The Pizza Plus Murders: The Case of Harvey and Valerie Looney
For this case, I watched an episode of Murder Comes to Town. It’s season 5 episode 10, titled ‘The Last Face She Saw.’
Two employees of a small town pizza restaurant are found dead.
Background
Harvey, who also went by Dean, and his wife, Valerie, had been married for 29 years. They had one son named Christopher, and had always lived in the small town of Claypool Hill, Virginia.
Harvey and Valerie were very well known in the area, and were very loved. Valerie started working at Pizza Plus in 1998, and Harvey joined her soon after. They enjoyed working together, and did what they could to provide for their son.
Harvey and Valerie Looney
Pizza Plus in Claypool Hill, Virginia
The Murders
On March 30, 2009, an employee of Pizza Plus called 911 around 8:40am. She said she walked into the restaurant, and found her manager lying in a pool of blood.
Valerie had been found in the kitchen. She had been severely beaten, and her throat had been slashed. There was blood all over the pizza oven, the storage rack, and the table.
Harvey had been found just outside the back door. His throat had also been cut, but later it would be revealed that Harvey had actually died from a stroke. The cut to his throat had occurred afterwards.
The killer had tried to clean up on the way out of the restaurant. A bloody mop was found near the door, and a bloody fire extinguisher had been put back in its place. There were blood drops found in the sink. The blood samples were collected and taken to the crime lab.
Suspects and Theories
The 911 caller was interviewed by the police. She mentioned that there was some illegal drug activity going on at the car wash that was next door to Pizza Plus. The owner of the car wash would come into the restaurant, and talk to Valerie. Valerie had mentioned to her that she was scared of the man that came in.
The man was questioned. He said he did go to Pizza Plus that night, but just sat in his car, and didn’t go inside. The surveillance footage did clear him. It was odd, but he wasn’t the killer.
The next person the police looked into was a delivery driver named Brian. Harvey and Valerie’s son, Christopher, told the police that this employee had issues with Valerie. The delivery driver did admit that they fought often, but he left the restaurant around 11-11:15pm. He said he went to a friend’s house, which the friend confirmed. The delivery driver was also ruled out.
The police received many tips about the case. One tip was from an inmate at the Tazwell County Jail. The man said he heard from a local bartender that she and two of her friends had driven to the restaurant to rob it. The bartender apparently told him that she thought that her friends killed Harvey and Valerie.
This also turned out to be a dead end. The bartender never told anyone anything like that, and the inmate was full of shit. The bartender was also ruled out.
No New Leads
The police went back to the crime scene. They weren't able to find anyone else’s DNA at the crime scene. Valerie’s DNA was found on the fire extinguisher, and there was a mix of Valerie and Harvey’s blood in the sink.
On April 3, 2009, Valerie and Harvey were laid to rest.
The case went cold for several years. The police didn’t have any new suspects or leads.
In October 2012, Detective Michael Hall was assigned full time to the Looney’s case. He went back to the crime scene, and had the evidence re-analyzed.
Det. Hall also had a behavioral analyst from the FBI come up with a profile on their killer. The FBI agent said that their killer was a male in his 20-3os, with a high school education, and who was familiar with the operations of Pizza Plus.
The Loving Son
By November 2012, the police had their sights set on Christopher Looney. Christopher was cooperative, but only answered yes or no questions. Christopher was interveiwed again, and passed a polygraph test.
In January 2013, the police interviewed Lynne Clark, the couple’s friend and godmother of Christopher. They learned that Lynne had learned that Christopher had been violent towards Valerie just a few weeks before she died. Lynne had discovered bruises on Valerie, which Valerie confessed that they came from Christopher.
The police learned that Christopher was in need of money, and had been living with his parents at the time of their murders. He had been the beneficiary of his parent’s $240,000 life insurance, which he never collected.
On February 13, 2013, Christopher sat down with Sgt. Neil Turley, and a professional interrogator named Rich Byington.
They confronted Christopher about his lies. Back in 2009, Christopher had told the police that he wasn’t alarmed when his parents didn’t come home on March 30, 2009, as it was their 29th wedding anniversary. Christopher said they had planned to go to the Smokey Mountains for a trip they planned. The police actually learned that Christopher and Harvey had planned to go fishing instead.
The police also told Christopher that the killer would’ve left behind touch DNA at the crime scene, even if they were wearing gloves.
Rich Byington told Christopher that he needed to tell them what happened. Christopher then whispered that it was an accident.
The Conviction
Christopher said he went to talk to his parents at Pizza Plus, to ask them for some money. Christopher had some court fees he needed to pay on time, or he would go to jail. Christopher said he lost it when Valerie said no.
Christopher said he had a knife with him, and cut his mom on her neck. Christopher said his dad came inside, and he choked him. Harvey had a stroke, and Christopher cut his neck.
Christopher said he went back inside to make sure his mom was dead. He said he grabbed the fire extinguisher, hit her with it, and hung it back on the wall. The cash register was emptied. Christopher said he mopped up on his way out.
Christopher was arrested, and charged with two counts of capital murder.
On July 23, 2014, Christopher pled no contest to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Christopher Looney
FINAL THOUGHTS
At the end of this episode, Lynne said Christopher’s face was the last face Valerie saw. Valerie and Harvey loved their son, but didn’t know how to help him anymore. Christopher was greedy, and couldn’t take no for an answer. He killed his parents, and didn’t confess until years later, when he was confronted by all his lies. He thought he was going to collect the money, and their possessions. The past and his lies finally caught up with him, and he needs to rot in prison.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/harvey-and-valerie-looney-murder/
https://www.oxygen.com/criminal-confessions/crime-time/man-violently-murders-parents-life-insurance
https://wcyb.com/features/weekend-drive/four-years-later-son-arrested-in-pizza-plus-murders
