Ohio man who confessed to killing his father is indicted

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — A southeastern Ohio man who said he killed his father and dumped the body under a porch was indicted today on nine felony charges, including aggravated murder.

A grand jury also charged 41-year-old Paul J. Roberts with murder, gross abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering, vandalism, several theft-related counts and intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness.

During an earlier jailhouse interview, Roberts told WBNS-TV in Columbus that he hit his father in the head with a heavy pipe on Oct. 4 after 63-year-old Paul E. Roberts stepped toward him with a knife. He said he dumped the body in a cistern beneath his father’s porch in Glouster.

Roberts tearfully expressed remorse during the interview.

“When I heard my father hit the water in that well, and I knew what I had just done. That sound,” he said. “I hear that sound of him hitting that water. It was so final. And I knew what had happened. I can’t get that out of my head. I swear I think if I’d had a gun right then I’d have just ended it.”

“I’m a monster,” he said. “I’m horrible. I loved my father.”

Police found Roberts’ body during a search on Oct. 21. An autopsy determined he died from blunt-force trauma.