Husband hears wife’s scream on phone before line went dead, body later found

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A husband heard his wife scream on the phone just before the call dropped. Hours passed before she was found dead in Chesapeake with 11 stab wounds.

The killer, 22-year-old Raheem Cherry, was convicted on April 12 for first-degree murder, robbery, abduction and illegal concealment of Laura Miles, the Chesapeake Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

In the early morning of May 17, 2021, Miles was leaving her apartment in Western Branch in Chesapeake when she was attacked in her truck in the parking lot. Miles’ husband heard her scream while on the phone before the call ended.

The 61-year-old victim lived in upstate New York, but was staying at an Airbnb in Chesapeake for a work project as a safety officer. Evidence provided at court showed that Cherry stabbed Miles 11 times before abducting her in her vehicle and dumping her body into a ditch behind the nearby YMCA. He then covered her body with leaves.

Police found Miles’ truck at a nearby apartment complex later in the morning on May 17, and found her body that afternoon. Cherry’s fingerprints were found on the outside of her truck and her cell phone found inside. The defendant gave several conflicting statements to police and denied killing her in his testimony at trial.

Miles is survived by her husband and three children. Cherry is expected to face sentencing on July 23. He faces the maximum penalty of two life sentences plus 15 years.