Rachel Renee Roberts, a 23-year-old White female from Newark, Delaware, was killed on August 7, 2018, in a domestic-related shooting that authorities determined was a murder-suicide. Roberts, affectionately known as “Sweet Pea,” was a 2013 graduate of St. Georges Technical High School. Her life ended during a violent confrontation at a residence on North Skyward Drive in the Breezewood community near Newark.
At approximately 5:00 that evening, Roberts was inside the home with a young
child and another family member when her former boyfriend, Probyn Morris, arrived. Investigators said Morris forced his way into the residence while armed with a handgun. A commotion followed inside the house, creating an opportunity for the relative and child to escape. They fled to a nearby neighbor's home, where someone called 911 and reported the unfolding emergency.
As New Castle County police officers were traveling to the scene, witnesses heard several gunshots. Responding officers from the New Castle County Police Department and Delaware State Police secured the area and discovered Roberts outside in the yard near the residence. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency personnel transported her to a local hospital, but she could not be saved and was pronounced dead.
Morris was also found outside in the yard with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and officers located a handgun near his body. The Delaware Medical Examiner's Office later determined that Roberts died from multiple gunshot wounds and officially ruled her death a homicide. Morris died from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, and his death was ruled a suicide.
Police identified Morris as the person responsible for Roberts's killing and announced that they were not searching for any additional suspects. Because he died at the scene, Morris was never arrested or formally charged with murder, and there was no criminal trial or conviction. The case was resolved through the police investigation and the medical examiner's findings rather than through court proceedings, leaving Roberts's loved ones without the opportunity to see the person responsible answer for the killing before a judge or jury.
