Chesterfield School bus crash

Uncle Click killed in Chesterfield home: ‘He was stolen from us’

Clarence "Click" Fowlkes

Clarence "Click" Fowlkes

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Clarence "Click" Fowlkes was a friend to all and the glue that held his family together.

Fowlkes' niece Asia Higgs said while her uncle lived alone, he had frequent visitors to his Chinaberry Drive apartment because he treated neighbors like family.

"He made friends with his neighbors," Higgs said while standing outside her uncle's apartment Tuesday. "A brother to everyone. If you were a neighbor, you were family."

Fowlkes' family grew worried when no one heard from the gregarious 58-year-old man who would normally reach out to family members every day.

When relatives went to his apartment Monday night, they found his body.

"Essentially he was stolen from us," Higgs said.

Fowlkes' 2016 Kia Soul -- which was initially missing from the apartment complex parking lot -- has since been recovered by Chesterfield Police. Now investigators are working to figure out who killed Higgs' beloved uncle -- and why.

"He was a proud uncle and brother. We would all come to his apartment for any family function," Higgs recalled. "He's just a nurturer. He's a family man. He essentially raised me and all my cousins. He's a village within one person. He's everything that anyone ever needed."

Asia Higgs

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to determine Fowlkes' cause of death. Police said his body has "signs of trauma."

"He doesn't have any enemies," Higgs said. "It doesn't make any sense. It's confusing."

This is a developing story. Witnesses can send news tips, photos, and video here.

