Left: Shane Roberts (KTVQ). Right: Genna Rae LaCombe (Legacy).
A Montana man, aged 46, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after committing a gruesome murder. He nearly decapitated his girlfriend and left her body wrapped in blankets on a porch to decompose, claiming she had “pushed him too far.”
Shane Levi Cole Roberts received an 85-year prison sentence on Friday for the murder of 52-year-old Genna Rae LaCombe in Billings in 2024. Roberts admitted to the charge of deliberate homicide.
During a four-hour sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented their evidence, as detailed in a report by local CBS affiliate KTVQ.
Police were alerted on August 24, 2024, by neighbors who reported a foul odor emanating from a nearby apartment. Upon investigation, officers discovered a body wrapped in blankets, towels, and a shower curtain on the porch. Inside the apartment, they found Roberts hiding in a closet with a dog and promptly arrested him.
The coroner’s report revealed that LaCombe had suffered multiple stab wounds, one of which nearly severed her head, according to KTVQ.
Roberts left behind significant evidence, including photos on his phone showing LaCombe’s bloodied body in a bathtub, dated approximately nine days before her remains were found. Investigators also recovered two bloodied knives, a hatchet, and a hammer from the scene.
Then, there was the phone call he made to his mother after he was placed inside the Yellowstone County Jail where he reportedly admitted to killing LaCombe, saying she “pushed him too far.”
Prosecutors and Roberts’ defense attorney agreed to a 70-year prison term. But Judge Colette Davies tacked on 15 years to the sentence.
“I’m told that you loved this woman,” Davies told Roberts, according to KTVQ. “But this is not love. This is abomination.”
LaCombe was a mother of two, her obituary said.
“In addition to her role as a devoted mother, Genna cherished her hobbies,” the obituary said. “She was talented in arts and crafts, particularly painting and beading. She also had a passion for cooking, with her chicken noodle soup and pork chop chili being family favorites. Genna’s love for 80s music filled her home with dancing — even if her sons did so begrudgingly.”
