Argument Over Feeding Dog Table Scraps Led to Weld County Murders
A disagreement over whether or not a dog should be fed table scraps has been revealed as the motive behind these June Weld County murders, according to The Greeley Tribune.
53-year-old William Joseph Roberts was arrested in June on suspicion of the first-degree murder of his two roommates, 65-year-old Ruben Vallejos and his 59-year-old wife Deborah.
He is currently being held at the Weld County Jail without bond.
Officers from the Weld County Sheriff's Office were called to Roberts' residence, located at 2678 Weld County Road 23, on June 6th for a wellness check requested by Lynette Vallejos, Ruben's sister, who said she had not been able to reach her brother for two days.
Upon arrival, officers saw that the door was open and a dog was heard barking inside the home. A body, covered in a blanket and surrounded by blood, was visible from the window.
After entering the home, police determined the person was already dead. The body was later identified as Deborah Vallejos. An autopsy revealed that she died of blunt force trauma after being struct in the head with a pipe.
Police found Ruben's body in his bed. He was also already deceased and covered in a blanket. Autopsy results showed that he also died from blunt force trauma to the head.
The couple's children informed officers that their parents had recently taken in a new roommate, whom they met at a liquor store in Brighton. Roberts was recently fired from the store after he was accused of stealing.
Their daughter stayed at the home on June 4th, when Deborah began complaining about Roberts. She was upset that their dog appeared to like him more than her, and she suspected it was because he was feeding table scraps to the dog.
Deborah asked Roberts about feeding the dog, which he denied. The two began to argue, when Roberts eventually conceded and said he was going to leave. Assuming that was the end of the argument, Deborah's daughter went home for the night.
Roberts turned himself in to the Fort Lupton police on June 8th and quickly confessed to the murders. He admitted that he had been planning to kill the Vallejos couple for months, stating that he brought the pipe into the home specifically for that purpose.
According to Roberts, he wanted to kill Deborah because she was a "mean lady," and he wanted to kill Ruben to "put him out of his misery."
Roberts told officers he killed Deborah while she was on her way to use the restroom, while he killed Ruben in his sleep.
He also planned to kill himself by slitting his wrists and overdosing on sleeping pills. He later told officers that there is "no doubt" he did it.
Roberts claimed he "just snapped." Expressing his regret for what he did, Roberts said he "shouldn't have done it," and told officers to give him the death penalty.
He is scheduled to appear in Weld District Court at 1:30 p.m. on December 3rd for a status conference.