VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Connecticut man was arrested on Monday in connection with the homicide of a woman in Virginia Beach 40 years ago.
Virginia Beach Police Department Cold Case Squad’s investigation led to Newington Police Department arresting 66-year-old Charles Randell Berry for the rape and murder of 22-year-old Roberta Walls.
Virginia Beach police said Walls’ body was found in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School on May 15, 1986. Roberta had last been seen alive the night before at Bayside Public Library across from the location where her body was found, investigators said in 2017. According to the Crime Solvers file on her case, Roberta was known to frequent the Aragona area of Virginia Beach and the Ocean View area of Norfolk.
Persistent investigative work and advancement in technology were key to solving the case, Virginia Beach police said.
Police said that in 2001, investigators developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected in the case, but no matches were found at the time.
In 2023, the Virginia Beach Police Department received grant funding that allowed investigators to pursue forensic genealogy leads. Through that process, investigators identified 66-year-old Charles Berry as the suspect.
“Our suspect was unknown to Roberta, we believe, until the day of the murder,” Virginia Beach Police Department Deputy Chief Jeffrey Wilkerson said. “He was not in her inner circle, and we believe they met the night of the crime. There’s been extensive work in the DNA field on our end with testing and in the science field to identify our suspect, and we are extremely confident we have the right person.”
Police said Berry was believed to be in the Navy at the time of the murder and lived near the crime scene.
Investigators said that led police to obtain a warrant for Berry’s DNA, which resulted in a match to evidence from the crime scene.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said he hopes the development brings renewed hope to families connected to cold cases in Virginia Beach.
“There are families and loved ones in this community that have not yet received the closure and the justice they deserve, but this team is not giving up on them,” Neudigate said. “For those families that are out there, I think this provides them hope.”
News 3 reported in 2017 on how police used modern technology to develop a sketch of a person of interest. Investigators sent DNA from the scene to a lab where the sketches were developed. The sketches showed the person of interest at two possible ages -- 25 and 55.
Watch related: Sketch released in cold case murder
Nearly 10 years ago, investigators were hopeful the new lead could eventually help them solve the case that has now led to a long-awaited arrest.
"I want to solve them. All the years on him doesn't really matter. I don't care if it was yesterday or 31 years ago. We just want to solve them all," Virginia Beach Police Detective Angela Curran said in 2017.
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