During opening statements two weeks ago, U.S. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Amy Smith said Roberts killed Caldwell because he felt it was his fault that his girlfriend, Tawnney Caldwell, lost custody of the three boys to their father.
“Sterling extinguished Bobby’s life in front of his sons,” Smith said.
Bobby Caldwell was ambushed as he and his children left a court-ordered counseling appointment around 6 p.m. Aug. 15, 2017, in Riverside. While crossing the parking lot, he was shot 12 times and died at the scene, according to federal court documents.
Defense attorney Donald Malarcik shifted much of the blame onto Tawnney Caldwell during his opening statements. He said that she hired, coerced and/or threatened someone else into killing her ex-husband, and that it wasn’t Roberts.
Tawnney Caldwell, 37, of Centerville was sentenced in July 2021 in federal court to 35 years in prison.
Her mother, Chandra Harmon, of Burlington, Kentucky, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison in August 2021 for helping to cover up the crime.
