Stuti Gokhale
Georgia resident Robert Head was devastated when his fiancée Nikki Whitehead was found murdered in her Conyers home in January 2010. To add to his agony, he soon became a suspect in her killing and had to undergo a grueling investigation to prove his innocence. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Bad Blood’ explores the gruesome details of Nikki’s death and how the killers were finally brought to justice. Now, more than a decade after her death, let’s find out how Robert has been coping, shall we?
Who is Robert Head?
Long-distance truck driver, Robert Head, was 55 when he first met Nikki Whitehead in 2000. The couple quickly fell in love, got engaged, and started living together in Conyers, Georgia, with the latter’s twin daughters, Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah. The girls lived with Robert for five years, and in 2007, Nikki gained their custody from her grandmother Della Frazier, who had raised the children till then. However, this didn’t sit well with the twins, as they supposedly resented their mother for her inconsistent presence and interfering nature.
Then 13, the Whitehead sisters soon started having frequent conflicts with Nikki, resulting in massive verbal and physical altercations. Things worsened so much in 2008 that the girls reportedly attacked their mother and had to face juvenile charges in court. They were sent to live with Della for one and a half years, but the court later ordered them to live with Nikki for two weeks in early 2010. 16-year-old Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah highly detested this decision and felt resentful about returning to their mother’s home.
Nevertheless, Robert always tried to treat his fiancée and her girls well and often requested the twins to reconcile with Nikki. According to him, she was elated to have her daughters with her; in a 2015 interview with The Covington News, he said, “She was so happy the girls were there. So she took her guard down. And from the way things looked, she cooked them breakfast.” Yet, when Robert left for a work assignment on January 12, 2010, he was hesitant to leave the twins and Nikki alone. The next day, his worst fears came alive when he received news of Nikki’s death and rushed back home.
Nikki had been beaten with a vase and then stabbed multiple times, and the brutal nature of the attack made investigators believe it could have been a crime of passion. Thus, they immediately suspected Robert, who was made to undergo repeated questioning and DNA tests. Thankfully, he was cleared of suspicion and let go when no matches were found. Eventually, Tasmiyah and Jasmiyah were found guilty of killing their mother during a heated altercation. They pled guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter in 2014 and were sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Where is Robert Head Today?
As of 2015, Robert was still residing in his and Nikki’s Conyers house, getting repairs done periodically and preserving her memories. Since the property was not selling in the market, he continued maintaining and living in it. In the interview mentioned above, he said, “I wish she was here…It still hurts. I miss her.” Robert added, “There’s a lot in the story of her life, and it’s a long story…To me, I’ve been more of a family to them than their other family members. I’d still like to talk to the kids because we were real close. We had planned so much for her and the kids.”
Interestingly, Robert said he never quite liked Della’s presence in the twins’ lives but felt that Nikki should have let the girls go for everyone’s betterment. He is currently in his 70s and seemingly resides in Griffin, just a few miles from Conyers. Since he prefers to lead a private life, it is unclear whether he still possesses Nikki’s house. Nevertheless, we wish Robert all the best in life and hope he heals from his unfortunate loss.
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