Thursday, April 06, 2000
Woman likely was strangled
Tenant held on $1M bond in murder case
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — A 59-year-old Florence woman most likely was strangled before her body was dumped in Gallatin County, Florence Police Detective Buddy Schwabe said Wednesday.
Autopsy results for Sandra Kay Roberts were not complete Wednesday, but Detective Schwabe expects them to indicate that she died of strangulation — a deadly conclusion to an argument she was having with a tenant, Shawn William Ernst, over a long-distance phone bill.
Mr. Ernst, 28, was arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge in Boone District Court. His bond was set at $1 million. He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing today.
Florence police are expected to testify, and a judge will decide whether to transfer his case to circuit court.
Mr. Ernst had moved into Mrs. Roberts' home about three weeks ago. Family members have said the two fought over the weekend because of some long-distance calls Mr. Ernst had made. Mrs. Roberts had asked Mr. Ernst to leave.
“He advised her that he couldn't leave until the 14th (and) things escalated from that point,” Detective Schwabe said.
When it was determined that Mrs. Roberts was missing, authorities interviewed Mr. Ernst on Tuesday. They had become suspicious of certain facts including:
• It looked as though Mrs. Roberts had rushed from her Kelly Drive home, leaving behind her false teeth and an unkempt bed.
• Her red Chrysler was found in the parking lot at St. Elizabeth South Hospital in Edgewood.
• Her purse was found inside a hospital trash can, along with the purse of a sister Ms. Roberts went to visit in the hospital Sunday night.
Mr. Ernst eventually told police that she collapsed and died in front of him after an argument.
When asked if he bought that story, Detective Schwabe gave a resounding response.
“Not at all, (but) that's his story,” he said.
Mr. Ernst directed police to Mrs. Roberts' body on a ridge at the end of Timberline Road, off U.S. 42, in Gallatin County. She was under some plywood and plastic.
It appeared as though someone had poured gasoline on her and tried to set her afire. Detective Schwabe declined comment on the trauma found on her body.
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