Man Gets Life In Prison For 1979 Rape, Murder Of Suitland Mother Decades Later

Last year, the Charles County Sheriff's Office announced that District resident Andre Taylor, now 63, was arrested on charges that included rape and murder in connection to Belk's death, who was found on Metropolitan Church Road near Route 227 after she was killed 45 years ago.

He was convicted in July by a jury after just two hours of deliberation following a nine-day trial.

"This case occurred more than four decades ago and yet the detectives and forensics personnel never gave up" Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry previously said.

"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."

On Saturday, Aug. 24, the Charles County Sheriff's Office announced that Taylor was sentenced to life in prison.

Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse told the judge that the incident caused “generational trauma because it went on for 45 years.

"(Her) son grew up without a mother. Her parents had to bury their daughter. Her parents had to lay on their deathbed not knowing who killed their daughter. Her grandchildren never got a chance to meet their grandmother.

"Yet all throughout this case, I’ve never seen a family with so much grit, determination, and grace.”

In August 1979, Belk was reported missing to the Prince George's County Police Department by her current boyfriend after they left each other at the Department of Agriculture where they both worked at the time.

She never returned to her apartment in Suitland.

The day after her disappearance, a local teenager was riding his bike when he noticed a body on the ground, later determined to be Belk, in a wooded area not far from the intersection of Metropolitan Church Road and Route 227.

Belk had been shot to death and her body dumped. She was found with a gunshot wound to the right side of her head and she was undressed from the waist down.

The case went cold for years, though detectives - several of whom have since retired from the sheriff's office - continued to work the case, using new technology to keep the investigation going while developing new information and leads.

In 2022, members of the Charles County Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Section were tipped off to a new DNA match that tied Belk to Taylor, and the investigation heated up.

According to investigators, detectives later learned that Taylor was linked to an address in Bryans Road that was less than four miles where Belk's body was found, though he managed to elude officers for years.

He was eventually tracked down in Washington, DC.

Taylor was arrested last year and later transported back to Maryland to face his charges.

At the time of her murder, Belk was 28 and Taylor was an 18-year-old. There are no known connection between the two, even 44 years later.

"When you victimize someone like this and then murder them, it really doesn’t get more horrific than that.”

Belk left behind a 7-year-old son, five siblings, and her parents, who died before they got to see Taylor apprehended.

"Nearly 44 years ago, our family lost Vickie Lynn Belk, a beloved mother, sister and friend to a tragic and heinous crime," sister Kay Belk said.

"The news of the grand jury returning an indictment for the individual responsible for Vickie’s death and an arrest in her murder begins the long-awaited process of justice finally being served."

The judge who issued the life sentence said that Belk "had a presence or spirit that has endured in ways that I’ve honestly never seen before," adding that she "leaves a tremendous legacy, and the family carries on a tremendous legacy."

"The crime is a horrific loss of a life – the violence was extreme. The amount of fear and terror that preceded the violence doesn’t exist in most cases.

"(The incident was) so heinous, I can’t think of a lesser sentence that would be appropriate.”

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