Virginia Beach police have arrested 66-year-old Charles Randell Barry in Newington, Connecticut, for the 1986 rape and capital murder of 22-year-old Roberta Walls. The breakthrough, announced just days after the 40th anniversary of the crime, marks the conclusion of a decades-long investigation into a random act of violence that shocked the local community. Barry was indicted by a Virginia Beach grand jury and is currently being held in Connecticut on a $2 million bond while awaiting extradition to Virginia.
The case dates back to May 15, 1986, when Walls’ body was discovered in a field behind what was then Old Donation Elementary School. A beloved library worker at the nearby Bayside Public Library, Walls had disappeared the previous evening after leaving her shift to meet up with friends. Forensic investigators determined that she had been raped and stabbed multiple times. Despite an intensive investigation, the testing of more than 30 potential suspects, and the creation of DNA-based composite sketches in 2017, the case remained cold for decades because Walls and her killer had no prior connection.
The ultimate breakthrough came through advancements in modern forensic technology and investigative genetic genealogy. In 2023, the Virginia Beach Police Department secured grant funding to build a family tree using the perpetrator’s DNA profile, which led them to a family line with historic ties to the area. Further digging revealed that Barry had been an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Virginia Beach at the time of the murder. Detectives subsequently obtained a search warrant to collect Barry’s DNA, yielding a direct match to the physical evidence preserved from the 1986 crime scene.