Washington man sentenced to life in prison for 1979 rape and murder of Maryland woman – NBC4 Washington

A Washington, DC man was sentenced to life in prison 45 years ago for raping and killing a Maryland woman.

Vickie Lynn Belk, 28, was walking to her car near RFK Stadium when Andre Taylor, then 18, kidnapped, raped and shot her in 1979.

“I never thought it would ever come to this and that anyone would be held accountable,” said Belk's son, Lamont Belk.

On August 28, 1979, Belk's boyfriend reported her missing to Prince George's County police. He had not seen her since the previous day, when they were together at work in DC. She had not returned to her apartment in Suitland.

A teenager found her body near Metropolitan Church Road off Route 227 in Charles County – miles from her home in Suitland.

The case remained unsolved for decades until Charles County forensics officials submitted Belk's clothing for examination in 2022. Using DNA technology, Belk's clothing was linked to Taylor.

“We got a DNA match and finally had the name of the person responsible,” said Sergeant John Elliott of the Charles County Sheriff's Office. “It was incredible and that's what ultimately led us to the conviction.”

Investigators say multiple agencies worked together to find Taylor, whose address was unknown since 2019. He lived in DC and was 62 years old when he was arrested.

Prosecutors say that in conversations with investigators, Taylor “admitted to acts amounting to rape of Belk, but denied any involvement in her murder.”

There was no evidence that Belk and Taylor knew each other before the crime.

During the course of their investigation, detectives learned that Taylor had been arrested for violent crimes in the district and that at the time of the murder he had lived less than four miles from where Belk's body was found.

After a nine-day trial in July, the jury took two hours to reach a guilty verdict.

“No complete closure”

“The emotional trauma, the pain, the sacrifices and so on remain,” Belk said. “They may be somewhat attenuated – it's not as noticeable right now – but there is no complete closure in that regard.”

Belk's family says that now that the case is closed, they hope her legacy and her case will motivate other families with unsolved cases not to give up.

“We also know that there are many families and people whose loved ones have unsolved crimes and untold stories,” Belk said. “And we hope that this will be an inspiration as well.”

Belk's family helped establish the Vickie Belk Scholarship Foundation, which provided scholarships to hundreds of students throughout the DMV.

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