A man sentenced to life in prison for brutally killing his girlfriend by nearly beheading her has disclosed the chilling motive behind the crime.
In 2024, neighbors reported an unusual odor emanating from a neighboring apartment, prompting police to investigate. Upon arrival, law enforcement officers found the body of 52-year-old Genna Rae LaCombe on the porch, wrapped in blankets, towels, and a shower curtain. The victim had been left there for several days. Inside the apartment, Shane Levi Cole Roberts was found hiding in a closet with a dog and was subsequently arrested.
According to a coroner’s report cited by KTVQ, LaCombe had sustained multiple stab wounds, with one wound nearly severing her head. Roberts, aged 46, was sentenced to 85 years in prison after admitting to deliberate homicide.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented a significant amount of evidence, including Roberts’ callous justification for the heinous act, as reported by Law & Crime. The investigation uncovered photos on Roberts’s phone depicting his girlfriend’s bloodied body in a bathtub, dated approximately nine days before her remains were discovered. Additionally, the police recovered two bloodied knives, a hatchet, and a hammer.
Subsequently, Roberts confessed to his mother over the phone from Yellowstone County Jail, admitting to killing LaCombe because she had “pushed him too far.” The couple had been in a relationship for about two years and shared an apartment in Billings, Montana.
A forensic psychologist who evaluated Roberts noted his struggles with substance abuse and major depressive disorder. However, the assessment did not find him incapable of understanding his actions at the time of the offense.
Although prosecutors and Roberts’ defense counsel had agreed on a 70-year prison term, Judge Colette Davies added an extra 15 years. Addressing Roberts during the sentencing, she stated, “I’m told that you loved this woman. But this is not love. This is abomination.”
Genna LaCombe, survived by two children, was remembered in her obituary as a devoted mother with a passion for arts and crafts, particularly painting and beading, along with a love for cooking. Her family recalled how her home was filled with 80s music and dancing, even if her sons were reluctant participants.
In a separate incident, the mother of a teenager who was brutally dismembered and dumped in a bin vowed to prevent his killer, Stuart Diamond, from being released from prison. Despite being deemed too dangerous for release after his 1999 conviction, a review panel was considering his parole. The victim’s determined mother, Jean Hartley, shared how her family was torn apart by her son’s murder and her commitment to ensuring Diamond remains incarcerated. She expressed ongoing fear of encountering Diamond, who is occasionally allowed outings from the hospital.