Roberta Samard

Summary

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Snapped: Women Who Murder

Episode Summary: Roberta Simard

Podcast by Oxygen
Episode Date: August 9, 2026

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Overview

This episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder examines the tragic and complex case of Roberta Simard, who fatally shot her husband Ken Simard in their Millersburg, Oregon home in 2015. Initially treated as a tragic accident tied to a suicide attempt, the investigation uncovers a web of hidden financial struggles, deception, and motive. Through firsthand interviews, police accounts, and evidence from the scene, the episode peels back layers of the Simards’ marriage, ultimately leading to Roberta’s conviction for murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Timeline

The Crime Scene and Initial Response

Timestamps: 00:04 – 04:54

• Incident: Ken Simard found dead on his back porch early morning, Nov 16, 2015.

  "The victim was on the back porch. I had been told that a woman had possibly shot her husband."
  — Detective (00:08)

• Roberta Simard calls 911, stating her husband has been shot. She claims she was attempting suicide due to financial distress and accidentally shot Ken when he returned unexpectedly.

  "I was trying to kill myself."
  — Roberta Simard (00:36)

• Initial scene shows no signs of a struggle, fitting Roberta’s stated version.

  "There's really no sign of any struggle."
  — Investigator/Police Officer (00:25)

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Ken Simard’s Background and Family Life

Timestamps: 04:54 – 10:59

• Ken’s History: Raised in a blue-collar family, Navy veteran, hard-working, known for kindness.

  "Ken was a very kind person. He went out of his way to help anybody."
  — Family Member (05:59)

• Marriages: Ken married three times—Roberta being his third wife. Loved by his children; portrayed as generous and fun-loving.
• Roberta and Ken’s relationship began at the mill; married quickly and built a seemingly happy life.

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Strains & Downfall: Financial Trouble and Change

Timestamps: 10:59 – 13:58

• Loss of jobs when the local paper mill closed.
• Ken's resilience: attempts at new businesses and returning to school—eventually becoming an HVAC engineer.
• Subtle decline noticed only in retrospect: friends and family saw no overt signs of trouble.

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The Shooting: Roberta’s Account

Timestamps: 13:58 – 17:04

• Roberta claims she was suicidal over impending home foreclosure.

  "I've been really sad, depressed. They're gonna take away our house from us. And I just couldn't face it anymore."
  — Roberta Simard (12:37)

• She alleges Ken interrupted her suicide attempt, and the gun went off accidentally in their confrontation.

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Scrutiny of Roberta’s Story

Timestamps: 17:15 – 24:16

• Family and friends viewed the marriage as happy; no perceived abuse or major disagreements.
• Detective skepticism: the timing and Roberta’s memory seem off.

  "Seems a little unlikely that at that very moment Ken might have walked in right as she planned to shoot herself."
  — Investigator/Police Officer (19:23)

• Detectives suggest a reenactment at the scene, with Roberta demonstrating her version of events.

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The Reenactment and Evidence Gathering

Timestamps: 24:16 – 27:47

• Roberta’s reconstruction puts her about 18 inches from Ken at the time of discharge, aligning with physical height difference and her version but raising emotional and evidentiary doubts.

  "There was no emotion, no tears, nothing."
  — Detective (23:12)

• Search of the home reveals the foreclosure notice hidden in a laundry hamper (24:22).

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Ken’s Private Thoughts: The Notebook

Timestamps: 27:47 – 29:49

• Notebook reveals tension: Ken describes Roberta as controlling with finances, considers leaving her.

  "He writes, maybe I'll be on my own."
  — Investigator/Police Officer (28:03)

• Evidence piles up suggesting Ken was unaware of the foreclosure and Roberta had been hiding financial truths from him.

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Financial Motive Solidifies

Timestamps: 29:49 – 35:42

• Roberta’s extravagant spending, desire to maintain an image, and deception around the foreclosure contribute to motive for murder.
• Testimony from the real estate investor who bought their home supports that Ken was kept in the dark, suggesting deliberate concealment by Roberta.

