About the Case:
On Tuesday, July 16, 1985 at 5:30 am, Virginia Beach 9-1-1 received a report of a car fire in the 4100 block of First Court Road. The Fire Department along with Police responded and found a vehicle completely consumed with fire. Once the fire was extinguished, a body was found inside the passenger compartment of a 1972 green Dodge Swinger with a vinyl top bearing a Pennsylvania license plate. Fire and Police investigators converged on the scene and began a very exhaustive investigation. Fire investigators discovered the fire was intentionally set after the car was driven into the field where it was found. The cause of death was asphyxia. The body was identified as Raffaella G. Bryant, a mother, who worked at an oceanfront restaurant, the Lemon Tree, located at 18th Street and Atlantic Avenue. She had last been seen leaving her employment around midnight to pick her son up at the babysitters and before returning home. Raffaella’s purse was found along Shore Drive about a mile from Atlantic Avenue.
- Case Type:
- Homicide
- Incident Date:
- 07/16/1985
- Location:
- 4100 block of First Court Road
- Status:
- Active
