KING WILLIAM COUNTY, Va.(WTVR) - The arrest of Darnesha Paulita Berry on Tuesday has many who know the 35-year-old in shock.
"It's heart-wrenching. It hasn't sat well with me since I heard it," said Keisha, a childhood friend of Berry.
Keisha said she couldn't wrap her head around the arrest after hearing it was a woman she grew up with in their hometown of King William County. She said Berry never came off to her as a roubled person, but did say that Berry's mother was selective of who she could hang out with.
"I just think she didn't want her mother to know...so she just panicked," she said.
On Tuesday, Berry was arrested and charged on two counts of first-degree murder. Officials said the charges stem from a 1998 cold case. Investigators said they believe Berry was the mother of two newborn babies found in a Virginia college dorm room, who were killed and thrown down a trash chute.
The Director of Corporate Communications of Childtime also confirmed to CBS 6 that Berry was a former employee at the Mechanicsville location. It's confirmed she was an employee for less than two years, leaving the job last July.
In a statement to CBS 6, Lydia Cisaruk said "We take our responsibility as caregivers very seriously and have strict policies and procedures in place to ensure that the highest level of care is being provided to our families."
Cisaruk said Berry had no known criminal background or history that would have come to light in the background checks performed by the organization.
"What happened? Did she snap? A state of shock? Having kids...and to live with it for 15 years," Keisha told CBS 6 News' Chelsea Rarrick.