  "Ken never had an idea... Only dealt with Roberta. She said, 'I handle the finances... Rather not evict her, so give her an extra week or so.'"
  — Real Estate Investor (33:36)

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The Autopsy: Forensic Truth

Timestamps: 35:42 – 37:43

• Medical examiner finds close contact gunshot wound inconsistent with an accidental firing at a distance.

  "The biggest finding in the autopsy was the wound Ken suffered was the close contact wound… probably not going to happen from, you know, 18 or so inches away, as she described it."
  — Detective (35:56)

• No gunshot residue on Ken’s hands, trigger was hard to pull—evidence points to intentional shooting.

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Arrest, Trial, and Aftermath

Timestamps: 37:43 – 41:52

• Charges raised from manslaughter to murder as evidence mounts.
• Jury convicts Roberta after five hours' deliberation; she receives a 25-year sentence.

  "The jury comes back and sides with the prosecutor, determining that Roberta is guilty of murdering her husband Ken."
  — Investigator/Police Officer (38:45)

• Ongoing questions for family; Roberta continues to maintain innocence.

  "I want people to know that my dad was a good guy... He loved her. He took care of her. I feel like she owes us a reason why. We want the truth. Will we ever get that? Probably not."
  — Ken’s Child (41:34)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Detective on Roberta’s demeanor:
  "There was no emotion, no tears, nothing." (23:12)
• Ken’s child on justice:
  "You can't be a criminal in this world and not expect to pay the consequence for it." (38:17)
• Detective speculating on motive:
  "Maybe it was. She wanted to save Ken from embarrassment of losing his house, but she chickened out." (39:33)
• Friend reflecting on deception:
  "She had built, you know, a house of cards on lies and deception. And the pressure, you know, caused her to snap." (40:12)

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Thematic Takeaways

• Financial stress and deception can have catastrophic, even fatal results.
• Appearances can be deceiving—even to close friends and family.
• Careful investigation and forensic evidence proved critical to revealing the truth behind Ken Simard’s death.

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Conclusion

The episode offers a gripping and exhaustive look at the unraveling of Roberta Simard’s life and marriage, tracing how mounting financial pressure and secrecy led to deadly consequences. Despite Roberta’s ongoing assertions of innocence, the evidence—emotional, forensic, and testimonial—presented a compelling case for murder over accident. The story closes on the sorrow and unresolved questions left in the wake of Ken’s death, highlighting the profound loss felt by his family and community.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

A grandfather killed in his house in Oregon.

[Detective]

The victim was on the back porch. I had been told that a woman had possibly shot her husband.

[Narrator]

The evidence appears to point to a tragic accident.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

There's really no sign of any struggle.

[Detective]

A lot of mistakes happen in the dark. You can stub your toe or end up accidentally killing your husband.

[Roberta Simard]

I was trying to kill myself.

[Narrator]

But when details fail to add up, detectives begin to suspect a cold blooded murder.

[Detective]

In the bottom of a laundry hamper was a foreclosure notice.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

She had built a house of cards on lies and deception.

[Narrator]

And information from beyond the GR reveals the killer's deceit.

[Detective]

We're looking through this office. We come across this notebook.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

The last thing he writes is, maybe I'll be on my own.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

The little lies turned into big lies turned into, how do I get out of this?

[Narrator]

Millersburg, Oregon, is a town of about 3,000 people, halfway between Portland and Eugene.

[Detective]

It's a small city in Lynn county that really doesn't have much crime, much burglary, much theft, hardly any major crime.

[Narrator]

In the early morning hours of November 16, 2015, this normally quiet community awakens to the sound of sirens as local sheriffs respond to a frantic 911 call.

[Roberta Simard]

My husband has been shot. He's been shot. Yes, ma'. Am. Can you take a deep breath and tell me what happened? I can't tell you. He wasn't as close as me. Okay, we're gonna get help sent that way. Okay, stay on the line with me.

[Narrator]

Deputies quick arrive at the home of Ken and Roberta Simard, a couple in their late 50s and early 60s.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

When police arrive on the scene. It's still dark outside. You know, it's early morning hours.

