Police said today (Wednesday) a man in prison in Wise County, Virginia, has confessed to two more murders.

Fairfax County Police Department said Charles W. Helem, 52, confessed to the 1987 murder and provided details only the killer would know, involving the death of 37-year-old Eige Sober-Adler.

A grand jury indicted Helem yesterday (Tuesday), Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said.

“We will now pursue a vigorous prosecution of Mr. Helem,” Descano said.

Sober-Adler was found deceased in a field to the rear of a Days Inn on Centreville Road in Herndon, and her vehicle was found on the Dulles Toll Road at the time.

“Thirty five years later, we stand before the community to say we have an indictment,” FCPD Major Ed O’Carroll said.

Her car was found in running condition and appeared to be abandoned, he said.

“There will probably always be some questions that are unanswered,” O’Carroll said.

Police also announced that Helem, who is an inmate at Red Onion State Prison, confessed to another murder in Maryland in 2002, involving 19-year-old Jennifer Landry, of Massachusetts.

Prince George’s County Chief of Police Malik Aziz said Helem sent letters to law enforcement in 2010 and 2017, indicating he had information on the case, but he initially declined to talk to detectives.

Eventually, he verbally confessed in 2021 to killing Landry and also spoke about an unsolved Fairfax County case, which led to yesterday’s indictment, Aziz said.

Detectives confronted him in prison.

Previously, a jury convicted Helem for the 2002 murder of 37-year-old Patricia Bentley of Fairfax County. An appeal court upheld the conviction in 2008.

Chief Kevin Davis said they’re working to determine if he was involved in other cases.

The Fairfax County Police Department has launched a new webpage to help investigate cold cases in Fairfax County.

The platform houses case information spanning six decades in the hope that anyone with information will come forward to help resolve cases. Cold case detectives are asking the public to provide any information about the cases — no matter how small. The website currently provides a limited list of cases. More cases will be added as detectives comb through existing incidents.

“We are committing countless hours and all available resources to close these cases and provide long-awaited answers to victims’ families, and bring those who committed these awful crimes to justice,” said Major Ed O’Carroll, bureau commander of major crimes.

FCPD is seeking information on several local cold cases, which are included on the webpage. Cases are disaggregated by decade and include a description of the incident, a photo, and the date of the incident.

On January 1, 1996, Constance Hiner was found dead in her home on Woodstock Lane in Herndon. The 48-year-old woman was found with injuries to her upper body.

In Great Falls, Richard Brackeen, 53, was found shot to death in his home on River Park Drive. The incident happened on February 5, 1992.

In 1972, the body of 17-year-old Gwen Ann Ames was found on a walking path in the area of 11400 block of Waterview Cluster near Lake Anne. She had decided to walk home alone after attending a party with her friends and boyfriend.

See below on how to provide information about the cases:

Anyone with information regarding any of our cold cases is asked to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 8. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), by text – Type “FCCS” plus tip to 847411, and by web – Click HERE. Download our Mobile tip411 App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1,000 dollars if their information leads to an arrest.

The cold case squad was founded in 1995 and is housed under FCPD’s major crimes bureau. It investigates unresolved homicides and sex crimes in Fairfax County.

Photo via Bill Oxford/Unsplash

The trial began earlier this week for Jude Lovchik, charged with abduction and sodomy.

In 1995, four roommates in Reston were held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted. The case had gone cold until Lovchik’s ex-wife told Arlington County police that Lovchik had confessed the actions to her and had her recreate the scenes.

According to the Washington Post, the victims of the assault testified during the opening day of the trial. The women said their attacker had forced the women to perform sexual acts on each other and on him, then worked meticulously to cover his tracks.

One woman testified that she was made to drink Gatorade to remove the evidence from her mouth and that he vacuumed the bedroom where the assault occurred. After going through their address book, the women said the attacker also threatened to kill their friends and family if they reported the assault.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica Greis-Edwardson, who said DNA swabs from Lovchik matched biological material found in the mouth of one of the victims.

But Fairfax County Public Defender Dawn Butorac said the evidence tying Lovchik to the crime was flimsy, saying there were inconsistencies in the DNA evidence and noting that Lovchick’s ex-wife, who was in the middle of the divorce when she reported Lovchick’s confession, had motive to lie.

Lovchik faces up to life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges, including abduction and sodomy. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Photo via Marion County Jail

A man accused of a series of sexual assaults across Fairfax in the 90’s, including four women in Reston, is scheduled to go to trial this Monday (Dec. 3).

Jude Lovchik is charged with a series of felonies including multiple counts of abduction, sodomy, robbery and firearms offenses.

While Lovchik is being investigated for other assaults in Fairfax and Prince William counties, his charges stem from a 1995 assault where Lovchik is alleged to have climbed onto the balcony of an apartment building and subseqently tied up, blindfolded and sexually assaulted four roommates.

According to the Washington Post, the break in the cold case came when Lovchik’s wife went to the Arlington Police after she said Lovchik assaulted her during their divorce. She also told the police that Lovchik had told her about his string of assaults throughout Fairfax in the early 1990’s and had her recreate the sexual assault scenes for him. Police said Lovchik’s wife provided information about the case that had not been disclosed to the public.

After Lovchik’s wife spoke with the police in early 2017, his home was placed under surveilence until DNA was collected from trash that police say was connected to DNA collected from the Reston assault.

Lovchik moved to Florida in 2017, but was arrested in October and returned to Vriginia, where he is currently being housed in the Fairfax County jail.

Photo via Marion County Jail

Fairfax County police detectives, together with officers from Ocala, Florida, have arrested a man on suspicion of committing sexual assaults against four women in Reston 22 years ago.

In a statement issued Monday, Fairfax County police said DNA evidence uncovered on Aug. 25th of this year confirmed a lead they had previously been pursuing in a cold case involving the sexual assault of four women in an apartment in the 11000 block of Olde Tiverton Circle in Reston back on June 6, 1995. That lead pointed them to 49-year-old Jude Joseph David Lovchik.

Police said that up until September of this year, Lovchik had been living in the 7200 block of Linden Tree Lane in Springfield, Virginia. After that, he reportedly moved to Ocala, Florida. Police reportedly tracked him there and arrested him during a traffic stop at an intersection near his home.

Lovchik is now being held in a Marion County jail in Florida while authorities await extradition orders to Fairfax County.

Lovchik is facing charges of being a fugitive from justice, armed burglary, abduction with intent to defile, and sodomy, and authorities said further charges may be filed once he is extradited back to the area.

Local officials said they are also working with the four female victims in this case, to provide them with needed moral support given this latest update in the case.

Further updates will be released if additional charges are filed.