
Arrest Made In Murder Of Roberta Walls (May 15th, 1986)
On May 15th, 1986 at around 6:30 AM in Virginia Beach, Virginia the body of 22 year old Roberta Walls was discovered behind in a field behind Old Donation Elementary School. Officers during the investigation discovered Walls had been stabbed multiple times and assaulted by an unknown offender. Prior to her death investigators learned she was last seen the previous night hanging out with friends at the library near the field she was found, and was last heard from around midnight after calling a friend. The case was active for over 40 years with investigators in Virginia beach crediting the ID with the evolution of DNA technology over the years.
The case had a break through when investigators in 2017 received the funding to submit DNA from the 1986 crime scene to a lab in North Virginia which specializes in DNA identification. The DNA pulled allowed the lab to make a composite DNA photo profile of what the suspect may have looked like back in 1986 with it being a white man in his 20s with light eyes, freckles and dark hair. The DNA recovered allowed investigators to rule out multiple different suspects in the investigation and eventually a match with the DNA was made. It was announced on May 19th by officers in Virginia that they had arrested 66 year old Charles Randell Barry on May 18, 2026 in Newington, Connecticut in connection with the case. Barry has been charged with murder, and assault and is currently awaiting extradition and would have been in his 20’s at the time of the murder.
Investigators are planning a press conference for Wednesday the 20th and have not disclosed how Barry and Walls are connected to each other.
Sources:
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/05/19/arrest-1986-cold-case-virginia-beach/