California law student’s dismembered body found; fiancé charged with murder.
Young Woman’s Dismembered Remains Found in Alameda, California
In July, the dismembered remains of a young woman washed ashore near the Bay Farm Island Bridge in Alameda, California, just outside of Oakland. Now, her fiancé has been charged with her murder.
The remains of Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, 27, were identified on August 30, according to a press release from the Alameda Police Department. When her body was first discovered, a preliminary autopsy determined she had been murdered, but her remains went unidentified for months due to limited identifying factors.
DNA finally provided the answer, and additional evidence led police to arrest her 42-year-old fiancé, Joseph Roberts, KRON reported.
Buckner’s remains were found by a resident walking along the beach on July 20, and investigators quickly discovered she had been dismembered and dumped on Bay Farm Island.
“This one is pretty brutal. I have never had a dismemberment case,” Alameda Police Sgt. Spencer Mountain said, according to KRON.
Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi added that in his “25 years as a police officer, I have never seen anything as disturbing as this.”
Joshi also said that Buckner’s family had been notified of her death.
“I was with my investigators when we made notification to the family,” he said, according to the outlet. “As you can imagine they were devastated.”
Buckner’s head, feet, and hands were all removed from her body – and still have not been found, KTVU reported.
Roberts’ DNA was found on the duct tape wrapped around her body, leading to his arrest.
Sgt. Mountain said, “The two of them had been dating” and “might have even been engaged.”
Roberts identified himself as Buckner’s fiancé on charging documents reviewed by the New York Post.
Mountain told KRON that neither Roberts nor Buckner had ties to Alameda, as they were both from Pleasanton, California.
“Neither one seems to be connected to anything here,” he told the outlet.
Cell phone records showed Roberts last communicated with Buckner on July 13, just one week before her remains were found. Roberts also had Buckner’s phone in his car, which he used even after her death.
“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,” Detective Robert Hansen said in a statement, according to the Post.
Buckner’s family provided a written statement to KTVU, saying, “Her death has left a void that is indescribable in her community and village.”
The family described Buckner, who was just months away from completing her degree at Golden Gate University School of Law, as “beautiful, brilliant, kind” with “an incredibly bright future.”
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