Joel Cain Charged with Pam Roberts' Murder

UDPATE, November 2, 2009: Joel Cain receives life sentence.
__________________

UDPATE, July 24, 2009: Joel C. Cain was found guilty of murdering Pam Roberts.
__________________

It took almost a year to charge someone in the murder of Pam Roberts.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The night after Pam Roberts was murdered last winter inside the popular west side tavern where she tended bar, most of her regular customers - including Joel C. Cain - gathered for a candlelight vigil in her honor.

But a man whom many customers later identified as Cain also appeared on security video that showed a man following Roberts, 58, into the bar's basement, a hatchet in his left hand.

After a nearly yearlong investigation, Cain was charged Wednesday with bludgeoning Roberts to death with the hatchet on the afternoon of Feb. 26 at Coop's Tiny Tap, 5501 W. Vliet St., according to a criminal complaint.

According to the complaint:

Cain's wife told investigators she and her husband, who did not have a steady job, were in financial trouble, according to the complaint. She said her husband had cocaine and gambling habits, the complaint says.

A man who sold cocaine to Cain in the bar told investigators that Cain had said Coop's Tiny Tap would be an easy place to rob because only one employee was present when the bar opened, the complaint says.

Cain, who owed the man about $400, paid the man $98 in cash the night of the killing, the complaint says.

The man also identified Cain as the man in the surveillance video, the complaint says.

A shirt similar to the one worn by the man in the video had been washed and was on a couch in Cain's house the night of the killing, his wife told police, according to the complaint.

She also said her husband had a red bandanna similar to the one worn by the man in the video, and she said Cain cleaned their fireplace shortly after the killing, the complaint says. Cain had not cleaned the fireplace for at least three years, his wife told investigators.

Police believe Cain burned evidence after the killing, Jessup said.

Cain's wife obviously doesn't abide by the "no snitching" rule. She's to be commended for that.

It was a difficult case, so it took a long time before charges were filed. But finally the day came.

...Roberts' husband, who met her about 10 years ago when he walked into the bar while waiting for his broken-down van to be repaired, said investigators continuously reassured him that they were working on the case.

"I'm happy that charges were filed and that we're on the way to finding some type of closure," Thomas Roberts said. "It's been (tough) for myself and the whole family and her friends."

For Thomas Roberts and the family and friends of Pam Roberts, I'm glad that they're no longer in that yearlong limbo.

Hopefully, justice will be served and that will bring them some peace.