In the early morning of July 16, 1985, firefighters in Virginia Beach found a 1972 green Dodge Swinger ablaze in a field in the 4100 block of First Court Road. After the fire was extinguished, a charred human body was recovered from the passenger compartment and later identified as 20-year-old Rafaella G. Bryant, a white woman and young mother who worked at the Lemon Tree restaurant on Atlantic Avenue.

Investigators concluded the car fire had been set deliberately after the vehicle was driven into the field. The State Medical Examiner’s autopsy determined the cause of death was asphyxia and the manner of death was homicide. Rafaella was last seen leaving work around midnight to pick up her son from a babysitter; her purse was later found on Shore Drive about a mile from Atlantic Avenue, suggesting something interrupted her trip home.

No suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests have been announced. Does anyone have information about Rafaella’s last evening or remember seeing her that night?