Boyfriend Charged in Killing Of District Heights Woman

A sophomore at West Virginia State University was arrested at his residence hall early yesterday morning in connection with the death of a District Heights woman whose body was found Sunday behind a Forestville high school, authorities said.

Bernard Bellamy, 20, of Oxon Hill was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Valicia Andrea Demery, 19, whose body was discovered about 6:30 a.m. Sunday by a person using the track behind Forestville Military Academy.

Investigators and family members said they believe Bellamy killed Demery, his girlfriend, in part because she was pregnant with his child.

"He did not want her to have the baby at all," said the victim's father, Garrett Demery, 46.

Police cautioned that many other factors might have contributed to the slaying. They said Bellamy's car, a 1999 Mercury Tracer, was key in linking him to the killing. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said Bellamy struck the woman with the vehicle, and a security camera recorded him in the vicinity. The source requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The suspect's father, also named Bernard Bellamy, said in a phone interview that he could not respond to the allegations against his son. He said he last talked to his son Saturday but did not recall the specifics of the conversation. He also said that he did not know that Demery was pregnant and that he thought she and his son had broken up "some time back."

"As far as I know, my son was at school," the father said. "All this stuff is new to me."

Police took Bellamy into custody about 4 a.m. yesterday, authorities said. He was in his room at Sullivan Hall, a student housing facility at the university near Charleston.

The victim's father said he last saw his daughter about 3 a.m. Sunday. He had the TV on in his room, he said, and she peeked in and asked if he was still awake. About an hour later, Garrett Demery said, Valicia's mother checked her room and found that she had left.

The family assumed that Valicia had gone with Bellamy, Garrett Demery said. When family members hadn't heard from her by 1 p.m., Valicia's aunt said, they decided to call police.

Garrett Demery said that only in hindsight did he suspect that Bellamy might kill his daughter. The baby put the couple "under a lot of stress," he said, and they frequently broke up and got back together.

"I feel . . . betrayed, because I thought that . . . he was not that kind of person," Garrett Demery said.

Valicia was four months pregnant, said her aunt, Allison Greene.

She was a 2007 graduate of Forestville Military Academy, where she was active on the school's drill team, family members said. After high school, she went to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., to study nursing. She returned home and recently worked in customer service at Brinks Home Security in the District, Greene said.

Bellamy is also a recent graduate of the academy, police said.

Staff writer Aaron Davis and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.