News

Convicted sex offender charged in 1988 killing of Judy Chamberlain in Boston’s Seaport

BOSTON — A convicted sex offender indicted by a grand jury in September in the murder of a woman in Boston’s Seaport more than 30 years ago will be arraigned Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins.

Richard Vega, 59, is currently committed under the state’s sexually dangerous person statute, is charged with murdering Judy Chamberlain.

Chamberlain was found strangled in the basement of the former Fargo Building on D Street in Boston’s Seaport on July 28, 1988.

Biological evidence collected from her body indicated that she had been sexually assaulted by her killer. A DNA sample had been taken during the investigation and was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Indexing System, which compares samples of unknown assailants with the DNA profiles of known offenders.

Vega was identified as a suspect in 2011 when the CODIS database matched the suspected killer’s DNA to Vega’s profile.

He was required to submit a DNA sample as a result of a 1990 conviction on three counts of rape in connection to a 1987 attack on an elderly woman in Revere.

He had been sentenced to 19 ½ to 20 years in prison, and as his release grew closer, prosecutors petitioned to have him civilly committed under the states SDP statute.

He was found to be sexually dangerous in 2008 and remains civilly committed.

Despite the CODIS hit, prosecutors at the time said they didn’t believe they had enough evidence to prove without a reasonable doubt that Vega killed Chamberlain.

The investigation continued and a re-examination into her homicide was successful in collecting additional evidence necessary to present the case to a Suffolk County grand jury.

That grand jury returned an indictment Aug. 30 charging Vega with murder.

“Our family has waited 33 years for someone to be arrested for the brutal death of our sister Judy,’’ said Chamberlain’s brother. “We thank all of those involved in his capture. Our sister can now lay in peace and our family has closure. We love and miss you, Judy.”

Chamberlain’s sister praised the work of the Boston Police Department.

“I would like to thank the Boston Police Department for finally finding the guy who took my sister’s life. He took our sister, my mother’s daughter, and took Kevin and Carly’s Aunt away from us.”