The Murder of Adrianne Robert
For this case I watched the latest episode of See No Evil. It’s season 7 episode 9, titled ‘Last Night Apart.’
A young woman is killed after a night out with her roommate.
Background
Adrianne Robert
Adrianne Robert was a 29 year old woman, originally from Greene, Maine. She moved from Maine to Clearwater, Florida, and worked as a graphic designer. She was preparing to move in with her boyfriend (some reports say fiance), Justin Pounders.
Adrianne’s family and her boyfriend described her as a beautiful person, who was always happy and full of life. They said Adrianne always had a smile on her face, and was very excited for her future with Justin.
The Murder
On the night she died, Adrianne was spending her last night in her town home with her roommate Jay. Jay would later say that they had a few drinks and then went to a strip club called Diamond Dolls. I will get more into the details shortly.
On July 14, 2013, around 3:34am, Jay called the Pinellas County police. He told the dispatcher that he had just come home, and found his roommate unresponsive. The dispatcher asked Jay if she was breathing, and he said no. He also said her eyes were open and dilated. The dispatcher told Jay to perform CPR on Adrianne, and that the paramedics were on the way. The dispatcher is heard walking Jay through it.
The paramedics and police arrived at the town home, but it was too late. Adrianne was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been stabbed in the upper chest. Adrianne was also in a state of undress, and the police believed there was a sexual motive to this crime.
The police wanted to do a search of the two story town home. They noticed there was no sign on forced entry. The police went upstairs, and first look at the upstairs bathroom where Adrianne was found. There was a broken toilet seat, there was blood in the bathtub and fingerprints in the doorway. The police determined that there had been a struggle.
The police also searched Adrianne’s bedroom, which was right next door to the bathroom. This was determined to be where the crime started. There had been a 10-12 inch cut in the bed sheets, and the police believed that the killer had taken it with him to try to remove anything linking them to the crime.
The police also searched the parking lot, and were told that Adrianne’s orange Jeep had been stolen. They now wanted to canvass the area, looking for any witnesses or surveillance cameras.
The Investigation
Adrianne’s orange Jeep was found not too long after she was killed. It was just a couple blocks away, in a strip mall parking lot. The police processed the car for any DNA and fingerprints.
Near the strip mall was a CarMax, and the police went to try to obtain the surveillance footage from the night Adrianne died.
At 4:30am, a shadowy figure is seen walking through the parking lot. They were described as being a black male, with long hair, wearing a baseball cap and wearing shorts.
Around the corner, at another business, the police found another surveillance camera. However, nothing was found on this specific camera. The police continued to canvass the neighborhood, and they found a witness. A witness said he saw Adrianne and an unidentified black male running together. The witness said he thought it was strange because it was very early in the morning, and Adrianne was wearing a dress and carrying her shoes.
When the police found Adrianne, they did notice that her feet were dirty, so this matched the witness’s story. The police now believed that Adrianne could have been followed home and into her apartment.
Jay’s Story
The police brought Jay into the police station, and asked him what he and Adrianne did on the night she died. Jay said he and Adrianne wanted to spend their last night as roommates together at a strip club called Diamond Dolls. They didn’t want to drive because they had a few drinks before they left, and were going to drink there. They walked to the club, which was a few blocks away. The police asked Jay where they left their cars, and he said they left them at home.
Jay said they arrived at the club around 10:30pm, and stayed for a few hours. He said they interacted with a few people, and he said one man came and sat with them. Jay described him as being a black male, with a goatee, and he wore a baseball hat. He also said the man was skinny and not very tall, but that he seemed nice enough.
Jay said Adrianne had to get up early the next morning to move in with Justin. He said she left before him. Jay said that the man asked him where Adrianne was going, and he said she was going home. He then said the man got up because Adrianne had left.
Diamond Dolls
The police wanted to go to to the club to confirm Jay’s story. The club had surveillance footage overlooking the parking lot and the entrance, and it was actually pretty good surveillance footage.
Around 10:30pm, Adrianne and Jay are seen walking from the sidewalk up to the club. They appeared happy and were deep in conversation.
