Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Police: Suspect in woman's death 'scared'
Murder case goes to the grand jury
By SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — With scratches on his neck, Shawn William Ernst told Florence police, “I goofed.”
That simple sentence led to Mr. Ernst's statement last week that he also drove the body of his landlady, Sandra Kay Roberts, 59, of Florence, to a Gallatin County farm and used lighter fluid to ignite her remains, said Carl Agner, a Florence police detective.
“He was scared because the family had been talking bad about him,” said Detective Agner, testifying Monday in a Boone District Court preliminary hearing.
Mr. Ernst faces a charge of murder. His case has been bound over to Boone Circuit Court and could go before a grand jury today. If indicted and convicted of the murder charge, he could face the death penalty.
Mr. Ernst told police that he moved into Mrs. Roberts' home in mid-March and that they had been arguing over a $145 long-distance phone bill.
Investigators said their arguments led to Mr. Ernst strangling Mrs. Roberts the night of April 2. Mr. Ernst, though, has said that she merely collapsed in front of him and died.
At Monday's hearing, Detective Agner relayed the happenings of April 2 according to Mrs. Roberts' relatives and Mr. Ernst. Both were sitting in the courtroom — the family behind Assistant County Attorney Marcia Thomas, and Mr. Ernst at the defense table, wearing a black-and-white striped jumpsuit.
According to Detective Agner's testimony:
Mrs. Roberts' relatives last saw her around 8 p.m. April 2. They knew that she and Mr. Ernst had been arguing and that she planned to seek an eviction notice the next day.
Instead, they reported her missing Monday. Detective Agner began investigating her Kelly Drive home around 10 p.m.
It looked as though it had been cleaned, he said, yet there were some peculiar touches, such as the lights being on and her dentures left behind.
In Mr. Ernst's room, all his possessions were gone and only a sheet was on the bed.
“It was suspicious, but at this time we were possibly looking at two missing people,” Detective Agner said.
The next day, Mr. Ernst, who is part-owner of a video arcade business in Dayton, Ky., reported to the Dayton Police Department because he knew Florence police were looking for him. Florence police arrived and began conducting an interview.
They drove Mr. Ernst to Florence police headquarters upon Mr. Ernst's request and continued the investigation there. That's where he confessed to driving Mrs. Roberts to Gallatin County, police said.
He told Detective Agner that Mrs. Roberts walked into his room the night of April 2 and began “talking nonsense.”
“He said ... she came into his room calling other people's names,” Detective Agner said.
Then she collapsed, Mr. Ernst told Detective Agner. Mr. Ernst first put her in her own car. Then he changed his mind and drove her to Gallatin County in his Ford Taurus, he said.
Upon cross-examination, Public Defender Ed Drennen wanted to know if there was any evidence of a struggle or blood or bodily fluids found in the home.
Detective Agner said no. But he noted that he found a towel, which appeared to have blood on it, in Mr. Ernst's car and that Mr. Ernst had scratches on his neck during the interview.
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