Suspect Arrested 40 Years After 22-Year-Old Woman Was Found Murdered in Virginia Beach
Charles Randell Barry was held on $2 million bond after a grand jury indictment in the decades-old killing of Roberta Walls, police said.
- On Monday, May 18, 2026, authorities in Newington, Connecticut, arrested 66-year-old Charles Randall Berry in connection with the 1986 murder of 22-year-old Roberta Walls.
- Found in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School in Virginia Beach on May 15, 1986, Walls was discovered with "obvious signs of trauma due to a violent assault," leading to a homicide ruling.
- Persistent investigative work and technology advances in 2017 allowed the Virginia Beach Police Department Cold Case Squad to identify a suspect, ruling out over half the case's "cast of characters," Detective Angela Curran said.
- Facing charges as a fugitive from justice, Berry appeared Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New Britain District Court. A judge set his bond at $2 million while extradition to Virginia awaits approval.
- Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate will hold a press conference today, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the Virginia Beach Police Headquarters to discuss the investigation and arrest.
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40-year-old Virginia cold case finally cracked after new DNA leads to arrest in library worker’s savage slaying
Charles Berry, 66, of Newington, Connecticut, was taken into custody Monday in connection with the 1986 rape and murder of Roberta Walls, the Newington Police Department said in a statement.
Man arrested in young woman's 1986 cold case rape, murder in Virginia Beach
Charles Berry, 66, was arrested in connection with a 1986 homicide in Virginia Beach, Virginia, according to the Newington Police Department in Connecticut. (Newington Police Department via Meta) (VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — Four decades after a young woman was raped and murdered, a man has been linked to the crime through DNA and is under arrest, according to Virginia Beach, Virginia, police. “It’s incredibly scary for the community to think that so…
King5 News
Suspect arrested 40 years after 22-year-old woman was found murdered in Virginia Beach
Roberta Walls' body was found in a field in Virginia Beach in 1986. This week, police arrested a suspect in her murder. Here's how they did it.
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