At 2:53am, Jay is seen leaving the club alone, and this is when he’s 100% ruled out as a suspect. The police rewinded the tape to about an hour before, and saw Adrianne walking out alone at 1:38am. Just four seconds later, a black male is seen running outside after her. It matched Jay’s description.
The police changed the camera angle back to the one overlooking the parking lot. The man is seen catching up to Adrianne, and hands her the sweater she leaves behind. However, she walks away and he follows her. They are seen walking away together, heading in the direction of her town home.
The police turned back to the CarMax surveillance footage, and compared it to the Diamond Dolls footage. The man seen in the CarMax footage is not the same person who followed Adrianne out of the club that night.
Tracking The Killer
The police wanted to re-examine Adrianne’s bedroom. They found the suspect’s DNA on the mattress, on her hands and on her body. The police ran it through the database.
While they waited for the DNA, they turned back to the surveillance footage from the club. They wanted to determine when the suspect arrived at the club. The man is seeing getting out of a taxi in the early afternoon. The police were excited because they could call the taxi company, to try to get some information about the suspect.
The taxi company gave them a phone number, and when they tracked it, it came back to a man named Thomas Frederick. The police searched his driver’s license photo, and could confirm that he matched the man seen in the club surveillance footage.
There was no DNA on file for Thomas, but the police wanted to do surveillance on him and collect his DNA. Thomas Frederick did smoke a cigarette, it was collected and tested. His DNA came back as a match to the crime scene.
Thomas Frederick was arrested and brought into the station.
Thomas’s Story
For the first 40 minutes of his interrogation, Thomas told the police all about his sex life, friends and about how he frequented strip clubs. The police had enough, and showed him a picture of Adrianne.
The police asked him about Adrianne. Thomas said he met Adrianne and her friend at Diamond Dolls. He said that she bought him drinks, and then he left to go to work. The police asked him about going to work after he had just said he spent the night drinking. Thomas said he did it all the time.
The police confronted Thomas about the surveillance footage. He said she had left her sweater in the club, and he brought it to her. He said he did walk with her, but left when they got to the end of the road. The police said that his story didn’t match up because a witness saw them running. Thomas then said Adrianne wanted to run, but that they didn’t run for that long.
They asked him if he went to her house, and he said no, and then said she asked him to walk her home. The police told Thomas they know he killed her and that they had his DNA.
Thomas said he and Adrianne had sex, and then “all hell broke loose.” He said after they had sex, they got into an argument. He said she had a knife in her bathroom, and that she swung at him. He said he got defensive and stabbed her.
Thomas Frederick was charged with first degree murder.
Thomas Frederick
Trial and Conviction
Thomas went on trial in January 2014.
The prosecution said that Adrianne and Jay went out together, and were having a great time. Adrianne wanted to leave early because she had to move the next day, and Jay decided to stay for a little bit longer. Thomas then took this as an opportunity to get what he wanted, which was Adrianne. Thomas followed Adrianne, and wouldn’t stop following her. Adrianne was afraid and that’s when she started running. Thomas was able to keep up with her, make his way into her home and killed her.
The prosecution said that the injuries to her body proved that Thomas sexually assaulted her before he killed her and attempted to remove any DNA he could have left behind. He also stole her car, but then dumped it not too far away.
The defense tried to attack Adrianne’s character. They said that Adrianne and Thomas had consensual sex, and that she started an argument with him after. They said Thomas killed her in self defense.
Thomas Frederick was found guilty of first degree murder and grand theft auto. He was never charged with rape. He was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. In Florida, this means he will never be released.
FINAL THOUGHTS
SHE WAS JUST BEING NICE. SHE DIDN’T WANT ANYTHING FROM THIS PERSON. Thomas Frederick clearly thought he could get anything that he wanted. I believe Adrianne was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if it wasn’t her, it would have been another woman. She wanted to go out and have a fun last night with her roommate. She was one day away from moving in with her boyfriend (some reports say fiance) and that was all taken away.
When Adrianne’s parents were talking about her, it broke my heart. They broke down every time they spoke, and said they should have never had to bury their daughter. They are extremely happy that Thomas was caught and locked away forever.
Sources
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2012/7/25/arrest_made_in_case_
https://www.wmtw.com/article/arrest-made-in-maine-woman-s-slaying-in-fla/1991090#
