Account
Mar 02, 2018
Jul 08, 2019
Roberta
Snider
76
69
60 inches
120 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
In early January 2018, the quiet community of Hartville, Ohio, was unsettled by the strange disappearance of 70-year-old Roberta Snider. What began as a reported road trip to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband of over 50 years, Phillip Snider, quickly evolved into a perplexing case with conflicting narratives. Phillip initially told family that Roberta, who was in poor health, had a medical emergency and passed away in their vehicle upon arriving in Memphis. He claimed to have flagged down an ambulance in a hotel parking lot, which took her away. However, after returning to Ohio alone, Roberta's brother, concerned about the lack of information and the inability to bring her home for burial, contacted the Hartville Police Department. This initiated an investigation that would soon uncover inconsistencies in Phillip's account. As authorities delved into the matter, Phillip Snider's story began to unravel. Investigators in Tennessee could find no record of Roberta Snider's death, nor any "Jane Doe" matching her description. Furthermore, surveillance footage from a hotel in Sparta, Kentucky, where Phillip claimed they had stopped for the night, showed him checking in alone. When confronted with this evidence, Phillip's story changed. He then claimed Roberta had died somewhere between Columbus and Cincinnati, and that he had placed her body in the back of his truck to continue their trip to Graceland, later disposing of her body in the Tennessee River on his way back to Ohio. Extensive searches of the river yielded no sign of Roberta. The investigation took a more definitive turn when a cadaver dog, while not detecting human remains in his truck, indicated the scent of them on a plastic tub in the basement of their home. The investigation culminated in the arrest of Phillip Snider for his wife's murder in April 2018. A significant breakthrough came when an undercover officer befriended Phillip and elicited a confession. He admitted to striking Roberta with a hammer while she slept on a loveseat in their home on January 3rd, following an argument. Bloodstains found on the loveseat, which he had since moved to a new apartment, matched Roberta's DNA. In August 2018, Phillip Snider pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to lead authorities to her remains. He then recanted his story about the Tennessee River, stating he had placed her body in a dumpster in Bullitt County, Kentucky. Investigators believe her body is now in a landfill in Hardin County, Kentucky, though a search has not been conducted. The case that began as a missing person report from a supposed trip to Graceland concluded with a husband's confession to a brutal crime, leaving a family to grieve a loss compounded by the uncertainty of a final resting place.
Jan 04, 2018
Hartville
Ohio
Stark County
44632
31989
Hartville Police Department
Hartville
Ohio
,
Hartville Police Department
10038
Brown
Brown
Brown
05/20/2026
