Man accused of strangling Branson girl found unfit to stand trial — for now
A judge ruled Wednesday the man accused of strangling and killing a 6-year-old girl in his Branson hotel room is mentally unfit to stand trial, but that could change after he is treated at a mental hospital.
John P. Roberts, 55, is charged with first-degree murder in the February killing of 6-year-old Jasmine Miller. Branson police say Roberts lured the girl into his room with snacks and strangled her.
A state psychiatrist said in court Wednesday that Roberts has an IQ of 57 and “a very basic low comprehension that he is in trouble.”
Roberts appeared in court looking nothing like his police mug shot. He was clean shaven and had short hair and appeared to have lost quite a bit of weight.
Forensic psychiatrist James Reynolds interviewed Roberts for 90 minutes in June and on Wednesday while on the witness stand recommended that Roberts be sent to a secure unit in the Fulton State Hospital.
Judge Eric Eighmy agreed with that recommendation after hearing Reynolds testify. The goal is to treat and evaluate Roberts at the mental health facility so he can assist his attorneys in his defense and eventually stand trial.
Eighmy said he expected a progress report on Roberts from the Missouri Department of Mental Health by March 15.
The psychiatrist testified he asked Roberts about various aspects of the legal proceedings against him.
He said Roberts told him that a jury was “six girls and six guys and they hear your story.”
He said that Roberts’ understanding of witnesses was that “they could be for you or against you and Jesus knew what happened.”
Roberts told the psychiatrist that he believed the range of punishment ranged from having his “brain cooked” and “injecting him with poison” — possibly referring to the death penalty — to having to go to schools and tell students about the evils of drugs and alcohol.
Roberts’ attorney said in court that she has been telling her client for months that if he is convicted there are only two options: life in prison without parole or possibly execution.
The psychiatrist also testified that Roberts suffered from diabetes and hypertension and that his mental acuity possibly could improve if those health problems lessen while at Fulton.
Regardless, Reynolds testified, over a span of 45 years Roberts has had his IQ tested five times – with scores ranging from 57 to 69.
In general terms, the psychiatrist said, a person often is considered developmentally disabled with a score under 70.
Prosecutor Jeff Merrell pointed out that Roberts was a high school graduate.
The psychiatrist quickly responded: “He was in special ed.”
Jasmine was in kindergarten at Cedar Ridge Primary School in Branson at the time of her death. She and her family had only recently moved from Springfield, where she was a student at Mann Elementary.
Police say her naked body was discovered under a bed in a guest room at the Windsor Inn on Missouri 76 in Branson on Feb. 21. Police say Roberts was the only inhabitant of the room. The Windsor Inn is used as an extended-stay motel, often inhabited by those who might otherwise be homeless.
Roberts’ attorney Lindsey Phoenix asked the psychiatrist if his opinion of Roberts’ mental competency would change if there was testimony that Roberts tried to cover up the crime by hiding the girl’s body under a bed.
The psychiatrist said no.
Roberts was also questioned while in the Taney County Jail by child welfare investigators. He told them he had been high on “devil poison” — methamphetamine — when he gripped Jasmine’s neck “to scare her” for taking snacks from his room, according to documents. Investigators also said Roberts appeared to be “disoriented.”
Almost all details of the investigation are from those Children’s Division documents. The probable cause statement used to file the charge against Roberts was sparse, prompting his defense attorney to move, unsuccessfully, for the case to be thrown out.
The girl’s stepfather, Jason Ballew, told Children’s Division investigators the family had returned home from Wendy’s about 5:30 p.m. the night Jasmine died. He said she went outside to play, according to Children’s Division documents.
He said he knew Jasmine was playing outside and that he kept the blinds and door open to keep an eye on her. He said he noticed she was missing about 6:15 p.m. and called police 15 minutes later.
Ballew said the family knew Roberts and had twice given him a ride. Ballew said he had been to Roberts’ room at the hotel once or twice and that Jasmine was “never alone when they went.”