Remembering Roberta Francis

 

A Loving Soul

Roberta Francis loved animals. She could never turn away an animal in need of care and love. Sometimes she would bring home a lost kitten, sometimes it was a stray puppy and, one time, she even brought home a tiny white mouse. Regardless of what type of animal it was, Roberta always wanted to help. Roberta also loved helping people. She was always there to help anyone who came into her life. Her parents often thought Roberta would follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse, or possibly follow her love of animals and become a veterinarian. Sadly, Roberta would never have the chance to grow up and help the world. On November 26, 1974, 15-year-old Roberta’s future would be destroyed forever.

Future Destroyed

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 15-year-old, shy, quiet Roberta Francis was walking her usual route home from school. She was looking forward to celebrating her mother’s birthday that evening. She also was looking forward to spending the long Thanksgiving weekend with her family. The high school sophomore would have no idea that this would be the last few minutes of her short life. As she passed through the field behind the school, a familiar face secretly followed her. He would attack her. According to the case files, Roberta put up fight, however she was no match for her stalker. He threw her to the ground and strangled her to the point where he thought she was dead. Then he raped her. When he realized young Roberta was still breathing he picked up a birdbath pedestal and then beat defenseless Roberta in the face until she died. Searchers found Roberta’s body two days later on Thanksgiving Day after an extensive search by family, friends and law enforcement. Her body was covered with underbrush and her schoolbooks were still beside her.

Vicious Killer Uncovered and Convicted

It would take over four months to find Roberta’s killer. His name was Paul Raymond Saultz. Saultz was the 26-year-old mentally challenged stepbrother of Roberta’s boyfriend. After speaking with Roberta’s best friend, there is no doubt that Roberta was kind to Saultz. He had the IQ of a first-grader and had no friends. He was the perfect example of the type of person Roberta would be the first to help. Roberta could never have known she was dealing with a monster.

In his admission to police in 1974, Saultz said he raped Roberta because “all he wanted was a little.” He never said why he killed her. Only days into the trial, Saultz took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. Saultz was smart enough to take the plea one day before his taped confession was to be played for the jury. Sadly, the plea came one day late for Roberta’s mother. The day prior to the plea, Roberta’s mother had to identify the clothes last worn by her only daughter. A daughter who was murdered on her mother’s birthday. While on the witness stand Mrs. Francis broke down and had to be escorted from the courtroom. As she walked by Saultz, he looked at her, laughed and said, “You’re the devil, I hate you.”

Three Strikes

Saultz had a long history of mental problems as well as a history of molesting children. He had twice been admitted to mental institutions. In the first institution, he was “excluded from the activity center because of his aggressive sexual behavior towards girls in that center.” The second time he was admitted for attacking a twelve-year-old girl in an alley. Both times, he was released back on the streets to strike again. Less than two years after his second release, he viciously raped and killed Roberta. Saultz told the judge he did not want to go back to a mental institution, so the judge sentenced Saultz to life in prison. It was the third strike for Saultz and Roberta’s family could take some comfort in knowing Saultz was finally off the streets for good. They were wrong.

Child Killer Released

In 2005, the Ohio Parole Board did the unthinkable. They paroled child rapist and murderer Paul Saultz. Although Roberta’s father had been in the same house for over three decades, he was never notified of the release. The family learned Saultz was free by reading a Columbus Dispatch article.

We discovered Saultz on the sex offender registry in 2005. We then began weekly monitoring of Saultz on the Ohio Department of Corrections web site. One thing was certain after reading the facts: It wouldn’t take long for Saultz to go back to prison. We could only pray he didn’t rape or kill someone again to get there.

Back To Prison

In 2006, we found out that Saultz was back in prison. We learned that Saultz had molested multiple women at a handicapped center while on parole. We also obtained Saultz’s prison records and, according to those documents, Saultz has never taken a sex offender class or a victims awareness class. The documents offered no reason for releasing Saultz on parole. They did indicate Saultz had absolutely no support from family or the community. He was placed in a halfway house, where he lived with another sexual predator. We fully believe it is a miracle Saultz did not rape and kill another innocent victim.

There was no way we were going to let Saultz walk free again without a fight. After finding Saultz back in prison, we located Roberta’s father. Since 2006, we joined Roberta’s family and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien at victims’ conferences. Each time, we presented an enormous amount of letters from the public objecting to Saultz’s parole. Thanks to all those involved, Saultz remains behind bars.