Naman Shrestha
In Investigation Discovery’s ‘Bodies in the Water: Horror on the Hudson,’ the primary focus is on the horrific killing of a 33-year-old pregnant mother named Lisa Eatmon in New York City in early April 2005. Since her remains didn’t have injuries or enough clues, the detectives relied on witness statements and other forms of evidence to get to the bottom of the case and apprehend the perpetrator. The investigation uncovered the dark secrets of an extramarital affair and the perpetrator’s connection to another homicide years ago.
Lisa Eatmon Was Found Dead in the Hudson River Hours After Speaking to Her Daughter
Lisa Speight Eatmon was welcomed into the world on July 4, 1971, by Edward and Esther Speight. She was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside her brothers, Edward Lee Speight Jr. and Terrence Lassiter, and a sister, Darlene Jabir. Lisa developed many hobbies and passions, including sewing and making jewelry. Being an animal lover, she also brought home a big black Rottweiler and named him Chaos. While studying at Frankford High School, she joined the ROTC, preparing herself for the Army. After her graduation in 1989, she joined the US Army. During her eight-year tenure, she moved up the ranks and became a sergeant.
She worked as a legal specialist and served the country in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas. She also took a Tour of Duty in Korea for about 18 months. Her stint in the Army also led her to cross paths with Eria Eatmon, whom she married and with whom she had a daughter, Marsielle. After leaving the Army in 1998, she returned to Philadelphia before relocating to Brooklyn, New York City. Soon, Lisa landed a job as a technician at Candle Business Systems, where she repaired small machines. At some point, she divorced Eria after their marriage deteriorated. Around 2001, the New York-based repairwoman began dating Roscoe Glinton, a sanitation worker.
By the end of 2004, Lisa became pregnant with Roscoe’s child and was due sometime in late April 2005. Unfortunately, fate intervened, shattering her dreams of becoming a mother for the second time. On April 3, 2005, Lisa’s remains were found floating in the Hudson River off a pier in the Chelsea neighborhood. The pregnant, divorced mother was last seen by her then-12-year-old daughter in their apartment on Hegeman Avenue around 2 am, a few hours before her remains were recovered. The 33-year-old woman had also chosen a name for her unborn son, Jayden Marquis Speight. The authorities concluded that the manner of her death was homicide, and the cause of her death was a fatal gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Lisa Eatmon’s Killer Was Reportedly Her Unborn Child’s Father
As part of the homicide investigation, the police began piecing together Lisa’s final hours and the circumstances under which she passed away. For that, they interviewed her family and friends, who told the detectives that Lisa had recently broken up with her unborn child’s father, Roscoe Glinton, around the time she got pregnant. The pregnant woman was fine with raising another child on her own, with the help and support of her loved ones. Roscoe was then brought in for questioning, and he claimed that he was with his work buddies at a bar until 4 or 5 of the fateful morning. During the interview, he also told the detectives that he was not sure if Lisa’s unborn child was his because she allegedly had been seeing other men, too.
Roscoe was allowed to leave due to a lack of evidence, but he left his DNA on a cup of water that he drank during the questioning. The investigators then turned their focus on another potential suspect who was one of the last people to see Lisa alive. The man admitted to having a casual sexual relationship with her, but provided the detectives with a solid alibi, clearing him as a suspect. As the detectives dug deeper into Roscoe’s alibi, they learned that he had left the bar much earlier than he claimed. His wife also revealed that he didn’t pick up her calls during the fateful hours. More suspicions were raised about Roscoe’s involvement when the authorities found out that he was also linked to his former wife Deborah Glinton’s murder.
The Killer Was Also a Suspect in His Former Wife’s Homicide
Deborah was the mother of his three children, and her remains were found in 2001 along the New York State Thruway, a few years after her sudden disappearance from Orange County, New York. Upon tracking his cell phone records, the detectives learned that Roscoe was near Lisa’s neighborhood around 3 am on the fateful morning. His cell phone also placed him at a sanitation depot in Chelsea, near the site where her remains were recovered. Furthermore, one of his coworkers also admitted to seeing him cleaning an outdoor patio area at the sanitation depot on West 12th Street. As the detectives tested a portion of the area, they found traces of Lisa’s DNA there.
When Roscoe realized that the police were closing in on him, he reportedly planned to flee to the Bahamas with $20,000. However, on April 8, he was arrested for leading police officers on a high-speed chase on the Belt Parkway, with his daughter seated in the car with him. He was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. A couple of weeks later, on April 21, he was officially indicted for the second-degree murder of Lisa Eatmon. The following day, Roscoe was arrested without incident at 328 Beach 69th Street in Arverne, Queens. As per investigative reports, the accused didn’t want to pay Lisa $30 a week in child support and didn’t want her wife, Darlene, to know about the affair.
Roscoe Glinton is Currently Incarcerated at a New York Prison
Soon after his arrest, Roscoe Glinton pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. More than a year later, around October 2006, his homicide trial got underway. During the trial, the prosecution told the jury that he didn’t want to provide for his and Lisa’s child. He also reportedly denied that the child was his, despite the DNA reports indicating otherwise. In the end, in October 2006, the jury deliberated for only 90 minutes before finding Roscoe guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Lisa Eatmon’s homicide.
About a month later, on November 21, 2006, his sentencing hearing took place. During her victim impact statement, Lisa’s mother told him that he robbed her of her daughter and granddaughter and also her husband, who died of a broken heart a few months after the murder. She addressed the killer directly, stating, “You destroyed my family!” Roscoe also took the stand and maintained his innocence. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing Lisa Eatmon in April 2005. As of today, the 63-year-old killer is serving his sentence at NYSDOC Ulster Correctional Facility in Napanoch, New York, with his parole eligibility date scheduled for April 2030.
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