In the early morning hours of Monday, September 23, 2024, a grim discovery was made in a home in Roanoke County, Virginia, marking the end of a life and the beginning of a homicide investigation. Inside a residence on Pitzer Road, police found the bodies of 42-year-old Amanda Rae Robertson and 58-year-old Robert Michael Jackson. Both individuals had sustained fatal gunshot wounds, and their deaths were quickly deemed to be the result of a double homicide.
As investigators began to piece
together the events that led to the tragic scene, a suspect was swiftly identified. Law enforcement officials named 57-year-old Wayne Hubert Shortt, Jr., of the neighboring Franklin County, as the person of interest. The investigation revealed that Shortt had been in a previous relationship with Robertson. It is believed by authorities that drugs and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the incident. The relationship between the victims and the suspect was known to investigators.
The search for the suspect came to a swift and somber conclusion later the same day. When officers from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office arrived at Shortt's residence on Hardy Road to execute a search warrant, they found him deceased inside. The cause of his death was determined to be a suicide, bringing a dark end to the investigation. Authorities have stated their belief that Shortt was the sole individual responsible for the deaths of Robertson and Jackson.
Amanda Rae Robertson was a mother of four who had graduated with honors from Franklin County High School. She was known for her love of nature and for homeschooling her children. Her sudden and violent death left her family, including her mother, children, sister, and brother, to mourn her loss. A service to celebrate her life was held in early October of the same year.
