WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) — A two-week trial begins Monday for a Wood County man accused of killing Elanore Roberts in 1984.
John Sarver is said to have beaten the then 73-year-old woman and stabbed her numerous times with a pair of scissors. Officers immediately classified her death as a homicide but were not able to immediately tie the evidence to a suspect.
As fingerprint technology advanced, they were able to link a handprint at the scene to Sarver. Other DNA technology was used to link a black ski mask found near the scene to Sarver. Additionally, the scissors used in the killing, the ski mask, and a telephone that was missing from Roberts’ home were all found along a path between her home and Sarver’s home.
RELATED: Arrest made decades later in 1984 Wood County murder
Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker says there appears to be no clear motive in connection with the killing as Sarver only knew Roberts from several calls he made to her home in the summer of 1984 to repair a lawnmower Roberts had purchased from Sarver’s place of employment.
Sarver was interviewed several times regarding the case in the mid-1980s. He changed his story several times regarding where he was the night of the killing, and none of his alibies ever checked out.
The trial is expected to last through November 4th.
