A passerby discovered Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner dead, dismembered, and duct taped in plastic along a shoreline near the Bay Farm Island Bridge in Alameda, California, police said. Her boyfriend, Joseph C. Roberts, killed her, officers said. (Screenshot: KRON)
Police say they’ve finally identified the dismembered remains of a woman discovered along a San Francisco Bay Area shoreline in July, and that DNA evidence on duct tape showed the victim’s boyfriend to be the killer.
Joseph C. Roberts, 42, is charged with murdering Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, 27. He is currently being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda, California.
The victim’s remains turned up in a plastic bag along the shoreline near the Bay Farm Island Bridge, say Alameda police.
A passerby discovered the remains while walking on a trail, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi told Bay Area NBC affiliate KNTV on Thursday.
The victim’s head, heads, and feet were severed from her body and remain missing, according to the probable cause affidavit obtained by local Fox station KTVU.
Officers could not immediately figure out the woman’s identity, though they eventually confirmed it on Aug. 30 through DNA testing.
Police claim Roberts’ DNA was on the duct tape that was wrapped around some of Buckner’s body parts.
“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 police affidavit reportedly stated.
Robert allegedly never reported his girlfriend missing although they had been together for several years and lived together at an apartment in the city of Pleasanton, some 40 miles southeast of Alameda.
A search warrant for Roberts’ phone records showed his phone called connected with Buckner’s phone on July 13, about a week before the passerby found the body, officers said.
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Roberts had Buckner’s phone and used it long after she died, officials said. He also allegedly had her car.
Officers noted that Roberts communicated with at least three other women since then.
Authorities arrested Roberts at his and Buckner’s apartment on Wednesday, and they claimed to find evidence that the murder took place there.
Officers released details about the couple’s apparently turbulent history. Authorities arrested both last year for allegedly breaking into the home of Bucker’s mother and assaulting her family. At the time, Roberts allegedly called Buckner his fiancée.
“The two of them had been dating. They might have even been engaged,” Alameda Police Sgt. Spencer Mountain said, according to local news station KRON.
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Buckner and her family no longer regularly stayed in touch after the arrests, but Joshi told KNTV that the relatives were devastated upon hearing about the murder.
“The Alameda Police Department remains in contact with the Buckner family and we ask for the community to respect their privacy during this extremely difficult time,” police said in a statement posted online.
The investigation continues. Detectives have not figured out the motive, and they have not determined when Roberts allegedly killed Buckner, Joshi reportedly said.
Officers ask that anyone with information call the Alameda Police Department at 510-337-8402.
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