Body of Portsmouth city employee found behind building

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WAVY News Staff – PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A city employee's body was discovered outside a building in Portsmouth Tuesday morning and his death has been ruled a homicide.

Officers were called to the 1300 block of Effingham Street at about 9:45 a.m. to investigate a suspicious situation behind a building. Police arrived at the scene and found a man, unresponsive, in the 1900 block of Pavilion Drive.

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The man has been identified by police as 56-year-old Willie V. Allen of Portsmouth. Allen had been an employee with the City of Portsmouth for over 30 years and was working when he was killed, according to police.

Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe read the following statement about Allen's death before Tuesday's city council meeting:

Today, the city mourns the death of one of our employees and members of the Portsmouth family, Mr. William Allen, a Pump Station Mechanic in the Department of Public Utilities, employed with the city for 37 years. Mr. Allen was senselessly killed while responding to a dispatched call at the Race Street Pump Station off Effingham Street. Mr. Allen is remembered by his fellow team members as an employee who was very helpful in sharing his knowledge and skills with newly hired employees to ensure they were well prepared for the job.

Our condolences go out to his wife Regina and the Allen family."

Police say Allen's death is being investigated as a homicide because of the injuries found on his body.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.