[Detective]

They encountered Roberta. She was in the house, still on the phone with 911. They brought her out to the front porch.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

They start talking to Roberta. She seems a little out of it. She is telling them, I did it. I shot my husband. But she had planned to die by suicide. Her husband, he was going to leave for work and had at some point come back in and interrupted Roberta's plan to take her life. She happened to accidentally shoot him.

[Narrator]

Roberta is taken into custody and held in the back of their patrol car while detectives arrive on scene.

[Detective]

I got paged out that a shooting that had occurred in Millersburg, which was only five to seven minutes away from my house. As you walk in the front door, there's a glass door that leads out onto a wood porch. The victim, Ken Simard, was on the back porch. It was pretty easy to tell he was deceased. The gun was inside the threshold near that door. It was a pretty unique gun, like a snub nose. 38, stainless steel, but it had pink grips on it. From the looks of it, probably a female's gun. I was told that it was a. A woman had possibly shot her husband, but he wasn't supposed to be there. I thought maybe this guy left for work, came back, and she thought it was a burglar and accidentally shot him. I have to look for a reason as to why this tragic event happened. And if it is an accident, we're gonna have to figure out why it happened. We needed to obtain some more statements from her, more in depth of what happened. That.

[Roberta Simard]

Was.

[Narrator]

Ken Simard was born in Albany, Oregon on January 25, 1958. He was one of four siblings raised in a blue collar family.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

Ken is very hard worker. He always had a job. He grew up farming. When he was probably 16, he worked in the fields doing the combining, windrowing and plowing. He graduated in 76 and he joined the Navy. He married his girlfriend Vicky, and he was in the Navy for four years and was stationed various places.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

He had a pretty funny, dry sense of humor. His personality was one of, I would say, good character. He really cared about people.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Ken was a very kind person. He went out of his way to help anybody. He loved to learn new skills and just being there for his family and really helping his family. He loved that.

[Narrator]

When Ken returned home from deployment, he found work as an engineer. But the time away had caused him and his wife to drift apart.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

When he came home, the marriage didn't last very long, so they were divorced. And soon after that, he met Cindy.

[Ken's Child]

My dad met my mom through my uncle and his girlfriend. I have two brothers. Brad is the oldest, I'm the middle child, and Matthew is the youngest.

[Real Estate Investor]

Dad took us camping all the time when we were kids, and we'd go gold panning or go hiking or we'd go fishing or hunting or whatever and

[Detective]

just always kind of had a good time.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, his second marriage only lasted a few years longer than his first.

[Ken's Child]

My mom and dad, they were divorced when I was around 2. My mom and dad both have really different personalities and wanted different things in life. And it just. They kind of grew apart.

[Narrator]

Starting over for the second time. Ken was now in his early 30s. He took a job at a paper mill in Millersburg, Oregon, and put his engineering skills to use as a member of the Oregon National Guard.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

We were in the maintenance section. He was a mechanic. So was I. We Became fast friends. We're traveling to wherever the vehicles are that we're working on.

[Narrator]

Ken spent the following years focused on his work and his children. Then in 1996, 38 year old Ken met the woman who would become his third wife. 43 year old Roberta Bogart.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

Roberta was at the mill, she was a secretary there. They went out on some dates and next thing you know they were together. She was previously married and they had two boys. They grew up around here. Then they moved to Alaska.

[Ken's Child]

We were living with my mom and we were in school. So it was just weekends that we would be with him. I was about 14 when Roberta and my dad started dating. This is my dad and Roberta. She was nice, she was friendly. She always had a smile on her face. Seemed to make my dad happy.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

Before we knew it, they flew to Las Vegas and got married.

[Detective]

Will you have Roberta as your wife to share your life with her, to speak the truth to her in love, to honor and tenderly care for her? Yes, I will.

[Narrator]

Five years later, the couple bought their dream home in Millersburg.

