Nashville, TN: Detectives Say Man Killed Wife In 1983 Curtis Roberts Committed Suicide Last Year

POSTED: 7:39 pm CDT August 7, 2009

UPDATED: 3:12 am CDT August 8, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Cold case detectives say a man who committed suicide in October is responsible for the beating death of his wife in 1983.

Curtis Roberts reported his wife, Ruthe, missing in August of that year, saying that she left their home for a Bingo game but never arrived there.

The 28-year-old woman was found nine days later in the back of her car, parked at a Chattanooga hotel.

Roberts was considered a possible suspect from early on, and friends and family continued to tell detectives -- as recent as last year -- that they believed Roberts was responsible for his wife's death.

Roberts killed himself in 2008 three months after Metro police notified him while he was a Rutherford County Jail inmate that they were working on the case. He was 64.

Though the case has been cleared, it's possible that Roberts had help moving his wife's body to Chattanooga. The investigation remains open to reflect that possibility.

Ruthe Roberts