A day after her arrest, 68-year-old Grace Robotti described the killing of 26-year-old Roxanne Louie as frenzied.
Robotti is currently on trial for the second degree murder of Louie on January 4, 2015 in Penticton. Louie was the mother of Robotti’s great-grandson.
Today in court, the jury was shown a 2-hour long police interrogation of Robotti on January 12, 2015.
In it, Robotti tells Corporal Heather Swetnam she and Louie got into a verbal fight that turned physical in the early morning hours the day Louie was killed.
She says she doesn’t remember the exact progression of things, but that items were knocked down, punches were thrown and hair was pulled as the two fought “all over the place” in a bedroom in Robotti’s home.
Robotti tells Cpl. Swetnam Louie wouldn't stop kicking and biting, adding it was like Louie was “possessed”.
Louie’s son, Robotti’s great-grandson, is also in the house as the altercation takes place and although he’s awake and crying at some point, he later falls asleep.
During the fight, Robotti’s brother, Pier Robotti, entered the house and became involved in the struggle although Robotti says she doesn’t remember exactly what happened.
Robotti says the three of them were on the floor at one point, and Robotti took a crowbar from Louie’s hand.
“I started hitting her, I didn’t know where I was hitting her but it was, I know, it was the face because I was sitting on her,” Robotti tells Cpl. Swetnman as she starts to tear up “and she kept still going and yelling”
Robotti points to her chest and says that’s where she put the crowbar on Louie’s body, adding she sat on it until Louie “stopped”.
Several times throughout the interview, Robotti says she just “lost it”.
After realizing Louie was dead, Robotti says she went into “shock, realizing the enormity of what happened”.
Robotti says she covered Louie with garbage bags because she “couldn’t look at her”, and she and Pier took Louie’s body to Robotti’s car.
Pier took the car and dumped Louie’s body in Naramata as Robotti says she frantically cleaned the house.
Cpl. Swetnman asks Robotti where she threw everything out and Robotti says a dumpster in the city, but doesn’t exactly remember where.
At one point of the interrogation, Robotti asks Cpl. Swetnman how Louie’s father is doing, saying she wants to be able to talk to him at some point,. She adds she supported Louie all the time and tried to help her.
Towards the end of the interrogation, Sargeant Mark Davidson enters the room and confronts Robotti, telling her that it looks like the murder was planned.
Robotti responds with “no" several times, adding it’s not in her to kill someone. Sgt. Davidson says she’s not being truthful.
Robotti later says it started off as self-defence, but that it escalated.
When the integration is over, Cpl. Swetnman takes Robotti back to her cell.
The trial will continue until mid-April.