More than two decades after Michael Randolph Jr. vanished without a trace, Solomon “John” Hall has been convicted in connection to his murder, bringing partial closure to a cold case that lingered for years without a missing person report or confirmed crime scene.
Randolph, known to local law enforcement for multiple drug-related arrests, disappeared from the Chiefland area in 2004. Despite his absence, no formal missing persons report was ever filed. For years, rumors circulated within the local drug community that he had been killed, and many pointed to Solomon Hall as the alleged perpetrator. Still, there was no hard evidence — and Randolph’s disappearance remained an unconfirmed mystery.
That changed in July 2017, when detectives working an unrelated drug investigation stumbled upon new information that supported long-standing suspicions of foul play. Investigators launched a full-scale review of Randolph’s disappearance, focusing on May 2004 — the month he stopped withdrawing state-issued disability checks, his only source of income. Interviews with community members revealed no one had seen him in over a decade, and many had assumed he had simply moved away.
Detectives from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), in coordination with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), began an extensive search for Randolph’s remains. Acting on multiple tips, search teams executed warrants and excavated several sites south of Chiefland. Despite significant effort, no physical remains were ever recovered.
By December 2019, investigators had collected enough evidence to present the case to a Levy County Grand Jury, which returned a true bill indicting Hall for the murder of Michael Randolph Jr. Hall, who was already incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections for unrelated drug convictions, was formally charged with murder.
In May 2025, the case concluded in the 8th Judicial Circuit with Hall entering a guilty plea. He was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison, officially becoming a convicted murderer. However, Hall has never revealed the location of Randolph’s remains.
That portion of the case remains open, as Randolph’s family continues to seek answers and hopes to give him a proper burial.
Anyone with information about the location of Michael Randolph Jr.’s remains is urged to contact Detective Joe Barrera of the Levy County Sheriff’s Office at 352-486-5111.
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