April 1996 – Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA. Joely Ann, a young, 23-year-old woman, became the victim of a stalker murder when she attempted to escape the unwelcome advances of a would-be suitor named Robert Murphy Bone. Joely Ann, a recent college graduate, was sharing an apartment with Robert and another young woman in Metairie, Louisiana. It is noted that at some point Joely Ann became concerned about Robert’s obsession with her. He was constantly asking her where she was going and what she was doing. Apparently, Robert wanted more than just to share expenses. On March 31, Joely Ann hastily packed some of her belongings while Robert was temporarily out of the apartment.
Fig.1 The house where the murder took place.
She had called another male acquaintance in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and asked him if she could stay there for a while until she could get her own place. He came and drove her to Thibodaux. She left a note behind indicating that she needed to leave. Joely Ann was ultimately attempting to avoid a confrontation with Robert.
Robert reported her missing to local police on April 2 when he realized Joely Ann was not coming back to the apartment. Robert used the police in an attempt to locate her. Through filing the Louisiana Missing Persons report, he was able to ascertain that Joely Ann’s actual residence was in Houston. He then contacted the Houston police in an attempt to locate her. Robert eventually contacted the victim’s mother, Dee Ann, whom he repeatedly called asking her if she had heard from Joely Ann or knew her whereabouts. Robert was calling Joely Ann’s mother 10 to 15 times a day. Initially, Dee Ann appreciated Robert’s concern for Joely Ann. However, the incessant and frantic calls from Robert on a daily basis began to really disturb Dee Ann and make her more concerned about her daughter’s safety.
Fig.2 Joely Ann was stalked by a male friend and killed when she spurned his advances. She was stabbed 22 times with 6 different knives.
Dee Ann had not been in contact with Joely Ann since March 31. It was not like her not to be in contact with her mother. When Dee Ann finally heard from her daughter on April 2, she was greatly relieved. Dee Ann, who had “call waiting,” was in conversation with Joely Ann when she received a beep indicating that a caller was trying to get through. Robert was on the line and she told him that she was talking to Joely Ann and that she was all right. She also told Robert that Joely Ann was staying with a friend in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and she provided Robert with the person’s name. She had given this information to him before she had an opportunity to hear what Joely Ann had to say about Robert and why she left Metairie.
When she found out that Joely Ann had left Metairie to get away from Robert, she realized her mistake. Joely Ann then told her mom about Robert and how he made her extremely nervous. Dee Ann asked her, “How in the world did you get involved with him?” Joely Ann told her mother, “He seemed nice when I first met him and there was another girl living at the apartment. I just needed a place to stay for a few days before I got my own apartment.” Joely Ann then related to her mother how “he acted so crazy.” She told her mother that she felt she couldn’t even breathe without him asking her what she was doing. He put roses on her pillow before she went to bed. When she was in the bathroom, he would knock on the door and ask her if she needed toilet paper.
Fig.3 Officers who responded to the scene preserved the bloody footprints. These were matched to the suspects’ sneakers.
Dee Ann then told Joely Ann that Robert had reported her as a missing person to the Jefferson Parish sheriff’s office. Joely Ann told her mother that she was going back to Metairie with her male companion to pick up her things and advise local police that she was not missing. When Joely Ann arrived with her male companion to gather the rest of her belongings, Robert didn’t say anything to her in the presence of the other male. What Joely Ann did not realize was that Robert had secreted her driver’s license so that he would have an excuse to contact her.
Fig.4 When the offender gave his statement, he did not realize that the door could not be opened with the victim’s body blocking the doorway.
Robert then began calling her in Thibodaux from April 2 to April 5. He would say, “How could you leave me; I’ve been nothing but nice to you; I can’t believe that you left me.” He then told her that he would bring her driver’s license up if she gave him the address. She told him not to worry about it; she would go to Motor Vehicles and take care of it. Robert used the driver’s license and the missing person’s police report and was able to trace her to Thibodaux. Robert actually convinced a supervisor in the telephone company to provide the address in Thibodaux so that he could return her “lost” driver’s license. Lying, deceiving, and manipulation are natural talents for psychopaths (Hare, 1993). Robert was so clever that he had used the police to get information on Joely Ann and then was able to manipulate the telephone supervisor into providing him with confidential information that police officials oftentimes have difficulty obtaining.
Fig.5 The suspect cut himself when he murdered his victim, cleaned up in the bathroom & left blood on the floor in front of the sink & a bloody palm print on the cold water faucet.
On April 5, Robert borrowed a car from a friend and drove to Thibodaux. He did this so Joely Ann wouldn’t recognize his auto. He watched the house and waited until the male resident left for work. When he was sure that Joely Ann was alone, he approached the house on foot and knocked on the front door. Joely Ann answered the knock and was confronted by an angry Robert, who demanded that she come back with him to Metairie. There was a physical struggle and Joely Ann received a black eye. Robert then tried to coerce her into leaving with him. At some point in the discussion, Robert tried to physically remove her from the residence. There was another struggle. At this time, Robert grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began stabbing her in the chest.
