Man Kills His Wife’s Lover; Wife Indicted for Manslaughter

Darrell Roberson, a 38-year-old employee of a Texas real estate firm, arrived at his suburban Arlington home late one night from a card game and was greeted by a shocking sight. In the driveway of his home was a pickup truck, and inside the truck was his wife, clad only in a robe and underwear, being fondled and kissed by another man. The three Roberson children were inside the house.

Tracy Denise Roberson, 35, was just as startled as her husband when she got caught red-handed with her lover, 32-year-old Devin LaSalle, also a married father of three. Thinking quickly, she yelled to her husband that she was being raped. LaSalle tried to drive away, but Roberson drew his handgun and fired several shots at the truck, killing LaSalle with a shot to the head. Police were called, and Darrell Roberson was arrested and charged with murder.

On Thursday, a Tarrant County grand jury handed down a manslaughter indictment—but against the wife, not the husband. The murder charges against Darrell were dropped.

Assistant District Attorney Sean Colston would not discuss the case in detail, but told reporters that according to Texas law, a defendant can claim a justified killing if he has "a reasonable belief that his actions are necessary, even though what they believe at the time turns out not to be true.

Because Darrell Roberson believed his wife was in danger, he pulled his weapon to defend her. Because Tracy Roberson lied, she could not get 2 to 20 years in prison for causing the death of LaSalle, a UPS employee. She is also charged with making a false report to a police officer for saying that she had been raped. A conviction on that charge would add another six months behind bars to her sentence.

Former federal prosecutor Mark Osler told reporters that he believes the grand jurors saw the situation from the husband’s point of view in handing down the indictment. "I can see one of them saying, ‘I would have shot the guy, too. I was just protecting my wife.’"

According to court documents, the night before the shooting Tracy Roberson sent a text message to LaSalle that said, "Come see me please! I need to feel your warm embrace!" But thanks to Roberson’s lame attempt to cover up her adultery, LaSalle is now feeling the cold embrace of the grave.