In East Point, Georgia on February 12th, 2013 officers discovered the home of Julius Dewberry completely ransacked. Someone had stolen the 92-year-old World War II veterans television, a jewelry box, and several thousands of dollars in cash.
Then… they found what they hoped they wouldn’t see… Mr. Dewberry, strangled to death with the rope used to kill him still wrapped around his neck.
It was a terrible, tragic, and unforgettable sight for the officers that night. But a lead came from a very unexpected place.
A drug dealer caught wind of what had happened and tipped off local police. He stated that Christopher Roberts, had sold him the T.V. and as soon as he found out about the crime and the death of the elderly World War II vet, he got rid of it.
Along with selling the television in exchange for drugs, Roberts had bought a Lincoln Town Car with $4,000 in cash and even attempted to sell the jewelry box to a family member. Roberts admitted to the police that he had been in the East Point home that night and that he did sell the T.V. to his drug dealer. Police arrested Roberts.
Now, Roberts has plead guilty to felon murder and burglary in the first degree. Todd Markle, Fulton County Superior Court Judge, sentenced Roberts to life in prison.
“At 92 years old, Mr. Dewberry’s spirit was just as strong as his conviction to serve our Country in World War II and the Korean War. He was proud of his service to this Country and he was proud of the life he built in East Point. That life was tragically taken from Mr. Dewberry’s wife, daughter, and the East Point Community. We are saddened by his death but find solace knowing that the defendant will be held accountable,” said East Point Police Chief Tommy Gardner.
As written for wsbtv.com by Tony Thomas:
EAST POINT, Ga. – The man accused of murdering a 92-year-old East Point resident is due in court on Thursday, the same day victim, Julius Dewberry, will be buried.
East Point police arrested Christopher Roberts on Tuesday, charging him with murder and several other offenses.
Roberts worked as a handyman around the area and Dewberry’s family said he worked at the elderly man’s home several times.
“He was a 92-year-old man, he didn’t deserve to die like that,” said Dewberry’s daughter Pat Mihailoff.
Mihailoff and another relative spent Wednesday cleaning the family home on Jefferson Avenue and preparing for Thursdays funeral.
On the refrigerator was a note Dewberry had kept with the accused murderer’s phone number and the words “Call Anytime.”
Accused killer of 92-year-old had extensive criminal background