As police looked around the residence, they noticed what appeared to be blood spatter near a rocking chair. Some dark material in the area could have been debris, but investigators also saw red staining that appeared significant. That discovery made the condition of the house more important than James's explanations alone. The scene would soon be examined against statements from several people who knew both men.
James and Teresa were interviewed separately. Investigators also spoke with an acquaintance who knew both Robert and James and who offered a very different description of James from the caregiver image he had presented. She described him as constantly angry, self-centered, and controlling. In her view, James preyed on people around him rather than protecting them.
As detectives searched their records, they discovered that Westbrook police had interacted with Robert before. The first body-camera footage that drew their attention came from October 22, 2024, only about a month before the medical emergency. Officers had responded to an altercation involving James and Robert on a public street. During that encounter, one officer immediately noticed that Robert had a black eye.
Asked whether he wanted medical help, Robert declined. When an officer asked how the injury had happened, Robert said it had occurred the previous night during a disagreement with James. His explanation was unusual: he said the argument began because he had not answered James quickly enough. Robert described the problem as his own failure to show James proper respect.
The officer pressed him on what "not showing respect" meant. Robert explained that James would ask him something and become angry if he did not answer promptly. Even then, Robert seemed to blame himself rather than James. When asked whether James's reaction was appropriate, Robert hesitated and said that not answering him was itself wrong.
Robert told police he wanted to go to a homeless shelter for the night so he could get some distance from James. But James soon inserted himself into the conversation, asking Robert whether he really wanted to leave his home. Robert immediately became less certain and withdrew from the idea. To the detective reviewing the footage later, the change in Robert's behavior was deeply concerning.
Reviewing the October recording frame by frame only strengthened the detective's concern. Robert's black eye was visible, his speech was hesitant, and he repeatedly framed James's anger as something he had caused by failing to answer quickly enough. When the officer asked whether he really wanted the shelter, Robert initially said yes, then pulled back after James spoke. To the detective, the most important part of the footage was not a single sentence but Robert's posture, tone, and immediate change once James entered the exchange.
The detective told James that Robert's demeanor reminded him of a person trapped in a domestic violence situation. "He was terrified of you," the detective said. James rejected that completely. "He wasn't terrified of me. He loved me," he answered.
That October encounter was not the only earlier warning sign. Detectives found another police interaction from June 2024, about five months before Robert's death. In that footage, Robert had walked into a police station seeking help because he had been thrown out of his own apartment after an argument with James. Again, officers noticed injuries around his eyes.
When asked about the bruising, Robert claimed he had walked into a door. He then explained that he and James had argued because Robert had been "disrespecting" him. Robert denied that there had been a physical fight, but the explanation did not satisfy the officer. The officer continued asking questions because Robert's fear and the visible injuries did not fit comfortably with the story.
Robert confirmed that the apartment lease was in his name alone. Yet he said James had thrown him out and that he did not want to return because he feared another confrontation. An officer pointed out that James could not simply remove Robert from an apartment leased solely to Robert. Robert answered that James sometimes helped him with bills and repeatedly said he did not want things to become physical.
The officer offered to help Robert return to the apartment safely or contact a shelter. Robert said he felt the relationship had gone beyond being repairable and that he simply wanted to get away. Asked directly whether he feared for his own safety around James, Robert answered, "Kind of, sort of." He said that after years of the situation, he was done.
The June footage contained another detail that investigators later found difficult to ignore. Robert did not merely say he wanted a place to sleep; he said he wanted to get reestablished and get away from the situation altogether. He acknowledged that he was at least somewhat afraid for his personal safety, even while minimizing the conflict and refusing to accuse James directly of causing the injuries around his eyes. The officer tried to explain that Robert did not have to abandon his own apartment simply because James was angry, but Robert still seemed more comfortable leaving than confronting him.