[Ken's Child]

It was a five bedroom house with the huge barn. With the property out of town, he

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

really enjoyed that piece of land that he had.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

He would spoil her. Ken went and bought her a new car because he was making good money. They always seemed happy and go lucky.

[Narrator]

13 years into their marriage, the couple's good fortune ended when the paper mill closed down and they both lost their jobs. But Ken was nothing if not resourceful.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

He starts a company, he becomes a roofer. Then he falls on hard times again. When he falls off a roof, he injures himself where he shatters both of his heels. Despite that, Ken is a fighter. He says, I'm gonna go back to school, I'm gonna learn a new trade. And so he begins studying to become an H Vac engineer. And so again he picks himself up and he's studying to better his life.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Ken seemed very excited about H Vac school and getting out there to help people and just making a difference in someone's life.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

At this point in Ken's life, his adult children, his three adult children are grown, they're out of the house. He's a grandfather. He's overcome some, but he's with Roberta. They're living in their dream home that they had purchased and he's got a new career. Things are looking up for him.

[Narrator]

Ken's recovery is brought to an abrupt halt after another accident has resulted in his death.

[Detective]

Robert is in the back of a patrol car. The deputies on scene had already went into the house, secured it. Ken, he appeared dressed for work. I mean, he had a jacket on his lunchbox, a mug. His keys were back there on the back, back porch as well.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

There's really no sign of any struggle. There are no, you know, there's no broken glass. There are no pieces of furniture tipped.

[Narrator]

The scene appears to match what Roberta told officers, but they won't know for sure until they conduct a thorough investigation.

[Detective]

We did the preliminary exam of the body and right in the crook of the neck, we found a gunshot wound. We're trying to determine does this gunshot wound match what Roberta's telling us? The next step, there's going to be a detective assigned to work on an application for a search warrant. So while we're waiting for that, we went back to our sheriff's office and sat in an interview room and interviewed Roberta. Not under arrest or anything. We're just trying to get kind of the facts and sometimes it's easier to bring you down here and interview you. So can you tell me what happened?

[Roberta Simard]

I've been really sad, depressed. They're gonna take away our house from us. And I just couldn't face it anymore. I just couldn't face all that.

[Detective]

And they'll take the house away.

[Roberta Simard]

The house is being foreclosed. I saw it. I was trying to kill myself.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

The reality is that financial stress, it can be massive. It can be overwhelming for a married couple. So people do make rash, drastic decisions.

[Detective]

She said she was gonna shoot herself and Ken showed up. It accidentally went off. He got shot. But I'm processing all sorts of possibilities. A lot of mistakes happen in the dark. You can stub your toe or end up accidentally killing your husband. So that's what we're looking for. Now is that what evidence can we find to support Roberta's statement? Or are we going to find stuff that conflicts with that?

[Narrator]

Coming up, Roberta reenacts the flower. Fatal shooting.

[Detective]

She says she's bringing the gun up to kill herself. It accidentally goes off and hits Ken.

[Narrator]

But was it really an accident?

[Detective]

I wanted to believe her. Wanted to believe her so bad.

[Narrator]

Roberta Simard has just confessed to accidentally killing her 57 year old husband Ken in a botched suicide attempt. Linn county detectives press her for more details.

[Detective]

Roberta tells us when Ken left for work, she retrieves this firearm from the bedroom.

[Roberta Simard]

I was pacing around my house and didn't just do it instantly when I thought I had the chance, because I could. All I could think of was my kids.

[Detective]

And did you think Ken had already left? Is that what you were Thinking, well,

[Roberta Simard]

he walked out the door. He left the pouch. He usually doesn't come back.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

She tells detectives that for some reason, he came back in to the house and caught her in that very moment.

[Roberta Simard]

I guess maybe he must have seen the gun in my hand. He must have, because he said, what? And he had this weird look on his face. And I said, I love you. And then the next thing I knew,

[Detective]

get rid of all she said. When she's bringing the gun up to kill herself, it accidentally goes off and hits Ken. What would be my response if I saw my spouse doing something like that? You know, I'd probably reach out and try to grab the gun. Well, if there's a struggle, she pulls away. He pulls it close. She loses her balance. Now the gun's up. Now it accidentally goes off.