Fig.6 Illustration of Robert waiting in his car outside the house.
Joely Ann was stabbed 22 times with 6 different kitchen knives. In fact, some of the blades were broken off from their handles. Robert, who cut himself during the attack, attempted to “clean up” and then staged the crime scene. Robert removed a couple of the knives from the victim’s body, placed them on the floor, and left a knife handle on the rug. He then placed a large plastic baggie of marijuana, which he found secreted in the house, on the living room floor to make the event appear to be drug-related.
Robert was fleeing from the scene when he came upon a roadblock. He saw a uniformed officer blocking the roadway with his emergency lights on. Robert thought that Joely Ann’s roommate had somehow returned home, discovered the body, and called the police. He thought the roadblock was for him. Actually, the roadblock was already in place and the officer was blocking the road for the “Way of the Cross” procession. Good Friday fell on April 5th that year.
Fig.7 Illustration of Robert attacking Joely Ann.
Robert told the officer that he was a witness to a murder and had been injured by the killer. Robert told the police that he had gone to the victim’s home to return her driver’s license, which she had left behind when she moved from Metairie. Robert stated that he, Joely Ann, and a white male named Rick were all smoking marijuana in the living room. Robert stated that he went to the bathroom and, when he returned, he saw Rick stabbing Joely Ann. He said he tried to stop Rick and he was stabbed. Robert told the police that Rick then fled out the back door and Robert closed and locked it. At this point, Robert realized that the detectives would probably find his fingerprints on the knives. Robert stated that he pulled the knives out of Joely Ann to try and save her. He thought this information would explain how his fingerprints would be found on the knives.
Officers who had responded to the house found the victim lying on her back in the kitchen in a pool of blood. Joely Ann was wearing a white bra and black shorts. Her T-shirt, which was inside out, was lying a short distance from her body. Apparently, as she tried to get away from Robert, he grabbed her by the shirt and ripped it from her body. A steak knife handle and a fingernail were found in the living room. Three other steak knife handles, a steak knife, and a butter-style knife were located in the kitchen area. Two knife blades were embedded in the victim’s body. One blade was in her back and the other one jammed into her left leg. The victim had defensive wounds on her right arm, cuts on her forehead, and patches of hair had been pulled from her head. The position of her body was such that the back door could not be opened. This proved to be vital because the suspect had stated that the killer had run out the back door.
Fig.8 Robert met up with police officer who noticed a fresh cut and blood on his sneakers. The officers seized his bloody sneakers as evidence.
Detectives saw bloody footprints as well as blood droppings leading from the body to the bathroom. There was evidence that someone had cleaned up using a towel from the bathroom, which was then refolded and found on the kitchen counter. There was only one set of bloody shoe prints on the floor, which led to the bathroom not the back door, as Robert had stated. The position of the victim’s body prevented the back door from being opened. Therefore, the supposed perpetrator Rick would not have been able to exit the house as Robert had stated. Blood evidence indicated that only two persons were present. There was also evidence that someone had attempted to clean up in the bathroom.
In his second statement, after being confronted with the discrepancies in his story, Robert told the detectives that he had located the residence by calling the telephone company. He stated he had borrowed a friend’s car to drive to Thibodaux to return the victim’s driver’s license. He stated that, when he arrived, he and Joely Ann talked for a while. He told the detectives that Joely Ann suddenly got angry and demanded that he leave the residence. When he did not comply, she pulled a steak knife on him.
Fig.9 Joely Ann was only 23-years-old when she was murdered.
He was asked how many times he stabbed her. He stated six or seven times. When asked why he had used different knives, he stated, “Because they kept breaking.” Not only did he attempt to minimize his actions, but he also had the audacity to blame the victim for the attack. Robert stated that when he stopped stabbing her, she was still alive and he heard her saying that she was sorry. He believed that she was apologizing to him. Just like a psychopath, it was all about him.
Robert’s trial was scheduled for December 9. However, without explanation, he decided to plead guilty on December 5. He pled to a mandatory life imprisonment rather than face the jury. Robert was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Robert presented as narcissistic and arrogant. He viewed the young women he became involved with as nothing more than objects to be used for his own gratification. Initially, Robert appeared to be a respectful and caring individual as he manipulated women into a relationship. However, as soon as he became involved in a relationship his true personality “leaked out.” Each of his ex-girlfriends interviewed provided accounts of stalking, harassing, and threatening phone calls as well as physical abuse. When Joely Ann attempted to distance herself from his control, he could not accept the rejection. He told her, “How could you leave me; I’ve been nothing but nice to you. I can’t believe that you left me.” In Joely Ann’s case, Robert hunted her down like prey and killed her in a brutal knife attack. His lack of remorse is quite obvious. He even attempted to convince the police and the jury that the murder was an act of “self-defense.”
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