Emily Todd, a 25-year-old Caucasian woman, was found deceased on December 9, 2018, on the shore of Bridgeport Harbor in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A therapist at a senior center in Danbury, she had sustained a single gunshot wound to the back of her head. The investigation into her death quickly focused on a man she had recently met on a dating app.
Emily had been in a brief relationship with Brandon Roberts, then 26 years old, which she had decided to end after only a few days.
In the days leading up to her death, Todd had expressed fear of Roberts and had even contacted Bridgeport police to report that he had threatened to harm himself. On December 8, 2018, Roberts lured Emily to a boat ramp in Bridgeport, where they walked along the beach. It was there that he shot her in the back of the head.
After the murder, Roberts stole Emily's car, cellphone, and credit cards, and proceeded to withdraw money from her bank account. He then fled to his father's home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where he was apprehended by police on December 14, 2018. While in custody, Roberts confessed to killing Emily Todd. He also admitted to shooting another woman near Washington Park a year earlier.
In April 2022, a jury found Brandon Roberts guilty of murder, felony murder, first-degree robbery, and carrying a pistol without a permit. During the trial, his defense argued that he was under "extreme emotional disturbance," a claim the prosecution refuted by presenting evidence of the planned nature of the crime and the financial motive. In June 2022, Roberts was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for the murder of Emily Todd.
