Gwinnett man killed his wife because he was angry she went on birthday trip, mother says

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County man who reported that his wife committed suicide last week was charged with murder. The medical examiner’s office found that she suffered from more than one gunshot wound.

Police said Glenroy Roberts called 911 last Tuesday to say that his wife, 45-year-old Claudia Roberts, shot herself at his apartment on Bethesda Church Road.

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Her family immediately did not believe that the mother of five would take her own life, especially in front of her 10-year-old son.

Gwinnett County police agreed. They arrested Glenroy Roberts after the medical examiner’s office found that she suffered from two gunshot wounds.

Channel 2′s Matt Johnson talked to Claudia Roberts’ mother, Delores Squire, who said Glenroy Roberts was angry that she had gone to New Jersey to celebrate Squires birthday with her.

“I guess he wasn’t pleased with her for going,” Squires said. “She shouldn’t have gone down like that. She didn’t deserve that.”

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Claudia’s family said she had suffered from abuse at the hands of her husband but tried to make the marriage work for her children.

“She wanted to see them grow up with a father,” Squires said. “If a person should ever hit you, don’t let it happen a second time, because it’s going to continue.”

Her daughter told Johnson that Claudia Roberts was someone who loved life and her children.

“I knew my mother went down fighting,” her oldest daughter, Samantha Phillips said. “She wanted to live. She wanted to make everybody move, you know.”

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The family is now rallying around her 10-year-old son.

“He was there. Please pray for him,” Phillips said. “The trauma and things that may go through his head, we will not know.”

Daniel Roberts described his mother as his hero at a vigil for her on Sunday at their home in Lawrenceville. He says what happened to his mother doesn’t have to happen to other victims of domestic violence.

“Watch the people you stay around,” he said, “because you never know what their intentions are.”

The family is trying to raise money for Roberts’ funeral and more information is available here.

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