Robert Rembert

Robert Rembert
Born	Robert Gene Rembert, Jr. Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Conviction(s)	Murder x4 Manslaughter
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Details
Victims	5+
Span of crimes	1997–2015
Country	United States
State(s)	Ohio, possibly Pennsylvania
Date apprehended	For the final time on September 21, 2015

Robert Gene Rembert, Jr. (born c. 1970) is an American serial killer who committed a series of at least 5 murders across Ohio from 1997 to 2015. He was arrested thanks to DNA profiling, fully admitting his guilt at trial, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a chance of parole.

Biography

On December 23, 1997, Rembert got into an argument with 24-year-old Dadren Lewis at a parking lot, which resulted in Lewis being shot. At trial, his lawyers managed to convince the judge that it was unintentional, and in 1998, Robert was found guilty of manslaughter and served 6 years in jail. After his release, Rembert returned to Cleveland and found a job as a truck driver, frequently abusing alcohol and living on modest means. At the time of his arrest, he was having financial difficulties and problems with housing, due to which, shortly before his arrest, he had to live with relatives and friends.

Exposure

Robert was arrested on September 21, 2015, at a truck service stop in Medina County. He was driving an SUV that belonged to 26-year-old Morgan Nietzel, whose body had been found the previous day, along with that of 52-year-old Jerry Rembert, who was providing lodging for Robert. After his arrest, Robert admitted that on the previous evening, he got into an argument with his cousin Jerry, during which he shot him and Nietzel, a mutual friend of the two. After he killed them, Rembert stole several items and Morgan's car. During the subsequent investigation, a blood and saliva sample was taken from Robert for testing, from which he was linked to the murder of 31-year-old Kimberly Hall, who was found beaten and raped on June 10th of that year, and an older murder dating back to May 1997, when 47-year-old Rita May Payne was killed in Cleveland. Both women were prostitutes.

During the investigation, Rembert accepted a plea bargain from the authorities, admitting to all the killings and providing details for each. He said that at the time of the Payne murder, he was working as a bus driver and killed the woman by luring her into a public service toilet at the Cleveland bus station. Despite the fact that bus drivers and station workers were investigated, Robert slipped by unnoticed. Due to his job as a truck driver, visiting many cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, he was investigated in the murders of several other girls and women who were engaged in prostitution and were killed under similar circumstances. So far, no new charges have been brought against him.

Trial

On the basis of the plea bargain, Rembert was found guilty of four murders and on October 16, 2018, received a life imprisonment term with a chance of parole after 30 years. During the sentencing, he expressed remorse for what he had done and asked for forgiveness from the victims' relatives.