The Murder of Bianca Roberson
For this case I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 8 episode 1, titled ‘Seeing Red.’
An 18-year-old high school graduate is killed, in what police believed was a car accident.
Background
Bianca Roberson had just graduated from Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She was accepted into Jacksonville University in Florida, where she was going to study criminal justice and psychology. Her grandmother Josie, said Bianca was walking on air, and wanted to become an FBI agent.
Bianca was described as a social butterfly. She loved her family and friends, and was a very caring person.
Bianca Roberson
The Accident
On June 28, 2017, Bianca went to the local Walmart with her grandmother and mother Michelle. The three of them loaded the groceries into Bianca’s car, and told her to go home because something was set to be delivered to their house for her to take to college. Michelle and Josie both had to go to work, and told Bianca they loved her.
At 5:31pm, just 11 minutes after Bianca left the Walmart, multiple 911 calls came in. The calls were about a car accident on the highway. One caller said that the driver of one of the cars was bleeding, and not moving.
Bianca was pronounced dead at the scene. Her car, a green Chevy Malibu, had gone off the road, down an embankment, and the car hit several trees. There was a large amount of blood, and Bianca had a head injury.
The police believed Bianca had hit her head on the dashboard, or that a tree branch had struck her.
The Investigation
The police had the devastating job of telling Bianca’s family that she was dead.
Josie had actually driven on the highway, and had to be directed off the road because of the accident. She said in the episode, that she hoped it wasn’t Bianca.
Josie had to contact Michelle, when she pulled up and saw the police officers. They were then told that Bianca was killed in a car accident.
Michelle wondered how this could have happened to her again. Four years earlier, her son Mikel had died of heart disease at just 22-years-old.
Back at the crash site, police took witness statements. One witness said that a red pick up truck was traveling near Bianca’s car, and that the red truck had impacted Bianca’s car, which caused her to go off the road. The truck then took off at a high speed.
Surveillance stills of Bianca’s car and the red truck.
A Shocking Discovery
The day after the crash, an autopsy revealed that Bianca didn’t die from a car accident. She had actually been shot in the head. A .40 caliber bullet was found lodged in her skull.
The police and Bianca’s family were all stunned. Her family said that Bianca didn’t even know anyone who owned a gun.
The police started to try to find surveillance footage from the highway, and from surrounding areas. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had cameras on all Pennsylvania roadways.
Bianca’s car can be seen next to the red pick up truck that the witness had described. The two cars are driving at almost the same speed, and approaching a merge lane at the same time.
The surveillance cameras didn’t cover the exact area of the crash site. However, the red truck can be seen traveling at a high speed, right after Bianca’s car is known to have crashed.
The red truck was tracked, and was seen exiting on Route 22, and traveling east on Paoli Pike. The police knocked on doors, looked at vehicles, and searched nearby businesses for more surveillance footage.
Potential Leads
Detective Jose Torres, of the West Goshen Township police, turned back to the 911 calls.
A woman said that she saw two cars fighting to merge, and that another man, who drove an Aqua truck also saw what happened.
Aqua is a public utility water service in that area. The man agreed to come in for an interview. He didn’t tell the police much information. He only said that he saw the red truck jump onto the left shoulder to pass him after the crash.
On June 30, two days after Bianca’s murder, a woman came into the police station. She said she had seen the driver of the truck, and that he had traveled east on Paoli Pike.
The woman described the man as a white male with sandy blonde hair, slight facial hair, and having bug eyes. She agreed to do a composite sketch, which was released to the media.
The composite that was released of the suspect
The Red Truck
The police turned back to the surveillance footage. They were able to find two residences near the exit of Paoli Pike, that had surveillance footage.
The red truck can be seen passing the home around 5:31pm. The surveillance footage was HD. While they couldn’t see the license plate, they did discover that the truck had stickers on the windows, distinctive rims on the tires, a dent on the passenger side door, and damage to the hood.
The new information and pictures were released to the media. The police also offered a $5,000 reward.
The Man in the Truck
On July 1, around 11pm, a phone call came in from an attorney. The attorney said that his client wanted to turn himself in.
The man’s name was David Desper, and he was 28-years-old. David’s attorney said David wasn’t going to speak, but that he did own a red truck. The attorney consented to a search of David’s truck and his bedroom.
The investigators went to David’s, where they confirmed that the truck with the stickers and dents was his. The car was registered in his name.
In David’s bedroom, the police found the murder weapon, a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson.
On July 2, 2017, David was charged with first degree murder, third degree murder and recklessly endangering another person.
David Desper
The Conviction
Before David’s trial, the prosecution and police looked through David’s life and social media.
David never admitted as to why he killed Bianca. After he killed her, he hid at a friend’s house in Delaware. Many believed that he killed her because he was white, and she was a black female. However, there was no prove that David killed Bianca because of her race. The prosecution couldn’t present it as a hate crime.
David never showed any emotion or remorse for what he did. After the murder, he had called his best friend. The phone call lasted six minutes, and his friend said that they had talked about racing and car parts.
The friend said David never said anything about a murder, and his behavior didn’t change either. No, in fact, this man played mini golf and ate pancakes without a care in the world.
In September 2018, David pleaded guilty to third degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. He was sentenced to 20-40 years in prison.
The prosecution believed that David had gotten angry at Bianca, and shot her, in order to beat her to the merge lane.
Other
Michelle started the Bianca Roberson Merge with Mercy Foundation. Every year a scholarship is given out to a graduate of Bayard Rustin High School.
Bianca’s family also helps other families who have been impacted by gun violence.
In 2021, Bianca’s family received an honorary bachelor’s degree for criminal justice and psychology.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Michelle and Josie are strong women. I can’t even imagine what they have been through. Michelle says her children are her angels, and that they are the ones helping her get through life.
David Desper has said he’s sorry, but I don’t believe he is. He killed an 18-year-old because he didn’t want her to pass him. He deserves to rot in prison a lot longer than 20-40 years. He clearly has no remorse, and I hope he never gets out. If it wasn’t Bianca that was killed that day, it would have been someone else.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/bianca-roberson-murder-where-is-david-desper-now/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/01/bianca-nikol-roberson-black-lives-matter-suburbs/
