MD - Vickie Belk, 28, Analyst @ Department of Agriculture, Partially clothed body in the woods, Route 227 Maryland, 29 August 1979 *arrest in 2023*

[dotr]

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Pain lasting 30 years

It has been 30 years since the murder of Vickie Lynn Belk, but family and friends hold on to memories of her and continue the effort to find out who took her precious life away from them.

www.washingtontimes.com

''For them, August 1979 began as a joyful, happy time, too, with the wedding of Vickie Belk’s younger sister, Judy, for which Vickie was the maid of honor and organizer. Two weeks later, the Belk family’s world was turned upside down with Vickie’s disappearance and murder in Charles County, Md.

At the time of her death, 28-year-old Ms. Belk was a management analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington and was heavily involved in the historic Alexandria community known as Seminary because of its proximity to the Virginia Theological Seminary and with Oakland Baptist Church in Alexandria, which was co-founded by her great-great grandfather Wesley Casey. Her funeral service was held in that church, which her sister Kay Belk-Dailey said had brought her joy as a Sunday school teacher and church clerk.''

COLD CASE: 42nd Anniversary Of The Homicide Of Vickie Lynn Belk - The BayNet

BRYANS ROAD, Md. -- Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the homicide of Vickie Lynn Belk, a 28-year old resident of Alexandria, VA. Her case remains unsolved. Your assistance can help us bring justice to Vickie and her family.

thebaynet.com

Sept 3 2022

Charles Sheriff seeks answers in 43-year-old cold case - The Southern Maryland Chronicle

This week marks the anniversary of the homicide of Vickie Lynn Belk, a 28-year-old resident of Alexandria, VA. Her case remains unsolved. Your assistance can help us bring justice to Vickie and her family. On August 29, 1979, a local teenager was riding his bicycle along Metropolitan Church Road...

southernmarylandchronicle.com

''On August 29, 1979, a local teenager was riding his bicycle along Metropolitan Church Road near Route 227 in Bryans Road, Maryland, when he saw a body lying in the woods nearby. His mother contacted the police.

Officers responded to the area and located the partially clothed body of a deceased female.

The victim was identified as Vickie Belk. She was a 28-year-old resident of Alexandria, Virginia. Her body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, and the manner of her death was ruled a homicide.

If you have any information about the murder of Vickie Belk and you want to remain anonymous, please contact Charles County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477. That’s 1-866-411-TIPS. A cash reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest or indictment in this case.''

 

[dotr]

Virginia cold case database grows with new cases

In the months since its initial launch, the Virginia State Police’s cold case database has grown, giving new hope to those impacted by unsolved homicides and disappearances across the state.

www.wavy.com

Sept 26 2022 rbbm.
''RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In the months since its initial launch, the Virginia State Police’s cold case database has grown, giving new hope to those impacted by unsolved homicides and disappearances across the state.

The publicly available website is a searchable database with information, photos and contact information involved in unsolved homicides, unidentified persons and missing person cases that have gone unsolved for at least five years within the commonwealth. Both Virginia State Police and local law enforcement agencies are able to contribute information to the database.''

“This website gives every unsolved case world-wide reach and we are hopeful that it will generate new tips and quality leads for Virginia`s law enforcement agencies to pursue,” Settle said.''

Virginia Cold Case Database

coldcase.vsp.virginia.gov

 

[iulia]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/13/vickie-belk-cold-case-arrest-maryland/

On a summer evening in 1979, long before the advent of DNA evidence, a 28-year-old office worker named Vickie Lynn Belk, who had been abducted in the District, was found dead beside a rural road in Southern Maryland. She had been raped and shot, and for decades, her attacker’s identity was a mystery to detectives.

Now, owing to trace amounts of semen discovered on Belk’s dress and slip, the cold case has been solved, authorities in Charles County said Thursday in announcing the arrest of a D.C. man.

