The Case of Paula Roberts: Philip Willoughby

Murder, She Told

Kristen Seavey

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1983. Augusta, Maine. Part 2 - After David Willoughby was acquitted of the brutal abduction and murder of 21-year-old Paula Roberts, the public was furious. How could such a flagrant misstep of justice happen? Two people were responsible for Paula's murder. How did David get away? But the public wouldn't have to wait long, because right after David's acquittal came another trial: David's 21-year-old step-brother, Philip Willoughby. Neither men took responsibility for the crime. Philip insisted it was David—that the jury let the real killer walk free. With fingers pointing in every direction and criminal contempt charges coming down on uncooperative witnesses, will the jury find anyone guilty of murder at the center of this circus? Will Paula Roberts family get justice? This is part two of the story of Paula Roberts, and one of the most sensational murder trials in Maine's history. Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com. Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast Support the show here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Murder She Told, true crime stories from Maine, New England, and Small Town, USA.
0:19.3	I'm Kristen Zeevy.
0:21.4	You can connect with me at MurderSheTold.com or on Instagram at MurderSheToldPodcast.
0:31.0	This is part two of the Paula Roberts story.
0:34.3	If you haven't listened to part one about David Willoughby, I suggest going back and starting with that one first.
0:43.2	Prosecutor Herbert Bunker was furious. He believed that David Willoughby was guilty.
0:49.7	He had a strong case, and yet the jury disagreed. What went wrong?
0:55.5	The day after David was found innocent, Bunker spoke to the press and was quoted in the
1:00.6	Kennebec Journal saying he was dumbfounded that the state police had an interview defense witness
1:06.7	Catherine Bloomberg, his alibi witness who placed him at the apartment house at the time of the
1:11.6	murder. And that wasn't his only surprise. The biggest one was the alternative suspect theory
1:17.9	that Moe Harrington was responsible for the crime. Bunker knew that the verdict was going to reflect
1:24.0	poorly on his performance, and he was upset. He said, there's going to be some bloodletting
1:29.6	at the Attorney General's office, and it's going to come down on me. The state police
1:34.5	felt that Bunker had stepped out of line inventing to the press. The state police and the state
1:40.2	prosecutors are on the same team, and this type of public outburst revealed internal dissension,
1:46.4	a break in the ranks. Bunker's boss, Attorney General James Tierney, got involved.
1:52.3	Bunker offered his resignation. The chief public officer for the state police and the Attorney
1:57.9	General met privately about the outburst and released a joint statement. Having discussed this
2:04.3	matter in full, we are in full accord and look forward to serving the public in pursuit of our
2:09.4	identical goals. The state police rep added, I don't think it's productive to get into this
2:15.2	hindsight type of nitpicking. Attorney General James Tierney refused Bunker's resignation,
	...

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