Troy, MO Police Department
Davionne McRoberts, 25, is likely to be charged in his grandparents' death.
This afternoon, Lincoln County prosecutors charged Davionne McRoberts, 25, with two counts of murder for allegedly killing his grandparents Donald and Kathy McRoberts, of Troy.
The couple is believed to have been killed on Monday night, though police did not discover their bodies until Tuesday. A manhunt ensued for Davionne, who was eventually taken into custody at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Davionne had arrived at the hospital Wednesday and voluntarily checked into the psych ward for treatment.
The McRoberts’ murder has received significant media attention owing to the gruesomeness of the slaying, the familial suspect and the fact that Davionne previously released music online under the persona Woozy the Goat.
The investigation into the deaths of Donald and Kathy began on Tuesday, when family members requested a wellness check on the couple. Donald was in his early 70s and Kathy was 58.
Officers with the Troy Police Department arrived at their home on Eames Street, not far from the small town's Main Street. Inside the home they found Donald and Kathy dead of apparent gunshot wounds, with spent shell casing on the ground around them.
The first clue connecting the apparent murders to their grandson Davionne was a piece of mail at the residence addressed to him. Neighbors said they had heard gunshots on Monday night, but at the time thought they were fireworks.
A probable cause statement from the Troy Police Department says that in the past 48 hours authorities have interviewed Davionne himself as well as a man the RFT is identifying only by his initials, T.C., who was with Davionne earlier in the day of the alleged murders.
According to the probable cause statement, Davionne and T.C. ran out of gas at Ameristar casino earlier in the day on Monday. After getting gas money, the two men went to a Target to pick up another man identified in police documents only as "Africa."
T.C. said that while the three men were together, Davionne said that 'it was 'time,'" which T.C. interpreted as Davionne saying it was time for him to become famous. Under the Woozy the Goat moniker, Davionne had previously posted rap music to a music-sharing social media site called BandLab, where his profile had more than 20,000 followers and his songs more than half a million streams. (Last month he posted a song called "Hush Little Woozy" and in January a freestyle titled "Trainer of the Year.")
Davionne also told the two men he "wanted to show [them] something and was making references to a sacrifice," according to the probable cause statement. T.C. didn't know what to make of Davionne's words at the time.
The three of them drove to Eames Street in Tory, where Donald and Kathy McRoberts lived.
T.C. told police that he, Africa and Donald sat outside together on the porch of the McRoberts' Eames Street home while Kathy and Davionne were inside.
A series of shots rang out from the house and Donald ran inside, T.C. told police. According to the probable cause statement, T.C. heard Donald shout Davionne's name.
T.C. and Africa fled to a nearby gas station and hadn't seen Davionne since, T.C. told police.
Later that day, employees of a nearby SSM Health office in Troy saw Davionne emerge from a treeline near their building wearing only black boxer shorts with green stitching. The 25-year-old asked others for a ride and tried to engage in a conversation about Zodiac signs.
The Post-Dispatch previously reported that on Wednesday Davionne arrived at a psychiatric hospital covered in blood, asking to be voluntarily committed.
The probable cause statement says that a little after noon on Wednesday, Davionne was released from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital psych ward in St. Louis to the medical unit of the hospital. An officer from the Troy Police Department spoke with him, attempting to read Davionne his Miranda rights, but was interrupted by Davionne who finished reciting the rights himself.
The officer noticed that Davionne was covered in scratches and what appeared to be defensive wounds on his forearms. Davionne said some of the scratches were from running outside with no shoes on.
Before being placed under arrest, Davionne inquired as to the officer's Zodiac sign and said that he was a psychic.
"Davionne McRoberts expressed how he thinks pedophiles steal innocence," the probable cause statement says. "[He] informed medical staff he has heard voices since he was a child, being advised by his grandmother he was talking to spirits."
After being transported to the police stattion in Troy, Davionne talked to officers there about physical and sexual abuse, though he didn't say who had committed the abuse. He told the officers he was God.
A cousin of Davionne's told police that Davionne had in the past lived on Eames Street "off and on" but more recently had been staying in Moscow Mills. The cousin also said she'd loaned Davionne a white Dodge Grand Caravan on Monday, but hadn't seen him since. A white Caravan had been left parked in the driveway of Donald and Kathy's home, which police found when they responded to conduct the initial wellness check.
Family members also told police about alarming social media posts Davionne had made in recent days. In the days leading up to the alleged murder, Davionne had posted, "I KNOW I KNOW MY EARS ARE RINGING ITS ALMOST TIME BUT NOT YET."
On another occasion he had written online, "WHO WANNA DIE TODAY? Y'all don't believe? Come show me I'm not god."
In addition to the two counts of murder, Davionne is also charged with two counts of armed criminal action.
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