Man To Stand Trial In Daughter's Beating Death
ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ/AP) - A judge ordered an Oakland County psychologist to stand trial in the baseball bat beating death of his 20-year-old daughter in their Oxford home.
Robert Kelly, 52, was bound over Thursday to Oakland County Circuit Court on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder by Rochester Hills District Judge Lisa Asadoorian.
Julie Roberts testified about finding her daughter on a bed in the house Megan Roberts shared with her father.
"I walked back and yelled my daughter's name twice," Julie Roberts said. "I opened the door, saw her and called 911. I told them to find a red Cobalt; to find her dad because I figured he did it."
Roberts had only been married to Kelly about 11 months. She was visiting their daughter at the home, 30 miles northwest of Detroit, when Megan Roberts was beaten.
About the time Julie Roberts called 911 Kelly walked into a local police station and told a dispatcher there had been an assault at his home.
"I asked him if he knew who did it," Oxford Village dispatcher Tony Van Houten testified. "And he stated, 'Yes. I did."'
According to police, Kelly walked into the Oxford Village Police station May 9 and told officers he beat his daughter in the face and head as she slept. Megan Roberts fell into a coma and died after she was taken off life support last month.
"He's charged with hurting the one person he loves the most," defense attorney Sanford Schulman said Thursday of Kelly. "He snapped. It's a vague memory."
Schulman said Kelly had been on Xanax and wrote a suicide note. Xanax often is used to treat people with panic disorders.
Roberts' family has set up a website for donations to pay for medical bills, funeral costs and legal fees in a wrongful death lawsuit against the father. Those who wish to donate can visit www.megansteam.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
