The arrest was announced by Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry on July 13. Andre Taylor, now 62 years old, is facing charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and second-degree rape related to the assault and death of Vickie Belk.
A man named Andre Taylor has been arrested and indicted in connection with a cold case from 1979, where a woman named Vickie Belk was sexually assaulted and shot
The case began when Belk’s boyfriend reported her missing to the Prince George’s County Police Department on August 28, 1979. He mentioned that they had seen each other the day before at their workplace, the Department of Agriculture, but Belk never returned to her home in Suitland. On August 29, a teenager discovered a body in a wooded area, approximately 20 feet off the road, and alerted the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. The authorities determined it to be a murder case.
The victim was identified as Vickie Lynn Belk the next day, and the medical examiner concluded that she had died from a gunshot wound. Despite ongoing investigations over the years, the case remained unsolved until recently.
In 2022, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Section reopened Belk’s case and submitted her clothing for analysis using the Combined DNA Indexing System. On November 1, 2022, a match was found for Andre Taylor, a convicted felon. At the time of the murder, Andre Taylor resided just a few miles from where Belk’s body was discovered, and he was 18 years old.
Locating Andre Taylor proved challenging due to his lack of a known address
With assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies, Andre Taylor was eventually found in Washington, D.C. Taylor was apprehended on June 22 and extradited to Maryland.
It is worth noting that Belk and Andre Taylor were not acquainted, and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office stated that his previous crimes differed from the murder of Belk.
In response to the arrest, Sheriff Troy Berry praised the dedication of the detectives and forensics personnel who never gave up on solving the case. He emphasized the commitment to pursuing justice for victims and the determination to solve crimes, even when many years have passed. The family of Vickie Belk established the Vickie Belk Foundation in her memory to support graduating seniors at Oakland Baptist Church and provide opportunities that continue her legacy.
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