Hours before he was last seen, police say Javion Magee made one final act of kindness

Police this week released a timeline of events leading up to their discovery of Chicago-area truck driver Javion Magee's body in North Carolina - and among some of his final moments appeared to be one last act of kindness.

According to authorities, Magee, who was found dead with a rope wrapped tightly around his neck in rural Henderson, North Carolina, left a Walmart in town hours before his death and handed a homeless person a large sum of money.

Surveillance footage showed Magee leaving the store, then stopping his truck on the way out and handing something to a homeless person sitting in the entrance. Investigators said they spoke to that person and learned Magee handed him money, saying, "I don't know how much it is, but if I had more I would give it to you."

The money totaled $228.

According to the Vance County Sheriff's Office, 21-year-old Magee was found the next morning with a rope wrapped around his neck 11 times.

The case has gripped social media for days as family members sought more details around how Magee died.

In their latest update, the sheriff's office revealed a detailed timeline of Magee's final moments, based on what they described as GPS information, witness statements and cell phone data.

At 1 a.m. on Sept. 10, Magee, a truck driver, had picked up a load of goods from Pennsylvania to deliver to the Walmart Distribution Center in Henderson, North Carolina.

After he arrived and unloaded the shipment in North Carolina, he was seen on video making a number of stops in the following hours.

At around 6 p.m. that evening, he traveled to a Walmart Center on North Cooper Drive in Henderson and was seen on surveillance cameras walking into the store and purchasing a rope.

The footage showed Magee leaving the store and his subsequent exchange with the man he handed his money to.

After that, Magee entered a Hampton Inn Hotel in town, speaking to a front desk clerk before his truck is seen leaving the parking lot less than 10 minutes later.

By 6:45 p.m., his vehicle pulled into a dirt lot and the ignition was turned off. Surveillance video showed him exiting the vehicle and walking alone toward the woods with an object in his hand.

While he returned to the truck multiple times, the ignition was turned off one final time -- at 7:30 p.m. -- and "never started again," police said. Magee is seen walking away from his truck toward the trees and video does not show him returning.

At 10:08 a.m. on Sept. 11, police said a 911 call from the owner of a truck repair company reported "a man with a rope around his neck" outside a fence at 285 Vanco Mill Road. The caller said the man was not breathing.

When detectives arrived, they found Magee with a rope wrapped tightly around his neck. The other end of the rope was wrapped around a tree branch.

Police said the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner's Office found no defensive wounds and said there were no signs of physical or sexual assault.

"Javion did have hemorrhaging around the soft tissue of the neck. Toxicology results are still pending, therefore autopsy results are not complete at this time," the department said.

The rope was branded Ozark Trail, which is sold at Walmart and was the same rope Magee was seen purchasing the night before.

Police said the man who found Magee's body had been called to the scene by Magee's employers, who reached out requesting a check on their driver because the truck had not moved in some time.

According to KLLM trucking, where Magee, who is from Aurora, Illinois, worked, the 21-year-old recently obtained his commercial driver's license earlier in 2024.

Magee's wallet and cell phone were both found in his truck by police, the department said.

"We have been able to see some of the recent searches from Javion’s phone and are working through proper legal authorities to obtain more information in hopes of having a complete picture of what occurred before Javion’s body was found on the morning of September 11, 2024," the sheriff's office said.

The driver's family reportedly spoke out, questioning the circumstances surrounding his death.

"We obviously don't believe (the narrative)," a user by @scottieprimprim, who identified herself as Magee's cousin, said in a now-viral TikTok after Magee's his death.

Police said they spoke to members of Magee's family and, at their request, showed them where his body was found and showed evidentiary photos of his case.

Police said an investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with information to come forward at (252) 738-2200.