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Familial Abuse & Violence / Murder / Sexual Harassment / Stalking/Harassment

1171: Joseph Roberts

Cajsa LilliehookLeave a comment
Joseph Carl Roberts

Joseph C. Roberts known as “MAGA Joe,” he was a member of the San Francisco Republican Central Committee, a member of The Federalist Society, a board member of Families Advocating for Campus Equality, and a police advocate for Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. Both FACE and SAVE advocate for weakening protections of assault victims. As a Men’s Rights Activist, he was the Republican poster child for anti-Title IX college protections when he was suspended after three women made sexual harassment accusations against him. One woman claimed she feared for her life. Betsy DeVos named him as an example when she rolled back Title IX protections.

He has been arrested for allegedly murdering and dismembering Rachel Buckner, his former fiancée. Buckner’s body was found in a garbage bag with her head, hands, and feet removed. DNA from the duct tape was identified as coming from Buckner and Roberts. Her friends report that she was afraid for her life, that he was abusive, and would not leave her alone.

San Francisco Chronicle (CA) October 8, 2023
San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
October 8, 2023
Dismemberment suspect spotted with bags October 8, 2023 | San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Author/Byline: Annie Vainshtein | Page: A017 | Section: A 721 Words Read News Document A neighbor of a Pleasanton man accused of dismembering his girlfriend told police she saw him carrying two large trash bags out of his apartment and then shortly after smelled the powerful odor of a cleaning solution permeating from the home, police testified Friday in a preliminary hearing. Testimony on the first day of a preliminary hearing for Joseph Carl Roberts, who faces murder charges in the killing of his live-in girlfriend, Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, also included accounts of explosive arguments between the couple and of pleas from a woman begging her abuser to stop hitting her. Buckner's dismembered body -- missing the head, hands and feet -- was found in a trash bag on a waterfront trail in Alameda in July. Prosecutors have accused Roberts of using an electric saw to conceal the 27-year-old woman's identity. Roberts was once touted by the Trump administration as a victim of the #MeToo movement, publicly rising to prominence in support of men seen as falsely accused of sexual harassment. Kicked off the campus of Savannah State University in Georgia, Roberts met Buckner, an honors student pursuing her law degree, at San Francisco's Golden Gate University School of Law. On Friday, Roberts appeared in court at Dublin's East County Hall of Justice, seated alongside his court-appointed attorney, Anne Beles, as the prosecution unfolded the evidence against him that will help a judge determine whether the case should proceed to trial. Pleasanton Police Department detective Nickolas Skaggs testified Friday that a neighbor who lived next door to the couple said she saw Roberts carrying two large trash bags out of the apartment after a period of time in which she had not seen Buckner. Shortly thereafter, she relayed to Skaggs, the floor of the couple's apartment smelled of Fabuloso, an all-purpose cleaner. Neighbors said they frequently heard the couple having explosive arguments, with Roberts sometimes telling a female voice to "shut the f-- up" after which they would hear a thud and, often, the female's pleas for him to stop hitting her, according to testimonies from Skaggs and Qais Habib, another Pleasanton police officer. On one harrowing occasion, two neighbors told police, they they saw Buckner running outside the apartment, completely nude, in the middle of the day. She was crying hysterically, screaming for help, and had scratches on her arms and legs, one of the neighbors, who ran down to console Buckner and brought her a blanket and clothing, told Habib. Testimony Friday also included an exhaustive look into the process of DNA collection that led to the identification of the victim and her suspected killer. Crime lab employees at the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office testified about how they were able to identify the two distinct DNA profiles from pieces of evidence that have become integral to the case: wrappings of duct tape on the large garbage bag that contained parts of the victim's body. In the first portion of the preliminary hearing, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Colleen Clark, who is prosecuting the case, questioned Roya Khouie-Vargas and Jennifer Mertz, both of whom work for the crime lab of the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office, about their procedures in generating a DNA profile. Another witness who testified was Dawn Romano, a technical leader who supervises the DNA unit at the Contra Costa County crime lab and reviewed the DNA reports that positively identified Roberts and Buckner through their DNA. In a more than hour-long cross-examination of Romano by Beles, the court-appointed attorney eventually raised the question of whether Roberts' DNA could have appeared on the items in question not because it was directly deposited -- that is, handled -- by the defendant, but because it was transferred onto the items through indirect contact. Further elaboration was not given as to that possibility. The case is expected to continue at 9 a.m. Monday. Reach Annie Vainshtein: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Caption: A neighbor of a Pleasanton man accused of dismembering his girlfriend told police she saw him carrying two large trash bags out of his apartment and then shortly after smelled the powerful odor of a cleaning solution permeating from the home, police testified Friday in a preliminary hearing. Testimony on the first day of a preliminary hearing for Joseph Carl Roberts, who faces murder charges in the killing of his live-in girlfriend, Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, also included accounts of explosive arguments between the couple and of pleas from a woman begging her abuser to stop hitting her.

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