Gwinnett man who killed his wife because she went on birthday trip convicted of her murder

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A man who claimed his wife shot and killed herself in 2022 has been convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Police said Glenroy Roberts, now 53, called 911 to say that his wife, 45-year-old Claudia Roberts, got his gun from the closet in their Gwinnett apartment and when he tried wrestling it away from her, it went off and killed her.

He later told police he wasn’t in the room at all, but heard the gunshots and came running, and he found her dead in the closet, according to Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson’s office.

The couple’s 10-year-old son was in the apartment and told police he heard at least four gunshots.

The medical examiner determined that Claudia Roberts could not have fired the shots herself.

Claudia Roberts’ mother, Delores Squire, said Glenroy Roberts was angry that she had gone to New Jersey to celebrate Squires’ birthday with her.

“I guess he wasn’t pleased with her for going,” Squires said. “She shouldn’t have gone down like that. She didn’t deserve that.”

Squires said her daughter had suffered from abuse at the hands of her husband but tried to make the marriage work for her children.

“I knew my mother went down fighting,” her oldest daughter, Samantha Phillips said. “She wanted to live. She wanted to make everybody move, you know.”

A Gwinnett County jury deliberated for two hours before finding Glenroy Roberts guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional five years.