A grand jury indicted a Glouster man Monday for nine offenses, including one count of murder and another for aggravated murder, Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said at a press conference Monday. Paul J. Roberts, 41, is accused of murdering his father, Paul E. Roberts, earlier this month.
The elder Roberts was 63 years old and is believed to have been murdered Oct. 4, approximately two weeks before law enforcement found the body Oct. 21 in a well under the porch of the deceased’s 68 Locust St. residence.
The nine crimes Roberts was indicted for were committed over a period of a few weeks but are all related to crimes against the younger Roberts’ father, whom Blackburn said “called and filed police reports, then called and recanted police reports.”
Although Blackburn previously said that this case could be eligible for the death penalty, during the press conference he said there is not sufficient evidence — at the moment — to make that call.
He added that his office would not take such a decision lightly, and that as the investigation continues, additional charges could arise.
The younger Roberts was arrested Oct. 18 for allegedly vandalizing a water heater. He is being held in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond.
He confessed to WBNS-TV, Channel 10 in Columbus last week that he had murdered his father. He said an argument between the two turned physical when his father charged at him with a knife. At that point, the younger Roberts said he grabbed a heavy pipe and “apparently swung it way too hard.”
An initial coroner report deemed blunt force trauma to be the cause of death, according to a previous Post article.
But Blackburn said there are holes in Roberts’ story, including evidence that Blackburn said shows the elder Roberts was killed in his sleep and was hit with a hammer, not a pipe.
The younger Roberts is also believed to have stolen his father’s John Deere riding lawnmower and his car, a 2004 Jeep Liberty that law enforcement officials believe to be in the Columbus area.
Paul J. Roberts will be sentenced Nov. 4 unless his attorney requests a continuance.
The grand jury also indicted Rhonda Degarmore and Bob Degarmore, the younger Roberts’ girlfriend and her father, but the extent of their involvement remains unclear.
Bob Degarmore will be in court Wednesday for a probation violation hearing. Rhonda Degarmore and the younger Roberts will be arraigned Nov. 6, Blackburn said.
During the interview with Channel 10, Paul J. Roberts said. “I swear if I had a gun right then, I would’ve just ended it. … I’m a monster.”
To the contrary, Blackburn said Roberts expressed no remorse in interviews with his office.
“This was not a crime of passion. It was a crime of addiction (and) disrespect for the man who gave him life,” Blackburn said.
“Sometimes, we even have to prosecute our children in order to help them.”
kf398711@ohiou.edu
@KellyPFisher
