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The Interrogation

Crime Files

The Interrogation

Police get their man

With Roberts in custody the police took a mouth swab to obtain a new DNA sample. One of his victims had said his attacker had had a lot of moles on his back. The police asked Roberts to remove his shirt. His back was covered.The swab was sent to a specialist lab in Denmark.Nearly three long ‘agonising’ weeks later, the tests came back.The match was positive.Roberts matched the old fashioned generic fingerprint from the first victim and the modern day DNA samples from two others.But even with the new evidence, the case wasn’t overwhelming.So they interviewed Robert’s former partners.It turned out that Roberts had told one that he had ‘done’ one of the victims but contrary to press reports, he hadn’t raped her. Only Roberts knew this to be the case. Fearful of his retaliation if she reported his confession to the police, she hadn’t talked. Twenty years later, she was now ready.

Unlike Roberts, who throughout his interview answered every question with...“No comment.”Roberts simply stared at his interrogators. His only contribution was to say that he felt ill and tired. At other times, he would studiously write down every word asked of him.“He’s probably one of the most cold people I’ve ever interviewed.”Bob MeadeThey searched his house. They didn’t find anything linking him to the crimes. But they did find a copy of an anger management course he’d been on. In it he described how if he lost control, he’d be capable of incredible violence.During his course he’d said he never targeted those known to him. It was revealing that in his mind, those who he didn’t know, didn’t matter.But despite the circumstantial evidence and the similarities, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to charge Roberts with the Irene Grainey murder.There was, however, to charge him with the four other sickening attacks.Twenty years on the run and nearly twelve years of cold case review had come to an end.