in Norfolk, where he was employed by the City of Norfolk as a groundskeeper.

His body was found at 6:57 p.m. that day. An autopsy performed on the victim by the Richmond Medical Examiner’s Office showed the fire was the cause of Ali’s death.

According to the police, the victim was 6 feet 1 inch tall, 176 pounds, with a goatee and three gold caps on his front teeth. He was found wearing dark blue Dickies overalls and red and burgundy Nike Air shoes. He was also wearing a white shirt with a tiger character emblem on the front of the shirt.

JCC Police ask that anyone who may have seen Ali or his Jeep Grand Cherokee on Jan. 3, or anyone with any information related to his death, to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.