Dad kills mom during child custody exchange; 13-year-old son calls 911 (Grove City, Ohio)

Courts continue to put mothers and children in harm's way. Dad is identified as JEREMY ROBERTS.

Wondering about Dad's previous record of domestic violence, and whether the courts just chose to ignore it and give him joint custody anyway....

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/12/4555602/police-ohio-boy-reports-dad-stabbed.html

Police: Ohio boy reports dad stabbed, killed mom
The Associated Press
Last modified: 2012-06-12T13:56:15Z
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 12, 2012 - 5:51 am
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jun. 12, 2012 - 6:56 am

GROVE CITY, Ohio -- A central Ohio man killed his ex-wife outside an apartment when she arrived to pick up their two children, and their 13-year-old son called an emergency dispatcher to report the stabbing, police said.

The boy called 911 after the slaying Sunday morning in Grove City, just southwest of Columbus.

"My dad just killed my mom. He just told me to call you guys," the boy said in a recording of the call. "He just ran out and killed my mom, and she's laying in the grass in front of our apartment."

As the dispatcher called for officers to respond to the scene, the boy pleaded for police not to harm his father.

"Please, guys, don't do anything to him in front of me, please," he said. "He has no weapons."

The boy apparently then handed the phone to his father, who told the dispatcher that he didn't intend to harm anyone else and that the only weapon he had was a knife that was left outside with the body. He asked if he could kiss his children, told them he loved them, then said he was going to the front door to meet the police.

Officers found 36-year-old Candice Roberts of Grove City dead in a grassy area, covered by a blanket. Her ex-husband Jeremy Roberts, 38, was standing nearby and was arrested.

He's charged with murder and made his first appearance Monday at Franklin County Municipal Court. Bond was set at $250,000 cash or surety. He remains in custody at the county jail.

Jeremy Roberts' next court date is scheduled for June 20. He was appointed a public defender, but court records didn't list an attorney.

A relative who answered the woman's phone told The Columbus Dispatch police had advised the family not to comment.