Man killed his wife and said it was a suicide, Georgia cops say. Now, he’s prison-bound
A Georgia man who said his wife died by suicide was found guilty of her murder, prosecutors said.
Glenroy Roberts, 53, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the August 2022 killing of his estranged wife at their Lawrenceville apartment, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.
At the time, Roberts told police that 45-year-old Claudia Dionne Roberts shot and killed herself, prosecutors said in a news release. The couple had been married for 21 years.
“This couple has sons who have to grow up without either of their parents at home,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in the release.
Officers were called to the family’s apartment Aug. 2, 2022, about a deadly shooting, according to authorities. Roberts told 911 that his wife took his gun from the closet and, as they wrestled over it, it fired and killed her.
He changed his story a short time later, prosecutors said, telling officers he wasn’t in the room. He said he heard the shots, came running and found Claudia Roberts dead from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” authorities said.
Evidence collected by investigators proved otherwise, and they determined her injuries “could not have been self-inflicted,” the release said.
Claudia Roberts’ mother, Delores Squire, told WSB-TV that her son-in-law got angry with his wife for going on a birthday trip with her to New Jersey.
“I guess he wasn’t pleased with her for going,” Squire told the station. “She shouldn’t have gone down like that. She didn’t deserve that.”
The couple’s 10-year-old son was in the apartment at the time of the shooting and reported hearing four gunshots, prosecutors said in the release.
Glenroy Roberts was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, authorities said. He won’t be eligible for parole.
“Domestic violence is a tragedy,” Austin-Gatson said. “We extend our condolences to each and every loved one and member of this family.”
Lawrenceville is about a 30-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Man killed his wife and said it was a suicide, Georgia cops say. Now, he’s prison-bound."