‘Very unjust’: Family outraged after Sacramento woman’s alleged killer is released from jail
By Peyton Headlee
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — A family is sharing their frustration after the man accused of killing their sister was released from jail.
Sacramento Police arrested Robert Terry in September and charged him with the killing of Helen Terry. Helen Terry was found dead with stab wounds in her Sacramento apartment on Aug. 28, 1980.
When Helen was found dead, nobody else was in the apartment with her besides her one-year-old son. Sacramento police said that at the time, there was not enough evidence to identify or charge a suspect in connection with Helen’s death.
The case had gone cold until the department reopened it as part of a cold case initiative. Investigators found Robert’s DNA and enough evidence to charge the now 82-year-old.
“After 45 years, we had this one iota of hope as to what happened,” John Mays, Helen’s brother, said.
Now, Mays said that hope has dwindled.
A spokesperson for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said criminal proceedings in the case were suspended. At a hearing on June 6, a doctor’s report found Robert incompetent to stand trial.
On Thursday, a judge ruled to release Robert on his own recognizance despite objections from the district attorney’s office.
“That was the only hope that we had. And it’s just been ripped away from us, like pulling the rug right from underneath our feet,” Mays said. “He’s back home with his family and all that stuff. And I can’t bring my sister back to my family. I think it’s very unjust.”
After waiting decades for justice, Mays called the ruling a slap in the face to his family, to his nephew, who never really got to know his mother, and to his sister.
“She had spent some time in the Army and got out, you know, just trying to live her life,” Mays said. “She could be sitting right next to me if none of this would have ever happened.”
According to the court’s website, Robert was appointed a public defender. KCRA 3 reached out to the Public Defender’s Office on Thursday but has not heard back.
Robert’s next court date is on July 15 on the competence issue.
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