Last hours of woman's life told in murder trial of husband

NEWPORT, N.H. (AP) - A daughter of a woman prosecutors say was killed by her husband on the day she filed for divorce testified Friday that her father wanted to move back into their Charlestown, New Hampshire, home but her mother wouldn't let him.

Ciera Robarge, a prosecution witness in the murder trial of her father, also testified in Sullivan County Superior Court that he owned multiple guns and collected old swords.

Ciera, other family members and jurors earlier Friday watched a court surveillance video showing 42-year-old Kelly Robarge filing for divorce at family court in New Hampshire on June 27, 2013, the day prosecutors say 45-year-old James Robarge killed her.

Robarge, who was living with his stepfather in Saxtons River, Vermont, at the time his wife disappeared, is on trial in Sullivan County Superior Court on a first-degree murder charge and an alternate charge of second-degree murder. He has been in custody since his arrest after his wife's body was found.

He maintains his innocence, and his lawyers have said he will testify in his own defense.

Kelly Robarge's decomposed body was found off a logging road in a remote section of Unity 10 days after she vanished. Because of the condition of her body, a medical examiner could not pinpoint the exact cause of death but concluded she died as the result of "homicidal violence."

Ciera Robarge testified Friday that she saw her mother sleeping in her bedroom as she was getting ready to leave for a 6 a.m. shift at a Wal-Mart store. The 21-year-old woman said she did not communicate with her mother the day she disappeared, but received texts from her father that afternoon. Ciera Robarge testified he asked what time she got off work in one text and asked where her mother was in another.

When she got home from work, she said, her mother was not there but her purse and car keys were on the kitchen table, a switch plate by the front door was broken and a sizeable chunk of the staircase handrail was missing. She said there also was bloody water in the toilet bowl and, in court, she identified a bloody blanket found alongside James Robarge's disabled car that night as one her mother kept on the back of the couch.

She acknowledged she was angry with both her parents for putting her in the middle of their frequent arguments and occasional shoving matches.

Other testimony Friday focused on what prosecutors say were the last hours of Kelly Robarge's life.

Physician assistant Frances Uptegrove said she provided general health care for Kelly Robarge. She said that during various office visits, Robarge had expressed anxiety and depression related to her marriage and said "she was living in an abusive relationship, but was not ready to leave."

Uptegrove said she saw Kelly Robarge the morning of June 27, 2013, and Robarge told her she was feeling anxious and lonely and was heading to court to file for divorce.

"She seemed clear-headed, determined and resolute," Uptegrove testified. "She'd made up her mind."

Kelly Robarge's next stop that day was family court in Claremont, where she handed over her divorce petition while her 18-month-old grandson scampered around her.

"She appeared to be relatively calm," clerk Joanie Salamon testified. "She just wanted the divorce over with."

Lori Laird, a close friend of Kelly Robarge, testified she received a text from Robarge after Robarge arrived home from court. Laird said her friend told her that James Robarge was at the home. Laird asked her if he knew yet that she'd filed for divorce.

"Not yet. I'm gonna tell him," Kelly texted back, Laird said.

She said that was the last text she received from her friend.