Investigator, family testify in civil rights activist Sadie Roberts-Joseph's murder trial
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The trial for the man accused of murdering local civil rights activist, 75-year-old Sadie Roberts-Joseph, in 2019 is underway.
44-year-old Ronn Bell appeared in court as the victim's family testified.
Jurors heard from Sadie Roberts-Joseph's daughter and an investigator who worked on the case.
A great-grandmother and a woman who worked tirelessly as the founder of the Baton Rouge African American Museum is how Robert-Joseph's daughter, Angela Machen, described her mother in court. A life that prosecutors say was ended when Ronn Bell strangled Roberts-Joseph to death back in 2019.
Another witness called to the stand was former BRPD officer Lindsey Keller Lacoste, who worked on the case.
She told the court that Bell was a tenant of Roberts-Joseph's, and he owed her rent money.That's a key part of the prosecution's case, because they say the money was the motive in this murder.
Officer Lacoste also spoke about finding Ronn Bell's name and number on a note in Roberts-Joseph's home next to a daily prayer.
Lacoste described more grisly scenes as well, finding Joseph's body in the trunk of her car and witnessing her autopsy.
One other detail Lacoste talked about in court: finding Roberts-Joseph's cell phone on the side of the interstate near the 10/12 split shortly after the crime.
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