This Week in Crime: Murder Charge in October Shooting

Police have arrested a Reston man on murder charges stemming from the October shooting of a Reston woman in his Winterthur Apartment. Karen Deck, 42, was shot in Ronald Robertson's apartment on Oct. 24 -- an incident that was not classified as a homicide until January.

On March 27, police arrested Ronald Robertson, 45, of 11900 Winterthur Lane #PH-3, and charged him with murder. Police believe Robertson and Deck were acquaintances.

Here's the Washington Post's take:

According to court records Robertson, 45, had called his parents to report that "he had accidentally shot and killed his girlfriend," and his parents called 911.

Police officers who arrived at Robertson's apartment "heard banging coming from inside," according to an affidavit by Fairfax homicide Detective Brian S. Colligan. The apartment door was closed but unlocked, Colligan wrote, so officers entered and found Robertson inside, along with Deck and a weapon on the floor.

Robertson was not charged immediately with the homicide, but he was charged four days later with being a violent felon in possession of a gun, court records show. A preliminary hearing in that case was held last week, and the charge was sent to the grand jury for possible indictment.

Court records show that Robertson pleaded guilty in 1989 to shooting at an occupied vehicle. He received a five-year suspended sentence.

We're not sure why it took so long for the charges to be filed, given the seemingly open-and-shut nature of the circumstances. Then again, if we were lawyers, we'd be busy racking up the billable hours instead of posting on this "web log."