Bianca Roberson: 18-Year-Old Shot In Head By Road Rage Driver; Suspect Arrested

Bianca Roberson, 18, was shot in the head on Wednesday, June 26, 2017, on her way home in a "cat-and-mouse" road rage incident in Chester County, Pennsylvania, authorities say. A nationwide manhunt for a white man with blonde or light-colored hair is underway.

Bianca Roberson was going to college in the fall, hoping to transform her life after having navigated it through some tough times. But first she had to navigate the roadway. On Wednesday, June 26, 2017, on her way home on the Route 100 bypass, she found herself in a "cat-and-mouse" situation with another car in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 

Tensions flared from at least one side, and in what investigators are calling a brazen incident of road rage, the driver, identified only as a white man with slender build, pulled a handgun and shot Bianca in the head. She later was pronounced dead.

“This homicide was completely senseless,” West Goshen Police Chief Joseph Gleason told reporters. “A beautiful young lady of 18 years of age, in the prime of her life, getting ready to go off to college. And for reasons that are incomprehensible to me, the family is now planning her funeral instead of a going-away party for college.”

Authorities have found the pickup truck that the driver used when he shot Bianca -- but the killer's whereabouts remain unknown.

On Sunday, July 2, 2017, David Desper, 26, turned himself in to authorities. He was charged with first-degree felony murder.

Family and friends gathered Friday night at a vigil to remember Bianca, who was the light of their lives. 

"I expected so much greatness in her. I'm trying so hard not to be angry," said another.

Michelle Roberson, Bianca's mother, was quoted as saying, "I don't know who did this. Why they wanted to steal my baby from me, parents, friends, neighbors. All I can say is thank you for being here showing Bianca how much she was loved."
"She was truly a great human being. And what happened to her is unspeakable," Bianca's friend said, according to 6abc.com.

Chester County officials say they needed the public to help find Bianca's killer. The hunt was nationwide.

"It’s going to take a tip from a concerned citizen, a neighbor of the individual, a coworker of the individual, who finally puts two and two together, with a description of the vehicle, and the description of the gentleman, and knowing that this person has a firearm,” he said, according to Philly.com. “We’re also hoping this gentleman turns himself in to us or comes forward with his attorney.”

 In December 2018, Desper pleaded guilty Thursday to murder and was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison.

“I am so sorry,” Desper told Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft. Desper was sentenced to the maximum sentence for third-degree murder, according to news reports.

“I would do anything to take it back," Desper said in addresssing the court. "I would rather have shot myself. All I want to do is tell her how sorry I am. I just want to put my arms around her and tell her how sorry I am.”

“I messed up,” the Delaware County man continued through sobs and tears. “I messed up.” 

In imposing the sentence, the judge noted how Desper didn’t immediately turn himself in for the slaying, but instead went to work the next day, ventured to the beach on another day, and waited three days to tell his family what he’d done.

“I believe that you would take it all back if you could, not only for your own good but for the good of the Roberson family” Wheatcraft told Desper. “But I don’t believe you were afraid. If you were afraid, you would have hit the brakes.”

“The only thing you did right was to plead guilty and spare Bianca’s family and friends from the horror of a trial,” the judge said.