Overview
- Charles Berry, 66, was taken into custody in Newington, Connecticut, after police say a direct DNA comparison linked him to the 1986 rape and stabbing of 22-year-old Roberta Walls.
- Police charged Berry with rape and capital murder and a grand jury has indicted him while a Connecticut judge considers his formal extradition to Virginia.
- Investigators developed the lead by re-examining preserved DNA; a 2017 composite image and grant-funded forensic genealogy work beginning in 2023 produced the evidence that led to a match.
- Walls was found with multiple stab wounds and signs of sexual assault in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School on May 15, 1986, after last being seen at the Bayside Public Library where she worked.
- Authorities say Berry served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed near Virginia Beach at the time of the killing, and police hope the arrest brings long-sought closure for Walls’s family and the community.