Bedford man claims self-defense in death of pregnant girlfriend

A Bedford man accused of fatally stabbing his pregnant girlfriend last year testified Thursday that she started the fight by bursting into the bathroom and slashing at him with a knife.

“From the moment that I see the knife, I’m completely terrified and in fear for my life,” Robert Atlas testified. “She’s still swinging her other hand, hitting me, and I get the knife from her and started hitting her with the knife.”

The body of Tracy Anderson, 27, was found on March 23, 2014, in the bedroom of their apartment by police officers who had been called by her worried mother. Police found the door of the apartment in the 2500 block of Central Park Boulevard damaged, as if someone had broken in.

Anderson left a trail of blood as she crawled from the bathroom to the bedroom. She was about seven months pregnant, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.

Atlas, her live-in boyfriend, was arrested three days later near Shreveport after authorities found him asleep in his Dodge Charger in a Wal-Mart parking lot, Bedford police said.

Atlas, 28, was indicted on a capital murder charge because Anderson and the fetus both died. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, so if he is convicted, Atlas will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Covered in blood

Atlas testified Thursday that he was using the bathroom when Anderson burst in with a knife.

“We’re banging back and forth between the counter and the door, and we both end up sliding and falling down to the ground,” Atlas said.

“I tried to balance myself with the counter, and I feel the knife against my leg and we’re both trying to get possession of the knife.”

Atlas said that after she stopped struggling, he threw the knife away, went out the door and drove away in his car. He was traumatized, and his mind went blank, he said. After stopping for gas, he started driving without any destination in mind, he said.

When Atlas got to Texarkana, he parked the car and fell asleep.

“I wake up, and I have the worst headache of my life,” Atlas said. “I see myself covered in blood, my hands are covered in blood, and I sit there thinking: Can I really be in this situation?”

Atlas said he bought some clothes at another gas station and headed south toward Shreveport with no idea why he was going there.

“I thought there was no one who would believe me,” he said.

Atlas said he drove around and parked at a Wal-Mart parking lot and then called an old friend from high school who told him Anderson had been murdered.

On the witness stand, Atlas bent his head and started crying, lurching as long sobs wracked his body.

“I just planned to go watch a movie since I knew I would be dead the next day,” Atlas told the jury.

Cross-examination

During her cross-examination, prosecutor Lisa Callaghan asked if Atlas had to stab his pregnant girlfriend more than 30 times before he no longer felt threatened by her. Callaghan wanted to know how Anderson continued to struggle while large pieces of flesh had been cut from her hands.

How could Anderson have fought through her pain to attack you after one of her fingers had been almost cut off? Callaghan asked. How did you stab Anderson in the back if she was facing you, as you said, fighting for the knife?

Callaghan: “You heard the medical examiner say she had 56 wounds on her body, yes?”

Atlas: “I did.”

Callaghan: “And you didn’t have any wounds on your body, did you?”

Atlas: “Only those two on my hand.”

Callaghan: “And you want the jury to think that you’re the victim here?”

Wednesday and earlier Thursday, defense attorneys Samuel Ray and Cynthia Terry presented evidence that Anderson was the violent person in the relationship.

Atlas testified that three or four months into their relationship, she became aggressive, even violent. On Feb. 1, 2014, Anderson became so violent that he called 911 after locking himself in the bedroom. His attorneys played a recording of the call for jurors on Wednesday.

“She just tried to get my gun,” an out-of-breath Atlas told the 911 operator. “I was trying to calm her down and my gun was laid down and she started pushing me again and then she reached for the gun.”

Atlas told the operator that Anderson left the apartment before the police could get there.

Prosecutor Art Clayton is helping present the state’s case. Testimony began this week, and closing arguments are expected Friday in state District Judge Scott Wisch’s court.

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Bedford man claims self-defense in death of pregnant girlfriend."