Cold Case Closed; Guilty Plea Filed In 1987 Homicide At Herndon Hotel

HERNDON, VA — Nearly 11 months since first confessing to the crime, 52-year-old Charles Helem pleaded guilty in the 1987 homicide case of Eige Sober Adler of Kensington, Maryland, according to a release from Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.

Sober-Adler's body was found on Sept. 9, 1987, in a rear parking lot of the Dulles Days Inn on Centreville Road in Herndon, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Her vehicle was later recovered about a half-mile away by police on the Dulles Access Road.

Convicted of the 2002 murder of then-ex-girlfriend Patricia Bentley, Helem is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.

In January, a Fairfax County Grand Jury indicted Helem, who confessed to killing Sober-Adler, as well as the 2002 killing of Jennifer Landry in Prince George's County, Maryland, according to the release. He was charged separately for the Maryland homicide.

Related: Convicted Murderer Confesses To 1987 Homicide In Herndon

“Today, the community can begin to move toward peace and closure," Descano said, in the release. "I am grateful for the cooperation across agencies and jurisdictions that helped solve this case, including from Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis, Prince George’s Police Chief Malik Aziz, and the cold case detectives in both jurisdictions.”

Under an executive agreement between the governors of Maryland and Virginia, Helem will be transferred to Maryland, where he will plead guilty to Landry's murder and serve the remainder of his life sentence