The accused killer, Andre Taylor, 62, was a few months shy of his 19th birthday when Belk, a management analyst for the Department of Agriculture, was abducted from a parking lot near the Stadium-Armory Metro station in Southeast Washington on Aug. 27, 1979. Two days later, a teenager riding his bike along a tree-lined thoroughfare 25 miles south of the city saw her body in the brush.

 

[dotr]

Charles County Sheriff’s Investigators Solve 44-Year-Old Cold Case Murder Of Vickie Lynn Belk - The BayNet

WALDORF, Md. – Sheriff Troy D. Berry has announced an arrest has been made in the death of Vickie Lynn Belk who was found murdered 44-years-ago in a wooded area on Metropolitan Church Road in Bryans Road, MD. “This case occurred more than four decades ago and yet the detectives and forensics...

thebaynet.com

''In early 2022, the CCSO’s Forensic Science Section re-evaluated evidence in Vickie’s case. Her clothing was submitted for testing using newer technology and a profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which is a national DNA database.

On November 1, 2022, Noelle Gehrman, Deputy Director of the CCSO’s Forensic Science Section, was notified of a DNA match between the profiles developed from the evidence obtained from the Belk case and convicted offender, Andre Taylor, 62, of Washington, D.C.

Upon receiving the match, detectives began investigating Taylor’s background and his ties to Bryans Road, MD. Detectives learned Taylor’s DNA was added to the national database after he was arrested for violent crimes that occurred in Washington, D.C. Further, Taylor’s address on arrest records from the 1980s showed he lived at a residence in Bryans Road, MD – an address that was less than four miles from where Vickie was found.''

 

[cenazoic]

Just like that. Amazing!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“This case occurred more than four decades ago and yet the detectives and forensics personnel never gave up,” said Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry in a news release. “They continuously looked for ways to identify a suspect. This arrest serves as a reminder of our commitment to doing everything we can to solve crimes. We never give up. We never stop seeking justice for victims. ”

The sheriff’s county said that in recent years, evidence from Belk’s killing had been reexamined, including DNA tests using newer technology.

Results of that test led to a positive match with 62-year-old Andre Taylor, of D.C., who was in the national database as a previously convicted violent offender in the District, the sheriff’s office said.

Arrest records from the 1980s revealed that Taylor lived in Bryans Road, Maryland, less than four miles from the area where Belk was found. Detectives said there is no evidence from their investigation that Taylor knew Belk.

After a Charles County grand jury indicted Taylor on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and second-degree rape, he was arrested in D.C. on June 22. After waiving extradition, Taylor was later transported to Charles County, where he is being held without bond.

Arrest made in cold-case killing of Md. woman after more than four decades - WTOP News

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland said detectives have arrested a suspect in a 44-year-old case of rape and homicide.

wtop.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

Man Arrested in 1979 Cold Case Murder of Md. Mom Who Was Found Fatally Shot in Woods

Vickie Lynn Belk, 28, was reported missing on Aug. 28, 1979, just one day before her body was found off a Maryland road

people.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 9-day trial and approximately two hours of deliberation, convicted Andre Taylor, 63, of the 1979 First-Degree Murder and First-Degree Rape of Vickie Lynn Belk.

In an interview with detectives, Taylor admitted to actions that amounted to the rape of Belk, but he denied having any part in her murder.

At the time of the murder, Belk was 28 years old, and Taylor was 18 years old. There is no evidence that indicates that Belk and Taylor knew each other before the incident.

A sentencing date has been set for September 6, 2024. Taylor faces Life in prison for First-Degree Murder and Life in prison for First-Degree Rape

Man Found Guilty Of The 1979 Cold Case Murder Of Vickie Lynn Belk - The BayNet

LA PLATA, Md.—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 9-day trial and approximately two hours of deliberation, convicted Andre Taylor, 63, of the 1979 First-Degree Murder and First-Degree Rape of Vickie Lynn...

thebaynet.com

 

[AmandaSkis]

I am so glad that her killer was tracked down and found guilty. The information I read said that he has been convicted of other violent crimes. It sounds like he might have been homeless at the time he was arrested, not sure on that one. I do wonder what other crimes he has committed over the years.