Fiancé Arrested In Murder Of California Law Student

A Black woman in California’s Bay area has been identified after her body washed upon the shoreline. The law student was found dismembered, prompting her fiancé’s arrest for the killing.

Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, who was known fondly as Imani, was a 27-year-old with a bright future in law ahead of her as she was working toward her J.D. at Golden Gate University. However, in July, she was allegedly murdered by her fiancé, dismembered and her body dumped along the shore in Alameda, as detailed by KRON4. Her hands, feet, and head were detached from her body.

Buckner, who had a young daughter, was an “infectious spirit” who shed a “radiant light” to all who knew her, as described by her mother on the GoFundMe page created to cover the cost of funeral arrangements.

Forty-two-year-old Joseph Roberts is accused of killing the Howard University graduate and is currently detained at Santa Rita Jail as he awaits trial on his charges for her murder.

The couple were residents of the city of Pleasanton, California, but the parts of her body were seen on the shore by a person walking along the coast of Bay Farm Island. It was a “brutal” conclusion to the two-month long investigation into what happened to Buckner, as described by Alameda Police Sergeant Spencer Mountain.

Police were able to link Roberts to Buckner’s unfortunate demise through DNA evidence. However, law enforcement have yet to uncover a motive to why Roberts committed the egregious crime.

As her family deals with the immense grief from Buckner’s untimely death, the GoFundMe account continues to raise funds, some of which will be used for her daughter’s wellbeing and support. With a $100,000 goal before her funeral services on Nov.4, the family is over halfway there.

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