The Charles County State’s Attorney office announced that on July 18 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.
Commenting on the case, State’s Attorney Anthony “Tony” Covington (D) said, “I can’t give enough credit to the assistant state’s attorneys that put in ridiculously long hours and effort to achieve justice in this case. John Stackhouse and Jonathan Beattie were phenomenal."
Covington continued, "And the sheriff’s office in this cold case investigation, led by Detective Sgt. John Elliott and all the other police officers in this case should know I don’t take their work for granted. These cold cases are rarely solved. They get solved with dogged determination and talent.”
On Aug. 28, 1979, Belk’s then-boyfriend reported her missing to the Prince George’s County Police Department after last seeing her the day before at their shared place of work in Washington, D.C. Belk had not returned to her apartment in Suitland, a release from the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
On Aug. 29, 1979, a local teenager called 911 after noticing a body on the ground in a wooded location in the area of Metropolitan Church Road and Route 227 in Bryans Road.
Officers with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the location and discovered the body of a woman with a gunshot wound to the right side of the head and undressed from the waist down.
On Aug. 30, 1979, Belk was identified as the woman who was discovered in the wooded area. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled her cause of death to be from the gunshot wound, the release said.
Investigators recovered, processed and maintained evidence during the initial investigation.
However, the case went cold. In the following years, several detectives worked on the case. In more recent years, Detective Sgt. John Elliott of the Charles sheriff’s office's Criminal Investigations Division continued the investigation and worked with various agencies to pursue leads.
As forensic technology advanced, the evidence of the murder continued to be re-examined. In 2022, the sheriff’s office Forensic Science Section re-evaluated the evidence and submitted Belk’s clothing for testing with newer technology. A profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System, a national DNA database.
On Nov. 1, 2022, Noelle Gehrman, the deputy director of the sheriff's office’s Forensic Science Section, was notified of a DNA match between the profiles developed from the evidence obtained from the Belk case and Taylor.
While investigating Taylor’s background, detectives learned that he was arrested for violent crimes that occurred in Washington, D.C. It was also discovered that Taylor lived at a residence in Bryans Road around the time of the murder, the release said. The address was less than four miles from where Belk’s body was discovered.
Taylor also had connections to the area of Washington, D.C., where it is believed that Belk was abducted.
Detectives began trying to locate Taylor, but he had no known address since 2019. In collaboration with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Homicide and the U.S. Secret Service Baltimore Field Office, detectives of the Charles County Sheriff's Office were able to locate Taylor in D.C. where he resided.
On June 22, 2023, Taylor was arrested by Charles sheriff's detectives along with U.S. Marshals Service, Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and members of the Metropolitan Police Department.
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, according to police.
At the time of the murder, Belk was 28 years old, and Taylor was 18 years old. There is no evidence that indicated that Belk and Taylor knew each other before the incident.
At a July 2023 press conference, Belk's family members and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office commented on the case after Taylor’s arrest.
“Charles County Sheriff’s Office and the Belk family were unwavering to their pursuit of justice,” Sheriff Troy D. Berry (D) said when he announced that Taylor had been charged in connection with the murder.
“One of the lasting memories was me being baptized and she and I going to our pastor and seeking council to make sure I understood the significance of that,” Lamont Belk, Vickie’s son, said. Lamont Belk was only 8 years old when his mother died.
“She was a big sister. She gave me cover,” Judy Belk, chief executive officer of the California Wellness Foundation and Vicky’s sister, said.
A sentencing date has been set for Sept. 6, 2024. Taylor faces life in prison for first-degree murder and life in prison for first-degree rape.
"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," Covington said.
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