A D.C. man was sentenced to life in prison for raping and killing a Maryland woman 45 years ago.
Vickie Lynn Belk, 28, was walking to her car near RFK Stadium when Andre Taylor, then 18 years old, abducted her, raped her and shot her in 1979.
“I didn’t expect that this would ever come to be, that someone would be held accountable,” said Belk’s son, Lamont Belk.
On Aug. 28, 1979, Belk’s boyfriend reported her missing to Prince George’s County police. He hadn't seen her since the day before, when they were at work together in D.C. She hadn't returned to her apartment in Suitland.
A teenage boy found her body near Metropolitan Church Road off Route 227 in Charles County — miles away from her Suitland home.
The case went cold for decades until 2022, when Charles County forensic scientists submitted Belk’s clothing for testing. DNA technology linked Belk’s clothing to Taylor.
“We get a DNA hit, we finally had a name of the person who was responsible for this,” said Sgt. John Elliott of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. “It was incredible, and that’s what led us to the ultimate conviction.”
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Investigators say multiple agencies worked together to find Taylor, who had no known address since 2019. He was living in D.C. and was 62 years old when he was arrested.
Prosecutors say that while speaking with detectives, Taylor admitted to "actions that amounted to the rape of Belk, but he denied having any part in her murder."
There was no evidence that Belk and Taylor had known each other before the crime.
During their investigation, detectives learned that Taylor been arrested for violent crimes in the District and that, around the time of the murder, he'd lived less than four miles from where Belk’s body was found.
After a nine-day trial in July, a jury took two hours to come back with a guilty verdict.
‘No full closure’
“The emotional trauma, pain, sacrifices and so forth, they remain,” Belk said. “They may be somewhat diminished — it’s not as palpable, right now — but there’s no full closure in that regard.”
Belk’s family says now that the case is closed they hope her legacy and case motivates other cold case families to not give up.
“We also recognize there are many families and people out there who have loved ones who have unsolved crimes and untold stories,” Belk said. “And we hope that this would give some inspiration, too.”
Belk’s family helped to set up the Vickie Belk Scholarship Foundation, providing scholarships for hundreds of students across the DMV.
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