The First Appellate District's Division Two affirmed the conviction of James Wade Roberts, 48, who murdered Ruth Donaldson in the Mullen Avenue home in Clearlake they shared on Feb. 23, 2007, according to court documents.
Roberts originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but later was found fit to stand trial. He was convicted of first-degree murder with the special allegation of use of a deadly weapon on April 10, 2008, and he also admitted prior felony convictions. On April 15, 2008, after a one-day sanity phase, the jury returned a verdict finding him sane.
On May 9, 2008, Roberts was sentenced to 86 years to life. He filed an appeal the following month, according to the 42-page appellate decision, released late last week.
Previous to Donaldson's murder, Roberts – who had previously served time at Pelican Bay State Prison – reportedly developed increasing mental issues, believing he was Jesus Christ, God, Isaiah the prophet and telling his friends that he had been given powers from heaven. He also believed that he was a CIA agent hired to smuggle nuclear arms from Middletown to Oregon.
He began to believe that Donaldson had a demon inside of her, which he stated to several people, according to court records.
Donaldson suffered a single stab wound to the chest, but the pathologist found multiple wounds inside, meaning that the weapon and been redirected several times. She also had been strangled.
While Roberts was being held at the Lake County Jail, three mental health professionals attempted to evaluate him, but he only cooperated with one of them, psychologist Dr. Albert Kastl.
Kastl diagnosed Roberts with schizoaffective disorder, a diagnosis with which a psychiatrist and psychologist disagreed. An alternative diagnosis offered was antisocial personality disorder. It also was noted that Roberts used drugs like methamphetamine.
Roberts appealed his conviction, saying that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of statements he made to a nurse after his arrest, as well as statements he made while being transported to jail, alleging a violation of his Miranda rights.
The court found there was nothing to indicate the nurse was asking questions at the behest of police, and the latter statements during transport reportedly were not introduced into evidence and were only offered out of the jury's presence.
In his appeal Roberts also alleged prosecutorial misconduct, claiming District Attorney Jon Hopkins accused defense attorney Stephen Carter of misleading the jury during closing arguments. The appellate court didn't find Hopkins' remarks amounted to misconduct.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court's conviction in the unpublished opinion filed April 2.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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