VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — A Connecticut man charged with capital murder in a 40-year-old Virginia Beach cold case has been released on bond after a judge set his bail at $100,000. Charles Randell Berry, 66, was released Thursday, according to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said they objected to Berry receiving bond. Under the conditions ordered by the court, he must wear a GPS monitor, live at home and check in with a Virginia Beach court once a week while the case moves forward.
Judge allows release despite prosecutor objection
The bond decision means Berry will remain under court supervision while the case continues. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office confirmed his release and said the state had opposed letting him out on bond.
Berry had been held after his arrest earlier this year, and the judge’s ruling gives him conditional freedom while the murder charge remains pending. The court also required electronic monitoring and regular reporting, reflecting concerns about ensuring Berry’s appearance and compliance.
His next steps will be tied to the Virginia Beach court, where he must appear weekly under the bond terms. That supervision is meant to keep him available to the court as the case proceeds through the justice system.
Arrest in Connecticut tied to Roberta Walls case
Berry was arrested May 18 in Newington, Connecticut, in connection with the rape and murder of Roberta Walls, who was 22 when she died in 1986. Her body was found May 15 of that year in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School in Virginia Beach.
Walls had last been seen alive the night before at Bayside Public Library, which sits across from the area where her body was discovered. The arrest brought renewed attention to one of the city’s longest-running unsolved homicide cases.
The charge against Berry is capital murder, reflecting the seriousness of the allegations in the case. Authorities have not publicly detailed any court findings about guilt, and the criminal case remains in its early stages.
Cold Case Squad led the renewed investigation
The Virginia Beach Police Department’s Cold Case Squad led the investigation that resulted in Berry’s arrest. Officials said investigators had worked the case for years before the arrest was made.
In 2001, investigators developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected in the case, but they did not find a match at the time. That left the investigation open for another round of forensic work years later.
Police have said the breakthrough came through renewed attention to preserved evidence and newer methods that were not available when the case first went cold. The cold case team’s work ultimately connected Berry to the investigation and led to the arrest in Connecticut.
Forensic genealogy helped identify Berry as a suspect
In 2023, the Virginia Beach Police Department received grant funding that allowed investigators to pursue forensic genealogy leads. That funding gave detectives another tool to examine the evidence in the decades-old case.
Through that process, investigators identified Berry as the suspect. The genealogy work followed the earlier DNA profile and gave police a new path after years without a match.
Forensic genealogy has become an increasingly important technique in older homicide investigations because it can help investigators develop leads from genetic evidence when traditional searches come up empty. In this case, it was the key step that moved the investigation from an unknown profile to a named suspect.
What the bond conditions mean for the case
Berry’s bond conditions require him to remain at home, wear GPS monitoring and report weekly to a Virginia Beach court. Those restrictions are designed to keep track of his location while the case is pending.
The case remains a developing one, and the charges stem from allegations in a death that has been unsolved for four decades. The release does not resolve the underlying accusations or change the fact that prosecutors are pursuing a capital murder case.
WTKR said it first reported the case developments, and the station noted that more updates are expected as the matter continues through court. For now, the focus is on Berry’s compliance with the bond conditions and the next phase of the prosecution.