[Roberta Simard]

He saw it, and he was gonna take. He would take it away from me. He's stronger than I am. So he saw it. And so I'm just. I'm guessing. I don't know. I don't know what happened.

[Detective]

You're thinking, man, this lady just was in a mental health crisis. Now she's just suffered this tragic loss. It's her husband. So, yeah, not being able to remember minor details wasn't unusual.

[Narrator]

Roberta's memory might be hazy, but. But she's clear about one thing.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

Roberta maintains I shot him. But this was not supposed to happen. This was an accident. I loved my husband.

[Detective]

We have a lot of these cases where somebody will kill their spouse and then kill themselves. Have you ever thought about that in the past, ever? How about this woman?

[Roberta Simard]

Never. I would never think about her again. Never. Never.

[Narrator]

Rather than taking Roberta's word at face value, detectives talk to the Simard's loved ones to gain insight into their marriage.

[Detective]

Ken and Roberta, they live alone. They don't have any roommates. You're interviewing family to see. Oh. Is it possible Ken's abusive? Is Roberta controlling? Nobody really says that. They describe Ken and Roberta as kind of the perfect couple.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Ken and Roberta did seem very happy when they were together. They'd be joking and enjoying each other's company.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

In all the time that I knew him and knew Roberta, he never said a bad word about her. Right? He really cared about her.

[Narrator]

Ken's family was unaware of any financial troubles at home.

[Ken's Child]

My uncle read in the newspaper that my dad's house was up for foreclosure. So he called my dad and said, you know, hey, Kenny, what's going on with the house? You know, do you need some help? And my dad said, no. No, Roberta's got it all under control. She said it was a mix up and they changed mortgage companies or something. And she sent the check to place A and it should have went to place B. But it's all covered, it's all good to go.

[Narrator]

Loved ones also say they're surprised to learn Roberta had been struggling with her mental health.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

She was always smiling, she was, you know, always positive, always up and going.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

I never knew her to be suicidal or to be depressed.

[Narrator]

Despite receiving positive impressions from family and friends, the timing of Roberta's attempted suicide and Ken's sudden return doesn't feel quite right.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

Seems a little unlikely that at that very moment Ken might have walked in right as she planned to shoot herself. But it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.

[Detective]

There were a lot of questions asked where she, she said, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. And we're imagining stuff on just limited information. If we put that with the actual physical actions, we can put it in perspective.

[Narrator]

To verify Roberta's version of events, detectives offer an unorthodox solution.

[Detective]

So here's what we would like to do today is at some point that maybe would you be willing to do a reenactment for that?

[Roberta Simard]

Okay,

[Detective]

you have two people, one person's dead. One story at this point, she either didn't remember or he didn't grab the gun.

[Narrator]

Roberta Simard claims that she has accidentally killed her husband Ken during a thwarted suicide attempt. Detectives prepare to return to the scene to allow Roberta to reenact the morning's events.

[Detective]

One of the things that helps us understand the chain of events that occurred is a reenactment. So once Ken's body was gone, we proposed that to Roberta to do the reenactment back at the house. She agreed. So we drove her back. And the house was still being processed for evidence and the like. But we, we did a video recorded reenactment. My partner played the role of Ken. So let's go, let's go ahead and shut the door. And he's standing out there like about like that.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Okay.

[Detective]

So you open the door.

[Roberta Simard]

He must have been like right there. And when I opened up the door, I'm standing like this and he took a step back.

[Detective]

Okay, so you have the gun in your hand, right? Can you make a finger gun for me?

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Yeah.

[Detective]

So you have the finger gun and he's right there. And as you open the door, he's going to take a step back when you open the door.

[Roberta Simard]

Right.

[Detective]

So when she opens the door, take a step back, and then shut it when she'll go. It gave us kind of a perspective of how close they were to each other, which, you know, probably 2ft apart at most. So close enough to where, yeah, Ken could have reached out and grabbed it.

