LJ Bertha, 64, was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2024 in Charlotte, NC. LJ was a serial rapist in cold cases from 1993 and 1994 in west Charlotte.
On October 12, 1993, a female victim was parked in a shopping center parking lot on Freedom Drive in Charlotte, NC.
LJ kicked in her driver’s side window and forced her to move over to let him drive.
LJ drove her to a dead end road and raped her while threatening to kill her.
LJ then drove her back to the parking lot, where the victim located help and the police arrived. LJ was located nearby at the time by police. Serological testing was done at the time to confirm the presence of semen, but DNA testing conducted in 2023 confirmed LJ as the suspect.
A second rape occurred on July 30, 1994 with a second female victim.
She was walking on Beatties Ford Road when LJ approached her and forced her to a dead end road. He then raped her while he was armed with a box cutter.
The victim escaped and ran to a nearby convenience store, where the clerk called police. Serological testing was done to confirm the presence of semen, but DNA testing conducted in 2023 identified LJ as the suspect in this case.
In November 1996 a third female victim was raped in Charlotte by LJ. The suspect was convicted for that crime in 1997 and served 20 years in prison.
In 2023 when DNA evidence confirmed LJ as a suspect in the first 2 cases, LJ was arrested charged with several counts of sex crimes and rape.
At LJ’s June 2024 trial, all 3 female victims testified against LJ.
The jury found LJ guilty of one count of first degree rape, one count of second degree rape, one count of first degree kidnapping, one count of second degree kidnapping, second degree sex offense, and common law robbery.
The judge then sentenced LJ to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for the first degree rape conviction and an additional 33 years in prison for the remaining charges to run consecutive to the first degree rape sentence.
