Trigger Warning: Rape

Jury Convicts Man of Rape, Burglary in 1992 Norfolk Cold Case Reopened Under Virginia Attorney General’s Office’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

NORFOLK, Va. — A jury found Vernon Lorenzo Gay, 56, guilty on Wednesday of rape and armed burglary with intent to commit rape from a 1992 cold case that was reopened when DNA evidence from the victim’s sexual assault kit was tested last year and found to match Mr. Gay. The DNA testing was thanks to the grant-funded Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) by the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia and its partners, which implemented new and comprehensive procedures in recent years for testing a statewide backlog of physical evidence recovery kits (PERKs) from cold cases.

On May 5, 1992, the victim was at home with her three small children and sleeping when Mr. Gay entered through one of the children’s bedroom windows armed with a knife. Mr. Gay found the victim in her bedroom and raped her while one child was in the bed with her, another child was in a crib in the same room, and the third child was in the bedroom next door. The victim reported the rape to Norfolk Police and sought medical treatment, where sexual assault nurse examiners assembled a PERK with DNA evidence from the then-unknown suspect. After no investigative leads were developed, the case went cold, and the PERK evidence remained in Norfolk Police custody.

In July 2022, the DNA evidence in this case was submitted for testing as part of SAKI. In August 2023, the Virginia Department of Forensic Science found that the DNA evidence matched Mr. Gay. When Norfolk Police investigators brought Mr. Gay’s information to the victim’s attention, she confirmed that she did not know who he was and that she had never had consensual sex with him. The Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in November 2023 secured charges by direct indictment against Mr. Gay for rape and armed burglary with intent to commit rape.

Mr. Gay pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested a jury trial. After hearing the evidence on Tuesday and Wednesday and deliberating for just under two hours, a jury found Mr. Gay guilty as charged. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise set Mr. Gay’s sentencing hearing on Dec. 20.

Since 2016, the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative has awarded the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia a total of more than $6 million in grant funds to identify untested DNA evidence from PERKs, inventory them, have them tested, and support the prosecution of criminal cases that emerge from them. Mr. Gay’s case in Norfolk is the first of SAKI-identified cases throughout the Commonwealth to reach a conviction by jury trial.

“Once again, Norfolk leads Virginia with the first SAKI jury to go forward in the Commonwealth,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Thank you to former Attorney General Mark Herring and Attorney General Jason Miyares for devoting resources to test back evidence cases in cases like these. The wheels of justice may move slowly, but they never stop, and we have served justice today. I am glad that we were able to bring a measure of closure, after all this time, for the survivor and her family, and to be able to hold Vernon Gay responsible for this terrible crime.”

“Today's verdict brings much-needed solace and closure in this cold case, underscoring the unrelenting commitment of state and local law enforcement to secure justice, no matter how much time has passed,” said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. “I'm gratified that our SAKI initiative helped fund this vital partnership and made this resolution possible."

Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott C. Vachris and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Grace V. Godfrey is prosecuting Mr. Gay’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Brian C. Williams led the investigation.

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