[Narrator]

Roberta's reenactment suggests the barrel of the gun was about 18 inches from Ken when it was fired.

[Detective]

Do you think that's what it went off?

[Roberta Simard]

I could have. I mean, it's not. I don't think he passed. I don't think he grabbed me. You had to have. I don't know. I don't know.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

The story Roberta's telling detectives makes sense when you look at the trajectory of the bullet, the way it entered through Ken's neck. He's almost a foot taller than her. And so she says, the gun went off. As I'm bringing it up to my

[Detective]

head, that lines up how she portrayed it. It was possible. I wanted to believe her, wanted to believe her so bad. But one of the things that stuck out in my mind was here we are standing at a glass door, looking out on a patio where just hours earlier, her husband died. There was no emotion, no tears, nothing.

[Narrator]

After Roberta's confusing reenactment, investigators acquire a search warrant for the Samard home.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

They need to search every inch of this house to figure out what happened here. There has to be more information. So they begin searching the house.

[Detective]

We're looking for any type of evidence that's either gonna prove or disprove Roberta's story. It was a clean house. This is well kept, older person's home. Just looked organized.

[Narrator]

In the course of their search, detectives find something out of place.

[Detective]

In the bottom of a laundry hamper was a foreclosure notice relating to the sell of Ken and Roberta's home for non payment on the mortgage. It was rather weird where we found it because I know I don't. And I'm sure a lot of people don't file important paperwork in the bottom

[Narrator]

of a laundry hamper in an otherwise tidy home. It looks to investigators as though Roberta could have been trying to hide the paperwork from her husband.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

Roberta's signature was the only signature on those foreclosure documents. Ken's signature was not on them.

[Narrator]

In Ken's office, they find something equally intriguing.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

They find a notebook that Ken had filled out. It was a really self reflective type of notebook. And it gives you a peek behind the curtain of their marriage between him and Roberta.

[Narrator]

Coming up, Ken tells his story from beyond the grave.

[Detective]

That's really the only thing we have that gave us his thoughts and his feelings. As I'm reading Ken's notes, I'm thinking, you poor bastard.

[Narrator]

Just hours after the shooting, investigators are conducting a thorough, thorough examination of the Samard home. Having just found a foreclosure document revealing the Samard's dire financial situation. Another piece of evidence emerges in Ken's office.

[Detective]

When we were looking, you know, we go room by room, and as we're looking through this office, we come across this. This notebook. It was found in with his homework for the H Vac classes. Seemed like he would just been free riding, you know, to get his emotions out.

[Narrator]

In his notebook, Ken complains about the frequent conflicts in his marriage.

[Detective]

I had some notes in there about Roberta being controlling about money. Him always having to ask permission for money or permission to spend money. In and of themselves. They weren't really anything. But it started to provide an insight into maybe this marriage or the things that Roberta had told us. Maybe the relationship wasn't all peaches and cream. It spells it out pretty clearly that Ken does not have an accounting of where his money is going or their money's going.

[Ken's Child]

It does mention that she's allowed to spend money, but when he spends the money, it causes an argument.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

You really get this idea that he's helpless and that Roberta is the one who holds all the power in their marriage.

[Narrator]

Toward the end of the notebook, Ken even writes about leaving Roberta.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

The last thing he writes is, maybe I'll be on my own.

[Detective]

I think he was just probably about ready to start sever that relationship.

[Narrator]

To investigators, the notebook puts Ken's shooting in a new perspective.

[Detective]

It's really the only thing we have that gave us Ken's thoughts and his feelings. So that's the closest we could get to how he was feeling or what his perspective of the relationship was.

[Ken's Child]

I never, ever suspected that there was any problem in their marriage or that my dad had ever even had those thoughts. From the outside looking in, we thought dad was happy. He was living his life. He was, you know, having fun, doing what he wanted to do. And it that wasn't the case.

[Narrator]

Knowing the house was in foreclosure, detectives dig into where the money was going.

