- Joseph Roberts, once hailed as a victim of false allegations in the #MeToo movement, has been accused of murdering and dismembering his fiancée.
- Roberts gained attention from the Trump administration, speaking alongside Betsy DeVos, to share his story.
- He secured a Republican party committee seat in his district, advocating for equal treatment and due process in Title IX campus disciplinary processes.
A man once championed by the Trump administration as a victim of #MeToo backlash is now facing allegations of murdering and dismembering his fiancée, according to reports.
Navy veteran Joseph Roberts, 42, was apprehended on September 6 in California after his DNA was discovered on duct tape and bags containing a woman’s body, as reported by Mercury News.
The authorities found the bag of human remains near the Bay Farm Island bridge in Alameda County in July. The victim, identified as Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, 27, Roberts’ fiancée, had been decapitated and her hands and feet were missing, initially hampering her identification, per Mercury News.
Buckner, a recent graduate of San Francisco law school and mother of a child, was known as a spoken-word poet, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Roberts gained public attention after alleging false sexual harassment accusations by three students during his time at Savannah State University in 2009, which resulted in his suspension.
In 2017, Roberts shared his story with Betsy DeVos, then the Secretary of Education under the Trump administration, as part of a series of discussions on Title IX guidelines for addressing sexual harassment on college campuses.
DeVos described him, saying, “This young man was denied due process. Despondent and without options or hope, after five years of sobriety, he relapsed and attempted to take his own life.”
Roberts went on to involve himself in San Francisco politics, securing a seat on the Republican party committee in his district. His campaign profile highlighted his advocacy for equal treatment and due process in Title IX campus disciplinary processes.
In 2020, DeVos introduced new protections for students accused of sexual assault, and Roberts expressed support for these measures.
Roberts and Buckner began their relationship in 2019, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The couple’s relationship deteriorated, leading to 17 police responses between January 2022 and June 2023 for various incidents, including welfare checks, disturbances, reported domestic violence, and suspicious circumstances, according to records obtained by the Chronicle.
Upon executing a search warrant for Roberts’ apartment on September 6, the police observed freshly removed carpets and an open bottle of Drano, indicating a potentially cleaned crime scene, as reported by Mercury News.
Roberts denied knowledge of Buckner’s death and claimed he did not report her missing due to mental health issues, as she would occasionally leave home for extended periods.
When confronted by detectives with Buckner’s death, Roberts speculated that it might have been a suicide. However, he could not explain why his DNA was found on duct tape associated with Buckner’s remains, according to the outlet.
Roberts is currently detained at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, awaiting a plea for the murder charge, according to Mercury News.
A GoFundMe page established by Buckner’s family describes her as a “beautiful and radiant light” who had “so much more life to live.”
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