Arrest made in Connecticut 40 years after woman's murder in Virginia

Crime 40 years after woman murdered in Virginia, DNA leads to arrest in Connecticut By Kerry Breen Kerry Breen News Editor Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use. Read Full Bio Kerry Breen Updated on: May 21, 2026 / 10:39 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A Connecticut man was arrested for the decades-old rape and murder of a Virginia woman after forensic evidence offered new leads in the cold case, police said Wednesday. The body of 22-year-old Roberta Walls was found in a field in Virginia Beach on the morning of May 15, 1986, the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a news release. The department described her as "a vibrant young woman" who  "had a promising future ahead of her." Walls had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. Police investigated the killing, but had no leads, according to the department. Eventually, it was assigned to the department's Cold Case Unit. In 2001, a DNA profile was developed and run through the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, police said. The profile information was also entered in a nationwide databank. Investigators determined the DNA profile belonged to a man, but no matches were found, according to CBS affiliate WTKR. In 2017, a lab in northern Virginia analyzed the DNA and created a composite photo of Walls' killer, police said, but these developments again did not lead to any arrests.  Roberta Walls. Virginia Beach Police Department The Virginia Beach Police Department received grant funding in 2023 that allowed investigators to pursue forensic genealogy leads, according to WTKR.  VBPD Detective Bureau Captain Michele Wyatt said in the news release that a direct DNA comparison led to the identification of Charles Berry, a 66-year-old man living in Newington...