William F. Roberts v. State of Florida

Supreme Court of Florida·Decided June 25, 2026·No. SC2022-1176·Published

Opinion

Supreme Court of Florida

No. SC2022-1176

WILLIAM F. ROBERTS,

Appellant,

vs.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee.

June 25, 2026

PER CURIAM.

William Roberts appeals his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained below, we affirm.

I

In the late evening of December 18, 2017, Roberts sent a text

message to a friend, Glen Reynolds, indicating he had an argument with his then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Hellstrom. Roberts suggested she had become unresponsive, but he was able to “bring her back.” Reynolds noticed the text messages at 3:00 a.m. but could not get in contact with Roberts. They connected later that day and

Reynolds learned that Roberts had found thirty Klonopin pills missing. When they spoke again later that afternoon, Roberts revealed that Elizabeth was dead and had been placed in the trunk of her car. Roberts also indicated he had a propane tank in the car, which he planned to use to commit suicide. Reynolds reported the matter to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which issued a be on the lookout for Roberts, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s Toyota Camry.

Eventually, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office located the camper shared by Roberts and Elizabeth, and later, Elizabeth’s vehicle. During the well-check conducted in the camper, officers noticed signs of blood in the sleeping area and that bedding had been stripped. 1 After locating Elizabeth’s vehicle, deputies found her naked body in the trunk wrapped in a white mattress pad and covered by a blue tarp. In addition, crime scene investigators found

1. When Lake County deputies executed the search warrant for the camper, they found Elizabeth’s purse with identification information and two cylindrical type objects near the door. Other items found in the search included a box of butterfly bandages, an empty wrapper originally containing a butterfly bandage, and a security camera. Blood was located on three walls of the sleeping area of the camper. The two cylindrical objects found at the entrance to the camper were tested. Roberts’ DNA was found on one end of one of the objects and Elizabeth’s DNA was located on both ends of the same object.

items including a shovel, a pickaxe, a propane tank, a yellow hose, and a regulator valve to a propane tank. A butterfly bandage was located on Elizabeth’s nose.

On February 5, 2018, Roberts was indicted for first-degree murder. Three days later, the State filed a Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty listing two statutory aggravators under section 921.141(6), Florida Statutes (2018): (1) that Roberts was previously convicted of another capital felony, or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person, and (2) that the capital felony at issue in the current case was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.

The trial court appointed Candace Hawthorne to represent Roberts. Roberts initially waived his right to appear at jury selection but appeared in the courtroom after a break. He complained that he was unhappy with Hawthorne as his counsel. He also expressed his desire to have a bench trial to speed up the trial process. He presented the court with a signed waiver of his right to a jury trial and a signed waiver of his presence. The trial court conducted a lengthy colloquy with Roberts and determined that both of his waivers were knowing and voluntary.

The case proceeded as a bench trial, and the trial court returned its verdict of guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. At the outset of the penalty phase, Roberts instructed his counsel not to present any mitigating evidence. The trial court conducted a hearing and determined that Roberts had knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right to present evidence of mitigation in his defense, as well as his right to an advisory jury recommendation. The penalty phase then proceeded as a bench trial.

During the penalty phase proceedings, the State offered evidence of statutory aggravating factors. The defense did not offer evidence of mitigating circumstances, but the trial court ordered a Pre-Sentence Investigation (PSI) to be prepared by the Florida Department of Corrections. After receiving the PSI, the trial court conducted a Spencer 2 hearing and received sentencing memoranda. On July 28, 2022, the trial court pronounced its sentence of death. In its sentencing order, the trial court gave great weight to two statutory aggravators: (1) that Roberts was previously convicted of

2. Spencer v. State, 615 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 1993).

another capital felony, or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person, and (2) that the capital felony at issue in the current case was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.

While Roberts had insisted that he did not want to present mitigating evidence, the court still found some mitigation. For statutory mitigators, the court gave some weight to Roberts’ age but specifically found insufficient evidence to prove that Roberts was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the murder, or that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. As to nonstatutory mitigators, the trial court gave slight weight to Roberts’ emotional disconnection from his father beginning in early childhood and little weight to his drug and alcohol usage throughout his life. The trial court gave some weight to his physical health and to his various mental health conditions including antisocial personality disorder. But the trial court found his educational background and intelligence to be not mitigating and his allegations of a brain injury as not established.

Roberts appealed his judgment and sentence of death, and we

received briefing and held oral argument. Roberts v. State, No. SC2022-1176, 2023 WL 8187322, at *1 (Fla. Nov. 27, 2023). In his initial brief, Roberts asserted that the “trial court violated his due process rights when it failed to conduct a competency hearing.” Id. Upon consideration, we remanded for the trial court to determine, nunc pro tunc, Roberts’ competency at the time of the trial. Id. We further instructed that “should the trial court determine that an evaluation of Roberts’ competency at the time of the trial cannot be conducted in a manner that ensures Roberts’ due process rights, then the trial court should proceed to adjudicate Roberts’ current competency and, if he is competent, conduct a new trial.” Id.

The circuit court conducted a competency hearing on September 6, 2024. Roberts was informed of the hearing and its purpose to which he responded unfavorably and refused to attend in person or virtually. The court determined that Roberts’ refusal to attend the hearing was a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent waiver of his appearance, and the hearing proceeded.

Four witnesses3 testified that Roberts was competent at the

3. Dr. Prichard testified and is a forensic psychologist who participated in an earlier Spencer hearing to this case. Dr. Werner

time of trial. The witnesses based their testimony on Roberts’ behavior in court, the sophistication of the documents he prepared for the proceedings, psychological tests, and prior medical reports. The witnesses also noted that Roberts had, by the time of trial, successfully completed educational programs while in custody. The circuit court, after considering the witness testimony, concluded that Roberts was competent at the time of trial. Thereafter, we received supplemental briefing regarding the sufficiency of the hearing.

II

On appeal, Roberts presents several claims of trial court error

spanning his guilt and penalty phases and during the nunc pro tunc competency determination. We address each in turn.

A

Roberts first argues that the trial court erred during the guilt

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