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Victim's family hopes for justice after indictment in 2001 slaying
Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson announced Nov. 12 that there is no evidence showing that Patrick Blair Hornbaker, 32, knew the man who shot and killed him May 21, 2001, in his home on Route 9 near the West Virginia line.
Robert E. Roy, 44, of Hedgesville, W.Va., has been charged with capital murder for the crime along with robbery, burglary and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Simpson called the slaying “a home invasion style robbery and murder.”
Police found Hornbaker dead in his bedroom about 4 p.m. that day nearly seven and a half years ago.
Roy is believed to have stolen a variety of items from Hornbaker's home, including jewelry and prescription medication.
“We have no reason to believe the drugs were a motive for the crime,” Simpson said.
Roy has been in custody at the Mount Olive Correctional Center in West Virginia since 2003 on unrelated burglary and robbery charges.
An inmate search of the West Virginia Department of Corrections shows that Roy is serving sentences for one count each of burglary, breaking and entering, grand larceny, first degree robbery with physical violence, receiving or transferring stolen goods and receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. These charges span three West Virginia counties.
Simpson said Roy became a person of interest in the Hornbaker case in the summer of 2007. A new investigator was assigned in 2006 to give the Sheriff's Office a fresh look on the case.
Simpson said that new information was brought to light that led investigators to Roy.
Roy has also been linked to other burglaries in West Virginia and Maryland. In one of those, he allegedly assaulted a woman, Simpson said.
Simpson said the Sheriff's Office could not get into specifics about evidence at this time. He added that there could be another person who was involved in the crime.
Simpson called the investigation a multi-jurisdictional effort, which included the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Leah Hornbaker Dunivan, the victim's younger sister, said her family is pleased that an indictment has been made in the case.
She asked the media to respect her family's privacy, adding that Patrick Hornbaker “is still a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin and a friend.”
“Today is a great day for our family,” Dunivan said. “Our family needs justice, and Patrick deserves it.”
Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said that his office is working with officials in West Virginia to have Roy extradited to Loudoun.
He added that his office will “wait and see how the process unfolds” to decide whether or not to pursue capital murder against Roy or amend the charge to first degree murder.
If his case remains a capital murder case and he is found guilty, Roy could be sentenced to death.
Simpson said that while certain cases like this appear to be cold, law enforcement agencies are always working on them. This one “never really stopped being investigated,” he said.
“This is a good example of a case that was not forgotten,” Simpson said.
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