[Real Estate Investor]

Roberta liked having the fancy things and

[Detective]

basically being viewed in a certain light.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

She liked to spoil her friends like, she liked to buy them, like, extravagant gifts.

[Detective]

I just can't imagine if you don't have the money to pay for your house, why you'd be buying extravagant gifts from your friends other than to give this Impression that you're well off and living this fabulous life.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

What they learn from this notebook is really important because detectives are looking at this, wondering, could this be a motive as to why she shot him?

[Narrator]

The notebook combined with the foreclosure paperwork start to paint a clear picture whether

[Detective]

Ken gave her birth the impression that he was on the verge of leaving. Probably in her mind, she knew that once he found out about the house, he was going to be done.

[Narrator]

Investigators review Roberta's911 call for further proof.

[Roberta Simard]

Roberta, I'm sorry. I need you to take a deep breath and try and calm down. Can you check and tell me, is he okay? Can you tell me where he was shot? Okay, can you check on him? I want to send medics to help him. I need. You don't want to go see if he's okay?

[Detective]

There's a lot of things during this investigation that, that just didn't make sense. She can't tell the dispatcher where she shot Ken. She doesn't want to check on Ken. She. During the interview, she. She acts like she's crying, but there's no tears. You put everything together and there's this just a whole facade of web of lies.

[Narrator]

After a swift investigation, detectives sit back down with Roberta Simard. Just 12 hours after Ken's death.

[Detective]

We hadn't had a chance to get the autopsy done yet, so we were operating on information that we had. Came back to the sheriff's office and had some follow up questions. Here's kind of where we're at is, you know, obviously something bad happened today. The death was caused. In looking at your story and everything you've told us, it rises to the level of a manslaughter. So you will be arrested today. And I think you probably had that thought in your mind at some point.

[Roberta Simard]

No, I never dreamed that that was going to be what was going to happen.

[Detective]

I think Roberta was in disbelief that she was actually getting arrested. In her mind, she thought she was going to be able to just walk out the front doors a free woman.

[Narrator]

As Roberta spends her first night in jail, local TV picks up the story and investigators receive a call from a local real estate investor that helps put the pieces together.

[Real Estate Investor]

I was a house flipper, so I flipped homes, bought them at foreclosure auctions. And then I was watching the 11 o' clock news and then I was totally shocked. My mind is like, oh my gosh, that's my house. The next morning I called the sheriff's office, basically like, hey, I own the house now. Do you need to talk to me.

[Detective]

We learned Roberta had worked with the new owner to stay in the house for a few more weeks, which that time came and went, so she got another extension. You know, we're surmising that Ken never had an idea.

[Narrator]

The fact that the house was sold from under Ken's feet further cements detect detective suspicions.

[Real Estate Investor]

They asked if I had spoken with the husband.

[Detective]

Nope.

[Real Estate Investor]

Never seen him. Never spoke with him. Only dealt with Roberta. And, you know, in my conversations with her, she's like, oh, I handle the finances. I just don't want to upset my husband. Rather not evict her. So give her an extra week or so. And then next thing I know, the night before we're supposed to get possession of the property, her mugshot came across the screen. I was so shocked. Just, you know, she was just like

[Detective]

a little older lady.

[Real Estate Investor]

She looked harmless.

[Narrator]

Brian's statement appears to confirm Ken didn't know he'd lost his dream home.

[Detective]

The day Ken died was the day that they were supposed to be packed up and moved out of that house. There were no moving boxes. If I lost my house and I had to be out that day and my house wasn't packed yet, I probably wouldn't be going to work. I'd probably be packing.

[Ken's Child]

A month before all of this happened, my dad had started buying materials, and they were still sitting out back to build onto the porch. So why would he be doing upgrades to a house that is going up for foreclosure? My dad absolutely loved that house. He would have never lost that house, Especially not for the minimal amount of money that was still owed on.

[Narrator]

Seems Roberta had spent months hiding the truth from Ken. But time had finally run out, and detectives suspect she acted out of desperation.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

When you look at everything as a whole and you see the walls were closing in around her, I mean, they were losing their house that day. But all of that could also lend itself to Roberta's story that she was extremely depressed and had nowhere to turn, and she was going to take her life. And so what detectives need is physical evidence that points to Roberta murdering her husband.

