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Murder of Meghan Landowski

On April 10th, 2008, 16-year-old Meghan Landowski was found stabbed to death and violated in her Portsmouth, Virginia home by her stepfather.

The neighborhood was on edge, scared that a maniac was on the loose and would kill again.

Police had the DNA of an unknown suspect and bloody footprints. They were hoping to make an arrest quickly to ease everyone’s fears.

They immediately looked at a friend of Meghan’s stepfather, whom Meghan had recently accused of touching her inappropriately.

After detectives interviewed him and determined his DNA didn’t match, he was ruled out.

They decided to use some new DNA technology that identified the perpetrator as an African American.

They interviewed Meghan’s family and friends to learn about any black males she was close to, but that just led them to a few dead ends.

A tip breaks the case

In September 2008, a school bus driver told police to look at 17-year-old Robert Lee Barnes. He had no criminal record and was an excellent violin player studying at a well-regarded arts school.

Meghan attended the same school as Robert for one year before she transferred. They were close friends, and according to the bus driver, they would always sit together and flirt on the school bus.

Robert interacted with Landowski’s parents a few times every week, and they saw him as a respectable young man.

Within days, the lead detective went to Robert’s high school and asked him for a DNA sample. The teen told the detective he had to ask his mother first.

The next day, Robert contacted the detective and asked to meet. At the second meeting, Robert allowed the officer to have the gum he had been chewing.

The forensic team ran DNA tests on the saliva from the gum and learned it was from a female. Robert’s antics made him the number one suspect.

Authorities took Robert in for questioning the next day. He told detectives he went to Meghan’s home and climbed into a window. He claimed a masked man was inside holding her at gunpoint. He said the man then pointed the gun at Robert and forced him to violate Meghan and then kill her.

After they listened to his BS, officers arrested him for murder and then took his DNA. Hours later, they had a match; he was the killer.

Police believe he violated her and took her life after she rejected his advances, but Robert himself never gave a motive.

Aftermath

He later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, attempted rape, aggravated sexual battery, abduction, and statutory burglary.

In February 2010, he returned to court for sentencing. According to 12NewsNow, he apologized for his actions saying, “I wish I could bring her back. Remorse, regretful are only words to describe how I feel. I take full responsibility for my actions. He also said, “The time I spent in jail made me realize how destructive my actions were.”

He was sentenced to 142 years. The judge suspended all but 42 years. He is serving 38 years for first-degree murder, two years for aggravated sexual battery, and two years for statutory burglary.

Despite showing remorse at sentencing, he later filed a 30-page petition to retract his plea so he could go to trial. The fact that he was willing to put the Landowski family through a trial showed that his statements at sentencing were not genuine.

In his petition, he blamed his lawyers, the police, and even his mother for unfair treatment. He claimed his lawyers wouldn’t file a motion to have his “coerced” interrogation thrown out, and he blamed them for persuading him to take the plea. Not surprisingly, his petition went nowhere.

The tier 3 registered sex offender is serving his time at Greensville Correctional Center in Greensville County, VA. He could be released in August 2045 when he is 53 years old.