Roberts Found Guilty Of All Counts In Death Of Bethel Woman Emily Todd

BETHEL, CT — A Superior Court in Bridgeport found Brandon Roberts guilty of murder in the 2018 homicide of Bethel resident Emily Todd.

The Connecticut Post is reporting that the jury's verdict came down around 11 a.m. Tuesday. The Ohio man was also found guilty of felony murder, first-degree robbery, and carrying a pistol without a permit.

Police found Todd, a 25-year-old therapist at a Danbury senior center and 2011 graduate of Bethel High School, with a gunshot wound to the head lying face down in the sand along the shore on Dec. 9, 2018. Police say that Roberts, whom she met on a dating app, lured Todd to the Bridgeport beach after she told him she was ending their relationship. Roberts confessed to killing Todd and to shooting another woman in Washington Park in 2017, according to police.

During the trial that began last week, Roberts' lawyers did not dispute that their client pulled the trigger, but argued he was under "extreme emotional distress," according to the Connecticut Post.

In January 2020, a Bridgeport Superior Court judge rejected a 45-year plea offer from Roberts, and denied a request made by the Todd's family for life without release.

News 12 is reporting that Todd's family in the gallery was sobbing loudly as the verdict was read, and that Roberts yelled "I'm still living" at them while he exited the courtroom.

The court has set Roberts' sentencing for June 24, when he will face up to 90 years in prison.