Robert Edward Rathmann, 37, was found guilty Friday in Pitt County Superior Court of first-degree murder in the death of Samantha Coppola, 39. Judge Andrew Womble sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Rathmann beat Coppola to death with a curtain rod inside a mobile home in Grimesland, North Carolina, according to evidence presented at a four-day trial. The couple had recently begun dating and moved into the mobile home on October 10, 2022, after Rathmann's aunt asked them to leave her house due to aggressive behavior.
Coppola's family last heard from her around October 12, 2022. On October 17, 2022, her family requested a welfare check. Authorities found her body inside the home.
Rathmann was arrested on October 13, 2022, for burglary after driving Coppola's car to Fayetteville, where he allegedly threatened a man with a knife and demanded to see the man's girlfriend. Police categorized the killing as domestic violence, though law enforcement never identified a specific motive.
Coppola's mother spoke at a 2023 bond hearing. "He brutally murdered my daughter," she told the court through tears. "Please don't let him go." The court denied bond.