A Pleasanton, Calif., man was sentenced this week to 15 years to life in prison for the 2023 murder and dismemberment of his fiancée.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office press release said Tuesday that Joseph Roberts, 43 was sentenced to for the murder of 27-year-old Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner. In addition, Roberts was also ordered to pay $19,818 in restitution. Before being transferred to San Quentin State Prison, Roberts received a 300-day credit for time served.
Roberts was Arrested After Buckner's Dismembered Body was Found Along Alameda Shoreline
Roberts was arrested in 2023 for Buckner's murder, Her body was found on the Alameda shoreline. Her head, feet, and hands had been severed and have not yet been found.
A probable cause statement said police found Buckner's body wrapped in a garbage bag and secured with duct tape when it was found on July 20, 2023, and placed between a walking path and the water. The body was identified a month later on August 29, 2023.
Buckner, a Howard graduate and recent law school graduate, met Roberts when they were both students at Golden Gate University School of Law. They lived together in an apartment in Pleasanton.
DNA, Forensic Evidence and History of Domestic Abuse Led to Roberts' Conviction
Roberts was convicted of second-degree murder charged in May this year. Evidence indicated Roberts never reported that Buckner missing despite the two living together. Other evidence that led the jury to convict Roberts was the defendant's DNA being found on a piece of duct tape used to seal the garbage bag.
Cellphone records also placed Roberts at the crime scene the day Buckner's body was found. Investigators also found a fragment of a bone belonging to Buckner in a drain at their shared apartment.
According to police records, officers had responded to the apartment for several welfare checks and domestic violence calls prior to that time.
Roberts Gave an Interview Discussing 'Excesses' of the #MeToo Movement, Being Falsely Accused of Harassment by Women
Roberts was a former Republican Party committee member in San Francisco, who rose to prominence as an advocate for men who said they were falsely accused of harassment.
Roberts, a Navy veteran, said he was falsely accused of harassment and suspended from Savannah State University in Georgia in 2013. He then made the rounds of media interviews to discuss the "excesses" of the #metoo movement after then Education Secretary Betsy DeVos changed Title IX rules to protect those who were accused of sexual misconduct in college.