[Narrator]

On November 17, the day after Ken's shooting, the medical examiner performs an autopsy. Investigators hope it will provide the proof they're looking for.

[Detective]

The biggest finding in the autopsy was the wound Ken suffered was the close contact wound, which tells us that muzzle is going to be right up there, close and center. There's going to be charring sitting around the wound, and probably not going to happen from, you know, 18 or so inches away, as she described It

[Investigator/Police Officer]

Roberta had told police she couldn't remember if Ken had tried to grab the gun to stop her from shooting that firearm. And what the autopsy revealed is there was no gunshot residue on Ken's hands, indicating that in all likelihood, he did not try to grab the gun from her or interfere.

[Detective]

The evidence suggests her arm was outreached and she pulled that trigger intentionally to kill Kensimorg. The autopsy blows this case open. We sent the firearm to the Oregon State Police. We wanted to know what the trigger pull on that firearm was. Because if it's one of those triggers that you barely touch it and it goes off gives credence to Roberta's story. In this case, it was a pretty hard trigger pull. I had interviewed some people that had taken her to the firing range, and she had struggled shooting a gun.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

She had to squeeze that trigger pretty tight for it to go off, which tells them, you did this on purpose. This was intentional.

[Narrator]

Following Ken's autopsy, the charges against Roberta are increased from first degree manslaughter to murder.

[Detective]

The trial is set for April 6, 2017. Lynn County Courthouse here in Albany.

[Narrator]

The outcome of Roberta Samar's murder trial hinges on the interpretation of the medical examiner's findings.

[Detective]

Prosecution's trying to prove it was a close contact wound. The defense is trying to prove it wasn't.

[Ken's Child]

The trial was long, hard images I will never forget, but my dad's always been big on justice, like, you can't be a criminal in this world and not expect to pay the consequence for it.

[Narrator]

After eight days of arguments, the case is handed over to the jury. They take five hours to deliberate.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

The jury comes back and sides with the prosecutor, determining that Roberta is guilty of murdering her husband Ken. Roberta is ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison.

[Ken's Child]

I think 25 years is kind of a petty sentence. However, going in at 63, the odds are against her. I honestly don't think that she'll make

[Roberta Simard]

it out of there.

[Ken's Child]

That being said, as harsh as that may sound, I'm okay with that.

[Narrator]

Despite her conviction, Roberta continues to insist she's innocent. And many questions still remain in this investigation.

[Detective]

The hardest thing for people to get their minds around is the whole circumstances. Why Roberta resorted to killing Ken. What was the point of that? I still think it was going to be a murder suicide. She was going to kill him and then herself. Maybe it was. She wanted to save Ken from embarrassment of losing his house, but she chickened out.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

I don't think at all that she was going to commit suicide. She's not that kind of person. I think that she just planned it wrong.

[Friend or Colleague of Ken]

She had built, you know, a house of cards on lies and deception. And the pressure, you know, caused her to snap.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

I think it all could have been avoided. If she would have been honest with Ken, I bet you he would have worked through it with her.

[Detective]

When I think about her and how he died and what she did, I'm still very much so angry with her and don't ever want to see her face. Really.

[Investigator/Police Officer]

Roberta, choosing to kill Ken didn't solve anything. It didn't solve any of her problems. She destroyed her own life. She took away a man who meant a lot to a lot of people.

[Family Member or Close Friend]

Ken was someone who I looked up to. He always listened. You could tell him anything. So I tried to be there for my. For my child and my family and the way that he was for me.

[Ken's Friend or Colleague]

I just wish he was still here and could play with his grandkids and watch them grow up.

[Ken's Child]

I want people to know that my dad was a good guy. There was no physical, mental, emotional abuse. There was none of that going on. He loved her. He took care of her. I feel like she owes us a reason why we want the truth. Will we ever get that? Probably not.

[Roberta Simard]

Sa.