A former Republican Party committee member in San Francisco, who rose to prominence as an advocate for men who said they were falsely accused of harassment, has been arrested for the murder and dismemberment of his fiancée.
Joseph C. Roberts, a 42-year-old Navy veteran, said he was falsely accused of harassment and suspended from Savannah State University in Georgia in 2013 and made the rounds of media interviews to discuss the “excesses” of the #metoo movement after then Education Secretary Betsy DeVos changed Title IX rules to protect those who were accused of sexual misconduct in college, the San Francisco Standard reported. In 2020, he was elected as a delegate to the the San Francisco Republican Party County Central Committee but later resigned.
Roberts was arrested earlier this month for the murder of 27-year-old Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, whose body was found on the Alameda shoreline in July. Her head, feet, and hands had been removed and have not been found, KTVU reported.
A probable cause statement said that Buckner’s body was wrapped in plastic and duct tape when it found on July 20, placed between a walking path and the water. The body was identified on August 29.
Authorities said Roberts’ DNA was found on the duct tape.
He was arrested at the apartment the couple shared in Pleasanton. Police said they found forensic evidence that indicated Buckner was killed in the apartment.
“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,” the affidavit said.
A search warrant for Roberts’ phone records indicate his phone last communicated with Buckner’s on July 13. Since then, Roberts was in touch with at leats three other women. Additionally, the affidavit said, he still had Buckner’s phone when he was arrested and had even used it long after her death.
Alameda investigators said that Roberts and Buckner was both arrested in 2022 for breaking into her mother’s home and assaulting family members, KTVU said.
The Standard also reported on an incident in which Roberts posted a photo of himself with Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed, captioned “There’s so much more to this story,” and a receipt that appeared to be from from an exclusive, 8-person event at the posh restaurant The French Laundry during the coronavirus pandemic.
But the restaurant said the receipt was a fake and Breed spokesperson Jeff Cretan said that Roberts met the mayor at a public event, where the photo was taken, and that afterward “his behavior … required us to report him to her security/SFPD.”
Roberts has been charged with murder and is being held without bail. He is due back in court on October 2.
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[Featured image: Joseph Roberts/Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and Imani Buckner/GoFundMe]
