Close to four decades after a 22-year-old woman from Virginia was tragically murdered, law enforcement has made a breakthrough arrest in this cold case.
Charles Berry, aged 66 and a resident of Newington, Connecticut, was apprehended on Monday for his alleged involvement in the 1986 rape and murder of Roberta Walls. This arrest was confirmed by a statement from the Newington Police Department.
The capture was orchestrated in collaboration with the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), which had issued a warrant for Berry’s arrest pertaining to the Virginia Beach homicide, according to police officials.
The investigation dates back to May 15, 1986, when Walls’ lifeless body was found in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School, as reported by the VBPD.
Authorities had previously noted that Walls, who was 22 at the time, exhibited “obvious signs of trauma from a brutal assault.”
She endured several stab wounds and was sexually assaulted during this heinous attack, as detailed by WAVY-TV.
Police previously revealed she was last seen alive at the Bayside Public Library the night before her murder, which is located across the street from where her body was discovered.
Walls reportedly was an employee at the library and was leaving work to meet with friends when she disappeared.
In 2017, authorities received funding to use DNA samples preserved from Walls’ body to compile a composite image of a person of interest, the outlet reported.
Following his arrest, Berry was transported to the New Britain Superior Court in Connecticut on Tuesday as he awaits extradition, according to authorities.
He was subsequently indicted by a grand jury “in connection to Robert Walls’ [murder],” FOX 61 reported. His bail has been set at $2 million by the Connecticut court.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Virginia Beach Police Department for comment.
