Daytona Beach, FL - A New Smyrna Beach man, 31-year-old Patrick Campbell, is convicted today (July 24) of first-degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Darlene Robertson on March 17, 2015. It was the second trial for Campbell in this case.
Campbell testified at his first trial in May 2019 that he received a “sanction” to kill her. He described it as similar to a certificate, giving him protection from the law for killing his grandmother. Campbell beat and stabbed his grandmother to death with a rock and knife. He took her car and left her house with a safe that contained money, her cellphone and other items.
Also during his first trial, Campbell, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. That trial ended in a hung jury.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said that Campbell is convicted of First Degree
Murder, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, and Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle. The Volusia County jury— comprised of 7 men and 5 women—deliberated for 2 hours and 29 minutes before returning the guilty
verdicts.
Circuit Judge Matthew M. Foxman presided over the case and will pronounce sentence at a hearing to be set. Campbell faces a mandatory sentence of life in a state prison facility.
