A Washington, D.C., man has been convicted of first-degree murder and rape in a case that had gone unsolved for decades.
In 1979, Vickie Lynn Belk was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and shot to death. Belk, a 28-year-old mother, worked in D.C. and was a resident of Suitland, but her body was discovered miles away in the area of Metropolitan Church Road and Route 227 in Charles County, the sheriff's office said.
More than 40 years later, DNA evidence finally linked Andre Taylor to Belk's murder, prosecutors say.
"Our community is a little safer today with this person behind bars," the victim's son, Lamont Belk, said when Taylor's arrest was announced last year. Lamont Belk was only 7 when his mom was killed.
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After a nine-day trial, it took a jury just two hours to deliver a guilty verdict Thursday.
'These cold cases are rarely solved. They get solved with dogged determination'
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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.
Investigators said Taylor, who was 18 at the time, kidnapped Belk when she went to her car that was parked at RFK stadium and sexually assaulted her before killing her.
The following day, a teen called police after discovering a body on the ground in a wooded area of Charles County. The victim, who had been shot, was identified as Belk.
A suspect wasn't identified at the time, and the case eventually went cold.
But after forensic technology improved, detectives submitted Belk’s clothing for testing in 2022. Scientists developed a profile of her killer and entered it into a national DNA database, prosecutors said. Later that year, they learned of a DNA match between Belk and Taylor.
Detectives initially had trouble finding Taylor, who'd had no known address since 2019. Multiple agencies worked together and eventually found him living in D.C., and he was arrested in June 2023.
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. Taylor also had connections to D.C., where investigators believe Belk was abducted.
Taylor faces life in prison when he is sentenced in September.
"These cold cases are rarely solved. They get solved with dogged determination and talent," State’s Attorney Tony Covington said in a news release. "I am very grateful that Charles County, after 45 years, was able to bring some closure for the Belk family and justice for Vickie Lynn Belk."
Judy Belk has said that she and her sister were involved in integrating a public school in Alexandria, Virginia. The family set up the Vickie Belk Scholarship Foundation in her honor. It has supported more than 100 students in Alexandria.
"As horrific as Vickie's death was, we've chosen to focus on how she lived," Judy Belk said last year.
