In the spring of 2014, the life of 26-year-old Angela Rabotte was tragically cut short, leaving a community in shock and a young daughter without her mother. Rabotte, a popular Atlanta-area exotic dancer known by the stage name 'Climax,' was last seen alive in the early morning hours of March 29, 2014, in the parking lot of the Steeplechase Apartments in Norcross. The night before, she had dropped off her three-year-old daughter with a friend to attend a party. Concerns grew when she failed to return, prompting a search by worried family and friends. The search came to a devastating end on April 3, 2014, when a survey crew discovered her body in a heavily wooded area off Lilburn Industrial Way and Arcado Road in Lilburn. An autopsy later confirmed that Angela Rabotte had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
The investigation quickly focused on a person of interest, Charles Thomas Outlaw, who was one of the last people seen with Rabotte. At the time her body was found, Outlaw was already in custody at the Gwinnett County Jail on unrelated drug charges. Initially, he was only considered a person of interest, but as the investigation progressed, evidence began to mount against him. Investigators learned that Outlaw, who was described as a manager and boyfriend to Rabotte, had given her a ride the night she disappeared. His story about her disappearance was inconsistent, raising suspicions among law enforcement and Rabotte's family.
In July 2014, Lilburn police charged 29-year-old Charles Thomas Outlaw with malice murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with Angela Rabotte's death. Prosecutors argued that the two had gotten into an argument while he was driving her home, leading to him shooting her. Key evidence in the case included gunshot residue found in the car he was driving and his cellphone records, which placed him near the location where her body was dumped. After a trial that included a mistrial, a Gwinnett County jury convicted Charles Thomas Outlaw of Rabotte's murder in August 2016. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 15 years.
