Kriti Mehrotra
It was in late 2015 when everything turned upside down for New Jersey’s Stubblefield family as matriarch Anna Stubblefield’s intimate affair with Derrick Johnson came to light. That’s especially because she’d been accused of raping him by his family since he’s non-verbal and has cerebral palsy, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Tell Me You Love Me,’ raising concerns over his ability to consent. In the end, this former chairwoman of Rutgers University’s philosophy department as well as a fiery activist for social justice was convicted of rape, further shattering her family apart.
Anna Stubblefield’s Marriage Was Far From Perfect
While it’s unclear precisely when Anna first came across professional classical composer plus tuba player Roger Stubblefield, they soon fell in love despite their different skin colors. The duo thus tied the knot and settled down around Essex County, where they welcomed two beautiful kids into their lives — a son who prefers to remain unidentified and a daughter called Zoe. However, as the years passed, he began believing her to be “a pathological liar and narcissistic,” which is something he even wrote in a letter to the presiding judge statement following his ex’s trial.
As per records, Anna and Roger separated shortly after news of her affair with Derrick broke, with him later penning she should’ve known better considering her prior decades-long work with individuals living with mental disability. Yet then, knowing she was vehement in her claims of being heartbroken over the allegations because her romance with the latter was real, he added, “I believe it possible that given any opportunity she would definitely repeat the effort to pose herself as Anne Sullivan to Helen Keller, or perhaps a martyr like Anne Frank. She will stop at nothing to fool the court and seek vindication, regardless of the emotional and financial expense to her family or the primary victim’s family.”
Zoe Stubblefield Defended Her Mother
Since Roger’s impact statement to the judge was so strongly worded, it discredited almost everything Anna swore she stood for to a large degree; her daughter’s prior fierce defense of her did help out a little. After all, despite being merely 16 at the time, Zoe had stood in the courtroom in front of all officials to declare her “mom is a very good person” who only “ran off with a disabled man to begin” anew because her father was abusive. The teen then also candidly announced her mother was kind, caring, loving, open-minded, as well as full of warmth before adding, “She’s like the cleanest, most goody-goody-two-shoes person I’ve ever met. And now she’s gone. Thank you.”
But alas, Roger’s statement then portrayed Anna had allegedly turned their daughter against him to such an extent he felt as if he was “just another chunk of collateral damage.” The fact he’d even mention his son had dropped out of school over his mother’s actions and was likely, probably “indulging” in other “harmful pursuits” also gave his words a lot of weight. He’s also written, “I am shocked that Anna and her handlers would spin this incident as a disabilities-rights case in a weak attempt to deflect Anna’s willful participation when she should have known better,” which only influenced the judge to give her a strong sentence.
Roger Stubblefield Has Since Moved On
Although it’s unclear precisely where Zoe or her brother stand today — whether in terms of their personal lives or their relationship with their mother — we do know Roger has since moved on. From what we can tell, this American Composers Alliance member, professional classical composer, as well as tuba player is currently based in Greater Philadelphia and has even remarried. He actually tied the knot with Dr. Kimberly “Kim” Boller, the senior director for science affairs at the American Psychological Association, on March 21, 2021, and they seem perfectly content these days, traveling the world and spending time with loved ones during their every free moment.
Read More: Anna Stubblefield: Where is the Former Rutgers Professor Now?
