BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — A man found guilty of a 2021 murder by a jury will now spend the rest of his life in prison.
According to the Brazos County District Attorney's Office, on July 25, 2021, a call was made to police about a blood trail found at the Crescent Pointe Apartments in College Station. When officers managed to get into the apartment where the blood trail led to, the body of a young woman was found just inside the apartment. She was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Tarod London, the man sentenced, was monitored by investigators for any possible link to the murder. He had dated the victim, 18-year-old Roshainah Tompkins, on and off for years.
The day after Tompkins' body was found, investigators spotted London just after 1 a.m. in Hempstead, where he lived at the time. When he was approached by investigators, he took off and was able to get away from authorities while driving fast without his headlights on.
Later that day, London's car was found at a hotel parking lot in Brenham. An AR-15 was also found in the car that was owned by London with some of Tompkins' blood in the passenger's seat and floorboard.
During his trial, it was revealed that Tompkins had planned to see London at the time of the murder. Prosecutors also gave a detailed description of where London had been that day through cell tower data and traffic camera footage before he left her body in the apartment.
It was also revealed that London attempted to take a Texas Ranger's gun and escape from custody. London claimed otherwise, stating that he was acting in self-defense, but the claim was rejected by the jury and a guilty verdict was delivered for a murder charge on Friday, May 3, 2024. London received his life imprisonment sentence on May 6.
"There is no number of years that will account for the loss of a life, but the jury's verdict in this case makes the entire Brazos Valley safer," said Assistant District Attorneys Kristin Burns and Ryan Golden.