A significant chapter in a decades-old Boston murder case came to a close as Carl Vega, 61, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Vega was found guilty of the 1988 killing and sexual assault of 21-year-old Judy Chamberlain.
Discovery and Investigation
Chamberlain’s body was discovered in the basement of a Boston building by a maintenance worker. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted, leaving her family and community devastated. “She was beautiful, loved, and still is,” said Chamberlain’s brother, John Olson, during the sentencing at Suffolk County Superior Court.
The Breakthrough: DNA Evidence
Vega’s conviction was based on DNA evidence that linked him to the crime scene. In 2011, a federal database matched Vega’s DNA profile to evidence collected from Chamberlain’s case. Despite this match, prosecutors initially believed they lacked sufficient evidence to file charges. Vega had been required to submit a DNA sample following his 1990 conviction for raping an elderly woman in Revere in 1987, for which he was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. He was civilly committed in 2008 after serving his sentence.
Conviction and Sentencing
After new evidence was collected, a grand jury indicted Vega in 2021 for Chamberlain’s murder. He was convicted of first-degree murder in June, leading to his life sentence without parole. Chamberlain’s family and loved ones expressed their enduring pain and loss in court, remembering Judy as a cherished individual whose memory continues to live on in their hearts
