NOTE: Above video is from previous coverage on the case CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) -- A man was recently sentenced to 67 years in prison after being found guilty of the 2021 murder of a 61-year-old woman in Chesapeake. Man charged with murder in death of missing Chesapeake woman On Apr il 12, 2024, 22-year-old Raheem Cherry was convicted for the first-degree murder, robbery, abduction and illegal concealment of Laura Mills, 61. On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Cherry was sentenced to serve 67 years in prison with an additional 41 years suspended on the condition of supervised good behavior upon release. Husband hears wife’s scream on phone before line went dead, body later found According to evidence from the trial, around 5 a.m. on May 17, 2021, Mills, who lived in a company apartment in Western Branch, was on the phone with her husband, who lived in upstate New York, when he heard a loud scream followed by the line going dead. After receiving several strange texts from his wife, the husband then contacted Chesapeake authorities, leading to a search. Miles' body was discovered later in the afternoon in a ditch covered by leaves near the Taylor Bend YMCA. Evidence shows that Miles was stabbed over 11 times in the upper body, with a fatal wound to the spine. Cherry became a suspect after his fingerprints were found on Miles' truck and on her phone, which was in the center console of her truck nearby Miles' apartment. At first, Cherry denied any involvement in the murder, but later retracted his statement to say that a stranger committed the crime and forced him to help. On April 12, 2024, it took the jury around three hours to convict Cherry on all charges. While at the sentencing hearing, Miles' husband and daughter testified on the profound negative impact that Miles' death had on the family. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. ...read more read less