David James Roberts: Murderer, Rapist and Escaped Fugitive
Background and Early Criminal History
David James Roberts was an Indiana murderer, rapist and career criminal whose crimes during 1974 resulted in the deaths of four people, including two young children. Although he is frequently described as a serial killer, his known murders consisted of a family annihilation followed by the killing of an infant during a separate kidnapping and sexual assault. His crimes were committed months apart and involved different motives and methods.
Roberts was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in January 1944. By his early adulthood, he had begun accumulating a serious criminal record. In 1966, he was accused of committing robberies and sexual assaults against women in Gary and Crown Point, Indiana. His later offenses revealed a willingness to use deception, intimidation and extreme violence against both adults and children.
The Patrick Family Murders
The events leading to Roberts's first known murders began with a relatively minor property crime. On October 10, 1973, Roberts brought a vehicle to a Sears Automobile Service Center in Indianapolis, where tires and exhaust work were performed. The vehicle was removed from the business before the bill was paid. Roberts reportedly used the false name Robert Johnson during the transaction.
William Patrick, an employee at the service center, identified Roberts as the man connected to the unpaid work. On January 15, 1974, Patrick gave a deposition to Roberts's attorney and implicated him in the theft. Prosecutors later argued that Roberts decided to eliminate Patrick because he was an important witness against him.
During the afternoon of January 19, Roberts's gold Buick Riviera was seen at a service station owned by William Patrick's brother in New Whiteland, Indiana. The driver purchased gasoline and asked for directions to Princeton Drive, where the Patrick family lived. Later that day, Roberts was seen at another station in Indianapolis purchasing gasoline for his car and filling a five-gallon container.
In the early morning hours of January 20, 1974, police officers and firefighters were summoned to the Patrick residence on Princeton Drive. The home had been deliberately set on fire. Inside, investigators discovered the bodies of William Patrick, his wife, Elizabeth Ann Patrick, who was commonly called Ann, and their young daughter, Heidi.
Evidence showed that a struggle had taken place inside the house. William and Ann had died from asphyxia before the fire consumed the residence, while Heidi died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation. Investigators found a five-gallon gasoline can and a nozzle inside the burned home. The container was identified as the same one Roberts had obtained from an Indianapolis service station only hours earlier.
Witnesses also reported seeing a large gold Buick near the Patrick home during the night. The vehicle was gone by the time fire sirens awakened neighbors at approximately 4:30 in the morning. The gasoline container, Roberts's efforts to locate Princeton Drive and the presence of a car matching his vehicle near the residence formed a powerful body of circumstantial evidence against him.
Roberts was charged in connection with the three deaths. Despite the seriousness of the accusations, he was able to obtain release on bond while the case was pending. His release gave him the opportunity to commit another exceptionally cruel crime later that year.
The Kidnapping of Paula Utterback
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on November 14, 1974, Paula Utterback was driving through Indianapolis with her infant son, Jason Douglas Utterback. Roberts approached her vehicle at an intersection while armed with a gun. He forced his way into the automobile, took control of it and drove away with Paula and Jason as his captives.
During the ordeal, Roberts sexually assaulted Paula twice. He eventually forced her into the trunk of the vehicle and locked her inside. Paula was still trapped in the trunk when Roberts drove away with Jason remaining in the passenger area of the car.
At some point during the night, Roberts removed the infant from the vehicle and abandoned him outdoors in freezing weather. Jason was left without protection from the subfreezing temperature and had no possibility of finding shelter or summoning help. Roberts then continued driving before abandoning the automobile with Paula still imprisoned in its trunk.
Paula managed to survive and escape from the vehicle. Her son was found dead at another location on November 15, 1974. Medical authorities determined that Jason had died from exposure to the cold. He was approximately five months old.
Paula later identified Roberts as her attacker. He was prosecuted for Jason's murder as well as Paula's kidnapping and rape. In January 1977, a Marion County jury convicted him of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and rape. He received life sentences for the murder and kidnapping convictions, along with an additional prison term for rape.
Known Murder Victims
- William "Bill" Patrick — Died January 20, 1974, at his family's home on Princeton Drive in New Whiteland, Indiana. He died from asphyxia before the residence was destroyed by a gasoline-fueled fire.
- Elizabeth Ann "Ann" Patrick — Died January 20, 1974, in New Whiteland, Indiana. Like her husband, she died from asphyxia before the fire consumed the house.
- Heidi Patrick — Died January 20, 1974, inside the Patrick residence in New Whiteland, Indiana. The young child died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation during the fire.
- Jason Douglas Utterback — Died November 15, 1974, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Roberts abandoned the approximately five-month-old infant outdoors during subfreezing weather after kidnapping the child and his mother. Jason died from exposure to the cold.
Convictions and Sentencing
Roberts was convicted in separate trials for the Patrick family murders and the crimes against Paula and Jason Utterback. In the Patrick case, he was convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder, felony murder and arson. Some overlapping sentences were later vacated because they punished him more than once for the same killings, but the three life sentences imposed for the deaths of William, Ann and Heidi Patrick remained in effect.
His convictions in the Utterback case added further life sentences for murder and kidnapping, as well as a lengthy sentence for rape. He ultimately faced six life terms for murder, kidnapping and related offenses. His appeals challenged the evidence, trial procedures and identification testimony, but Indiana's appellate courts upheld the central convictions.
Escape from Custody
On October 27, 1986, Roberts escaped while returning to the Indiana State Prison after undergoing medical testing. He broke free from custody and disappeared, beginning a nationwide manhunt. On April 27, 1987, the Federal Bureau of Investigation placed him on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list as fugitive number 409.
Roberts eventually traveled to Staten Island, New York, where he adopted the alias Bob Lord. While concealing his true identity, he managed to obtain work at a homeless shelter and eventually became one of its directors. People who interacted with him had no idea that the apparently helpful shelter employee was an escaped murderer and convicted rapist serving multiple life sentences.
Capture and Later Imprisonment
Roberts became the first fugitive prominently featured when the television program America's Most Wanted premiered on February 7, 1988. Members of the public recognized him and provided information to investigators. Four days after the broadcast, on February 11, FBI agents arrested Roberts in a Staten Island apartment. He was taken into custody without a prolonged confrontation and returned to Indiana to continue serving his sentences.
The capture made Roberts nationally infamous, but the attention surrounding his escape sometimes overshadowed the suffering of his victims. William, Ann and Heidi Patrick were killed because William had cooperated in a case involving stolen automotive work. Jason Utterback died because Roberts abandoned a defenseless infant in lethal winter conditions after kidnapping and assaulting the child's mother.
Roberts's crimes demonstrated an extraordinary disregard for human life. He used fire to conceal one crime scene, subjected Paula Utterback to kidnapping and sexual violence, and deliberately placed her infant son in circumstances where death was a foreseeable result. His capture ended his period as a fugitive, but he remained imprisoned under the life sentences imposed for the murders and other violent offenses.
