TX- Man who shot wife's lover says he thought she was raped

5-7-2008 Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The man who killed his wife's lover after she falsely cried rape says he would "do it again."


Darrell Roberson said he thought she was being raped when he found her and Devin LaSalle embracing in a truck in front of the Robersons' Arlington home.

"When I heard my wife scream rape and I saw (LaSalle) trying to drive off from the scene, I had no choice but to do what I did," Darrell Roberson said. "If I had to do it over, I'd do it again."

He initially was arrested, but a grand jury declined to indict him and later indicted his wife instead. Tracy Roberson was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

When asked if he regrets having a gun that night in 2006, Darrell Roberson said, "I wish a lot of things wouldn't have happened that night." On the 911 tape the night of the shooting, he is heard doubting his wife's claims of rape.

In his first public interview since his wife's sentence, he spoke to the media Tuesday from the office of his wife's attorney Jill Davis, who said she has filed an appeal. Tracy Roberson, 37, must serve 2 1/2 years before she is eligible for parole.

Darrell Roberson, who said he never considered a divorce, said he wishes he could take his wife's place because "as a man you hate to see your wife hurt." He said the two have been together for 20 years, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Because Darrell Roberson had told prosecutors he did not want details about the affair, he was outside the courtroom during testimony that his wife and LaSalle had sex only twice. LaSalle, 32, was a Hurricane Katrina victim who moved to North Texas from New Orleans.

Roberson said he was upset but "I'm going to stick with my family for better or worse."

He said his wife has considered suicide because she regrets what she did. He said he told her, "You made a mistake, and I forgive you. God forgives you. Now let's move on."

The Robersons now live in Frisco. ..more.. by KRIS TV.com