BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - An Ohio man charged with killing a Connecticut woman he met on a dating app will be allowed to plead guilty, upsetting the victim’s family.
Brandon Roberts, 27, charged with murder in the December 2018 killing of Emily Todd, whose body was found on a Bridgeport boat ramp with a gunshot wound to the head, appeared in court on Wednesday, according to The Connecticut Post.
He will be presented with a formal plea offer on Jan. 28. No details of the plea deal were disclosed, but it would likely mean a shorter sentence than a conviction at trial would bring.
“A defendant is allowed to plead guilty and I can’t prevent that and order him to go to trial,” Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander told Todd’s family.
Todd, a therapist at a Danbury senior center, met Roberts on a dating app. They had a few dates before she decided to call it off, the victim’s mother told police.
Roberts convinced Todd to meet him one more time, luring her to the area of the boat ramp, police said.
Roberts was arrested in Shaker Heights, Ohio, several days after the killing.
A public defender representing Roberts said he no comment on the proceedings.
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