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Connecticut Man Convicted In Fatal Shooting Of Ex, Shouts 'I'm Still Alive' After Verdict
Brandon Roberts was found guilty in the 2018 shooting death and robbery of Emily Todd, then taunted his victim's family as he was being escorted out of court.
After being convicted in the murder of his ex, a Connecticut man was being escorted from court when he began taunting her family.
Brandon Roberts, 29, was found guilty of murdering and robbing his ex-girlfriend, Emily Todd, 25, on Dec. 8, 2018, by a jury in Bridgeport on Tuesday, according to local outlet News 12 Connecticut.
But after the verdict was read in court, Roberts began staring at the victim’s mother, Jenn Lawlor, and smiling as he was being taken from court, according to News 12. Jenn Lawlor alerted nearby court officials that Roberts was trying to talk to her.
“Then when I started yelling that he was trying to talk to me, and the scene broke out," Lawlor said. "He actually lost his control enough to scream out loud, ‘I’m still alive.”
“It was disgusting,” she added.
Roberts was convicted on charges of murder, felony murder, robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Todd was found face-down in the sand with a gunshot to the back of her head near a Bridgeport boat ramp on Dec. 9, 2018.
She was a therapist who met Roberts on a dating app and dated him on and off for months before her death, according to the Connecticut Post. She reportedly broke up with Roberts the final time shortly before he murdered her, but he convinced her to meet him for lunch on Dec. 8, near where she died
Prosecutors called the murder, robbery and Roberts' attempt to flee the state a “deliberate, intentional, planned” act of violence, and convinced a jury that robbery was Robert's motive in the murder of Todd.
Police had previously stated that Todd's killer stole her car, her phone and her bank cards, eventually draining her accounts, according to News 12. He netted less than $500.
“It’s a shame that this young woman’s life was cut short for a mere $450,” said State’s Attorney Joseph T. Corradino.
Roberts fled to Ohio with the proceeds of his robbery before trying to sell the weapon with which he killed Todd, resulting in his arrest.
Roberts waived extradition and was sent back to Connecticut to face charges.
Roberts’ defense claimed his actions — shooting his recent ex-girlfriend in the back of the head, ditching her body, draining her bank accounts and fleeing that state in her car — were due in part to his mother’s death the previous year, coupled with the stressors of possible homelessness, according to the local outlet. His attorneys sought to have the jury convict Roberts on manslaughter charges, after failing to reach a plea deal that would have seen Roberts serve only 45 years behind bars.
The judge rejected the offer when Todd’s relatives insisted on a trial.
Todd’s family gasped in the courtroom when the word “guilty” was announced four times for each criminal count, according to News 12.
“We were terrified. You’re terrified,” said Jenn Lawlor, according to News 12. “You’re at the mercy of a jury trial. Emily deserved that word to be said... and then it was said four times. So we’re very, very grateful.”
Corradino thanked authorities for their “excellent work” on the case, including detectives with the Bridgeport Police Department and the FBI’s Analysis Survey Team.
“The people of the City of Bridgeport and the Fairfield Judicial District continue to benefit from the outstanding level of cooperation between the state and federal agencies in this jurisdiction to protect the life and property of every resident,” he stated.
Roberts is scheduled to appear for sentencing on June 24, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. He faces a maximum of 90 years in prison.
