• Life sentence handed to man in Virginia after landlord’s wife killed
• Victim found in toolbox following discovery of blood at home

A Virginia court sentenced 41-year-old Hagen Lawrence Roberts to life in prison plus five years after his conviction for the stabbing death of Cynthia Capps, city officials announced.

The ruling came more than three months after Roberts was found guilty of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon during a felony, following a three-day trial in November 2025. Roberts, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, received the maximum sentence.

The case dates back to October 8, 2020, when Capps’ husband could not locate her after showering.

He noticed a single drop of blood on the kitchen floor and called police. Officers searched the home on Green Cedar Lane and found Roberts, who rented a room there, with a wrapped wound on his right hand and signs of a recent shower. Further investigation uncovered more blood in the backyard and eventually Capps’ remains inside a metal toolbox, with severe head and facial injuries and over 90 stab wounds to the head, face, and neck.

Police recovered a knife matching a shard found in Capps’ skull, blood-stained clothing in a trash bin, and other blood evidence throughout the house.

Forensic tests confirmed DNA from both Capps and Roberts on the knife, clothing, and stains.

During sentencing, Judge Stephen C. Mahan described the evidence linking Roberts to the killing as “overwhelming” and stated that the brutal nature of the 2020 crime warranted a harsher penalty than standard sentencing guidelines.

Roberts expressed remorse for Capps’ death but denied committing the crime, saying, “I feel remorse, but I cannot lie and admit to something I didn’t do.”