MIAMI (Court TV) — A scheduled plea hearing in Florida took a shocking turn on Friday when the judge announced he would not accept the defendant’s guilty plea, siding with the victim’s family.
Ernest Roberts attempts to plead guilty in court on Nov. 6, 2026. (Court TV)
Ernest Roberts, 47, indicated that he wanted to plead guilty to a single charge of second-degree murder in the death of Kameela Russell, 41. Things got off to a shaky start when Roberts said he believed the plea agreement with prosecutors called for 30 years of probation; the agreement actually called for 30 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation. After a brief discussion with his attorney, Roberts indicated he was willing to accept the 30-year prison sentence.
One by one, members of Russell’s family delivered emotional victim impact statements, describing the loss of the mother of two who had simply disappeared on May 15, 2019. “I will always remember the last time I saw her in the driveway to pick me up for gymnastics,” Russell’s younger daughter said. “The moment she drove off, I was so confused. The moment I called my mom’s number nonstop and got no answer.”
In an affidavit reviewed by Court TV, investigators said that Russell was last seen alive in her sister’s driveway. She had arrived to pick up her own daughter for gymnastics class, but before the girl could come out, Russell drove away. Phone records indicated that she had received a call from the defendant, who was her friend of more than 30 years, the godfather to her children and, until seven months before her disappearance, the assistant principal at the school where Russell worked.
Prosecutors say surveillance video showed Russell leaving her sister’s driveway and going to Roberts’ home. Once she went inside, she was never seen alive again. Ten days after she disappeared, Russell’s body was found, wrapped in a tarp, floating in a canal. A medical examiner determined she died of blunt force trauma to both sides of her head and ruled the death a homicide.
Investigators said that when they executed a search warrant at Roberts’ home, they found blood and signs someone had tried to clean it up. “The smell of bleach was prevalent throughout the residence,” investigators said in an affidavit. “Inside of the master bedroom, where blood was located, there were still visible streaks of cleaning residue from efforts to clean the wood floors.”
“At her funeral, I didn’t get the chance to hold my mom’s hand one last time, because there was nothing to hold,” Russell’s elder daughter said in court on Friday. “There wasn’t a casket at my mom’s funeral. There was a picture of her and an urn. My mom was brutalized. Her head was bashed in. She wasn’t afforded the mercy of a quick death. She was thrown into the canal like trash and she was left there to rot.”
Addressing the defendant directly, Russell’s daughter continued. “To Ernest: You are not a man. You are an overgrown child with no dignity, no morals and no moral compass,” she said. “You’re a mouse of a man. The worst kind … You are a weak monster hiding behind whatever scraps of courage you can convince yourself you possess.”
Judge Alberto Milian paused proceedings after every victim impact statement criticized the plea agreement. “I have been moved by the family statements and it was represented to me that you all were consulted about this particular plea,” he said. “I was told that you all have been consulted, that the victim advocates have talked to you, and that you were all in agreement with this resolution, and I don’t want you to leave here thinking that somehow I’m callous or indifferent to your suffering.”
Milian ordered the prosecutors to meet with the victim’s family before he would accept the plea. More than 30 minutes later, all the parties returned to court and Milian called Russell’s mother to the podium.
“Do you want me to accept the plea?” he asked.
When Russell’s mother said no, Milian immediately rejected the plea offer and set the case to move forward toward trial. “I’m sorry I cannot give you any closure on this case,” Milian said. “I bear full responsibility. Maybe I should have spoken with you all before the plea was even presented to me.”
Immediately after the plea was rejected, Roberts’ attorney moved orally to recuse the judge, and the judge granted the motion. “It’s my privilege to grant him his rights, as I would any other defendant,” he said. “So I will do that.”
