Charles Berry has been arrested in connection with the 1986 rape and murder of Roberta Walls, a Virginia Beach woman whose body was found in a field. Prosecutors say he faces rape and capital murder charges, and his extradition from Connecticut is underway.
A case that began on a Virginia Beach morning in 1986 moved toward an end on Monday, May 18, when Charles Berry was arrested in connection with the rape and murder of Roberta Walls.
Walls was 22 when she was found raped and murdered in a Virginia Beach field 40 years ago. Authorities say Berry was arrested in Newington, Connecticut—even though the crime occurred in Virginia. The speed of the shift was jarring: for decades. investigators had worked with a DNA profile that ultimately did not match anyone in a database. and now the suspect is finally in custody while the case moves toward Virginia.
Berry, 66, has been charged with rape and with capital murder during the commission of a rape, the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office confirmed. As of May 21, the office said Berry is still in Connecticut, and it has started the extradition process.
Police said he is being held in Connecticut on a $10 million bond. Once he is transferred to Virginia Beach City Jail, police said he will likely be held on another multimillion-dollar bond.
Investigators say Charles Berry and Roberta Walls did not know each other.
At a news conference on Wednesday. May 20. Deputy Chief Jeffrey Wilkerson said Walls did not know Berry. adding that police believe the two met the night of the crime. Wilkerson also said Berry was not in Walls’ inner circle and that. at the time of the murder. Berry was in the U.S. Navy. The area where the victim lived and where she was found dead is home to a naval station.
Wilkerson said Berry was not previously on investigators’ radar.
“He was not in her inner circle, and we believe they met the night of the crime,” Wilkerson said.
The case has been shaped by DNA work that took years to refine. Walls was last seen alive on the way to hang out with her friends. Police say her body was found in a Virginia Beach field around 6:30 a.m. on May 15, 1986. Investigators found she had been stabbed multiple times and sexually assaulted.
At the May 20 news conference. Michele Wyatt of the Virginia Beach Detective Bureau said investigators developed a DNA profile for Walls’ killer in 2001. Once they developed the male DNA profile. they entered it into a national DNA data bank. but there was no match. Wyatt said investigators compared the offender’s DNA profile to DNA from more than 30 males, eliminating them all.
Wyatt said that in 2017, Virginia Beach Police sent DNA from the 1986 crime scene to a northern Virginia lab, which created a composite photo of the killer.
While the arrest lands after decades of work, police leaders emphasized the lingering fear that the case could have included more victims.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said it was “incredibly scary” to learn a killer had been at large for so long. “We wonder, is he involved in more crimes?” Neudigate said. “That’s what everyone here wants to know. Someone that brutally murders and rapes someone, how is that a one-time occurrence?. But as of this time, we have no indication that he was involved in other crimes.”.
Wilkerson described Walls in human terms—someone known to family and friends as “Bobbie.”
“Roberta Walls was a loving daughter, a big sister, a friend to those who knew her, and someone that could be counted on in her circle of friends,” he said.
Police said Walls was vibrant, had “deep ties to the Virginia Beach community,” and was known for her kindness and compassion.
As the case turns from investigation to the next legal steps, Wyatt said the Walls family does not wish to speak to the public.
“They respectfully ask for your privacy as they continue to process these deeply emotional and traumatic events 40 years in the making,” Wyatt said.
There is also a separate thread of public attention tied to the overturned Alex Murdaugh murder conviction referenced in the case context provided. Juror Amie Williams reacted to that reversal. saying. “Our sacrifice was for nothing.” However. the arrest described in this case concerns the 1986 rape and murder of Roberta Walls.
On May 21, a lawyer believed to be representing Berry was contacted through USA TODAY but did not immediately respond.
Roberta Walls Charles Berry Virginia Beach murder case Connecticut arrest extradition DNA profile capital murder during commission of a rape