Newington Man In Custody For Brutal Murder, Rape Of 22-Year-Old Woman In 1986: Police

NEWINGTON, CT — A Newington man was taken into custody on Monday on a fugitive from justice charge connected to a 1986 homicide investigation in Virginia Beach, Va.

The Newington Police Department said Charles Berry, 66, of Newington, was arrested May 18 at approximately 4:17 p.m. in coordination with the Virginia Beach Police Department.

Authorities said Virginia Beach police hold a valid arrest warrant for Berry related to charges connected to a homicide that occurred in 1986, when Berry was in his mid-20s.

The NPD did not release any specifics regarding the homicide, but People Magazine and myriad broadcast reports linked the case to the brutal rape and murder of 22-year-old Roberta Walls, a librarian in Virginia Beach, Va.

According to the Virginia Beach Police Department's cold case registry, the murder of Walls in Virginia Beach took place near a school there.

The registry described Walls as a 22-year-old Virginia Beach woman who was found dead on May 15, 1986, in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School on Ferry Plantation Drive.

The VBPD said Walls’ body was discovered around 6:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of Ferry Plantation Drive.

Investigators determined she had suffered fatal injuries during a violent assault, and her death was ruled a homicide.

Authorities said Walls was last seen alive the previous evening working at the Bayside Public Library, located across the street from where her body was found.

Investigators said Walls was known to frequent the Aragona area of Virginia Beach and the Ocean View area of Norfolk.

Police also noted she had tattoos on her arm and abdomen.

The case remained active nearly four decades later.

Walls was described as a White female with brown hair and hazel eyes.

She was 5 feet 3 inches and weighed about 134 pounds at the time of her death.

Berry was processed at the NPD and transported to New Britain Superior Court on Tuesday, May 19.

He was charged with being a fugitive from justice under Connecticut General Statutes § 54-170.

The Virginia Beach Police Department announced it would have a press conference on Wednesday at Virginia Beach Police headquarters to provide additional details about the investigation and arrest.

For the full People Magazine report, click on this link.