A Golden Gate University School of Law student was arrested in early September for the July murder of a fellow classmate who he was living with and referred to as his fiancé.
Joseph Roberts, a 42-year old law student, was arrested by the Alameda police more than a month after his fiancé, Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, 27, was found dead. Alameda is located across the bay from San Francisco, where Golden Gate University is located.
Buckner’s remains were found inside a bag left near a bridge, Alameda police said in a statement. Her head, feet and hands had been removed and had not been located by late September. A DNA test in late August helped police identify the victim as Buckner, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. on a scholarship.
Alameda police said in the statement that “additional evidence” led detectives to Roberts. According to charging documents, Roberts still had the victim’s phone and car, and police found evidence that he likely killed her in their home.
“Joseph [Roberts] never reported the victim missing at any point during this investigation. Joseph’s DNA was on the tape that wrapped her body, which meant he was aware she was dead, he was aware she was dismembered, and he took an active role in wrapping her body, concealing it in plastic garbage bags,” an officer wrote in a police report.
Roberts had previously been accused of verbal and online sexual harassment when a student at Savannah State University in 2013, according to The Messenger, a news website. Savannah State suspended him and he claimed he was denied due process.
In 2018, he shared his story with Betsy DeVos, then former President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, as an example of unfairness, and he appeared on ABC’s Nightline program, claiming he was presumed guilty.
Buckner recently graduated from Golden Gate University, but it is unclear if Roberts also recently graduated. The university issued a statement referring to him as a student.
