Virginia Woman Accused of Killing Newborn Babies

(Lawrenceville, Virginia) A 35-year-old woman, Darnesha Paulita Berry, has been arrested for killing two newborn babies 15 years ago in a Virginia college dorm.

According to Lawrenceville Police Chief Everette Gibson, investigators believe Berry is the mother of the dead babies. Berry faces two counts of first-degree murder.

Investigators added that Berry, who is now married and the mother of at least one child, lived in the St. Paul’s College dorm where the babies were killed, but was not considered a suspect at the time of their deaths.

The children, born alive in a dorm bathroom on Feb. 16, 1998, were killed and then thrown down the trash chute, police said. Berry would have been age 19 at the time.

“I just couldn’t believe that someone had thrown these two children away,” Lawrenceville Assistant Police Chief Benny Newcomb said in a 2012 interview about the cold case. “It’s one of those cases that a police officer has in his career that haunts him.”

Berry is being held in custody without bond.