News

Actions

Video shows man accused of grandparents’ murder hocking jewelry at pawn shop

Posted at 11:21 AM, Feb 22, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-22 11:23:46-05

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WBDJ) -- There are new details about the Campbell County man accused of killing his grandparents.

Surveilence video broadcast Thursday by WDBJ shows Robert Philbrook at a Lynchburg pawn shop selling his grandparents jewelry the same day investigators believe his grandparents were shot to death.

Workers in the store said Philbrook was calm and told them that he had recently lost his grandparents, but said nothing about how they died.

Surveillance video from the Lynchburg Pawn Shop shows Philbrook carry a tote bag workers said was filled with jewelry. Most of it was costume pieces, but some of the items were made of gold and silver, including a diamond ring from the 1920s.

As workers reviewed the items, Philbrook told them stories about seeing his grandparents wear the jewelry.

The pawn shop manager, Sean Hardy, said Philbrook seemed suspicious so he contacted Lynchburg police while Philbrook was still inside the store.

"I was concerned, obviously not about murder at that point, but what was going through my head was that this jewelry didn't belong (to him)," Hardy said . "I wasn't really buying his story on where he got the jewelry from."

An investigator ran a background check, to see if the items were stolen. That check showed Philbrook was convicted of drug charges in 2005, but that wasn't enough to stop the sale from going through.

Philbrook was paid more than $1,400 and used part of the money to buy a mother and child pendant in the store.

After getting the money, Philbrook may have gone back to his grandparents house.

Search warrants indicate that the tote bag used at the pawn shop was later found next to Virginia Philbrook's body.

Click here to read more on this story from WDBJ.