Joseph C. Roberts, a former San Francisco Republican official vehemently against the #MeToo movement, has been charged with the murder and dismemberment of his fiancée.
Authorities told People that Robert’s DNA connected him to 27-year-old Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner’s death in July. KTVU reported Buckner’s dismembered body was found wrapped in plastic and duct tape near the Alameda shoreline on July 20.
According to Det. Robert Hansen’s report, “Joseph [Roberts] never reported the victim missing at any point during this investigation. Joseph’s DNA was on the tape that wrapped her body, which meant he was aware she was dead, he was aware she was dismembered, and he took an active role in wrapping her body, concealing it in plastic garbage bags.”
Authorities arrested Roberts at the couple’s Pleasanton apartment, where they found evidence Buckner was killed in the apartment and said they’d been in a relationship for several years, per KTVU.
People reported the 42-year-old was elected to the San Francisco Republican Central Committee in 2020. At the time, he claimed he was a victim of false accusations regarding #MeToo, per the San Francisco Chronicle. He also advocated for men who said they were wrongly accused of sexual harassment. He supported former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos when she announced new rules protecting college students facing sexual misconduct allegations.
In 2013, Georgia’s Savannah State University suspended Roberts after being accused of sexual harassment. He wrote an opinion piece for USA Today about the ordeal, explaining he had been “falsely accused.”
“It was as if I was an escaped convict or an active shooter loose on campus,” Roberts wrote. “And it was all based on nothing but hearsay.”
Buckner’s mother, S. Jamila Buckner, organized a GoFundMe campaign. It notes Buckner, a “beautiful and radiant light” with “an infectious spirit that you could not help but smile when around and gravitate towards,” was a Howard University graduate and earned a law degree from Golden Gate University. She also had a young daughter, and the goal of the GoFundMe is “to be able to pay for any immediate funeral expenses, and to assist in any future expenses and needs for her daughter.”
