Teen's guilty plea sends her to prison in killing of Arkansas couple

Anastasia  Roberts
Anastasia Roberts

CONWAY -- Her long hair was braided into pigtails as she entered the small courtroom. Yards away, her mother sat quietly. On the other side of the room, another woman wiped away tears.

Anastasia Roberts, 19, of Conway was solemn but composed as she pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts each of first-degree murder and theft by receiving in the July 2015 shooting deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell, both 66, of Conway.

Earlier, Roberts had taken the witness stand, where she answered attorney's questions with "Yes, sir" and "No, sir," never elaborating. She pursed her lips and took deep breaths but did not cry.

Circuit Judge Troy Braswell accepted the state's recommendation and, as part of a negotiated agreement, sentenced Roberts to 15 years in prison, plus 20 years that will be under suspended imposition. The earliest she could be released would be in 10½ years. Even then, if she gets in trouble with the law again, she could face the 20 additional years in prison.

"Two people were taken" from this world and "didn't deserve what they got," Braswell told Roberts. He said he hopes she thinks about the murders every day.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Roberts was the third of four teenagers charged in the deaths to plead guilty. Her sentence was the lightest so far.

"Clearly, we believed the evidence in this case pointed to the fact that this defendant's level of culpability was more limited than her male co-defendants," Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said in a text message Tuesday.

Deputy prosecutor Joan Shipley told reporters that Roberts "was not a part of the [crime's] planning" but "knew about it."

Roberts was 17 on July 21, 2015, when she joined her boyfriend, Connor Atchley, also 17, and another teenager, Hunter Drexler, in going to the Cogdells' west Conway home. There, authorities said, Justin Staton, 14, and Drexler, 17, shot Robert Cogdell "numerous times" inside the house while Atchley and Roberts were in the master bedroom.

Patricia Cogdell was shot "numerous times" as she sat in the couple's BMW in the garage, according to a statement Shipley read in court.

The statement did not say who shot Patricia Cogdell but said Atchley and Roberts also were shot while they were in the bedroom. The teenagers' injuries were not serious.

The Cogdells had raised Staton like a grandson and had been his legal guardians since 2010, even though they already had learned through genetic testing that their son was not the boy's biological father.

The boy eventually learned the truth as well and wanted to live with his biological family instead. But his biological mother had alcohol and drug problems and later went to prison herself. Court records in Staton's guardianship case indicate that the identity of the boy's biological father was unknown.

Authorities have said Staton and Drexler hatched the plan to rob and kill the Cogdells in hopes of using the money to run away from Arkansas. Atchley knew about the robbery plan and told Roberts, authorities said. Atchley and Roberts had hoped to take the Cogdells' BMW and run away together. But the shots that killed Patricia Cogdell also shattered a window of the car, and they did not take it.

Instead, Staton went to the home of his biological mother and grandfather and was arrested there the next day. The three other teenagers also went there but later fled in Drexler's SUV to Texas, where they were soon arrested, police said.

Defense attorney Jim Wyatt said after the court hearing that he was satisfied with the outcome.

"It makes me sad that kids get themselves into a situation like this," Wyatt said. "It's sad that a family has to go without their loved ones."

He said Roberts has "come to grips" with the situation and that he believes she feels remorse.

Outside the courtroom, Wyatt walked over to Ken Sparrow, a relative of the Cogdells, and said, "I hope you all get some peace out of this."

Sparrow said he thought the sentence was fair.

Drexler, now 19 and from Clinton, is the only one of the four defendants still awaiting trial. Jailed without bail since his arrest, Drexler has pleaded innocent and has appealed Braswell's decision refusing to transfer the case to juvenile court.

Drexler is charged with two counts each of capital murder, aggravated robbery, abuse of a corpse and theft of property by threat. Staton pleaded guilty in May 2016 to first-degree murder and other charges and received a 35-year sentence.

In October, Roberts wrote a letter to the circuit clerk's office and asked that she and Atchley be allowed to get married. Atchley is serving 25 years in prison on the same charges as Roberts.

No official response has been filed.

A Section on 06/28/2017

Upcoming Events