Man beat girlfriend to death, then tried to get help from family, FL officials say
A jury found a man guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, who died from what a Florida deputy described as a “lengthy beating,” based on her injuries, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Davarius James, 38, of Pensacola, killed Claudette Robinson at her Pensacola home, then tried contacting family and friends for help instead of calling 911 on Feb. 3.
One of James’ family members called 911 later that afternoon, according to prosecutors. When Pensacola police officers got to the home, they found Robinson unresponsive on the floor, with bruises to her face and body as well as what looked like “rug-burn” across her face, an arrest report said. They also noticed blood on a pillow, according to the report.
James, who was taken into custody about two hours later, told officers Robinson was injured from falling twice that morning, prosecutors said.
But her cause of death was found to be “multiple blunt force trauma” and she had been strangled, a medical examiner testified at trial, the State’s Attorney’s Office for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida said in an Oct. 23 news release.
She had injuries similar to if she had been injured in a car crash, the jury heard, according to prosecutors.
James was convicted on Oct. 23, court records show. Now he faces up to life in prison.
His defense attorney, Jeremy Early, did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 26.
During the trial, Early said James “lost it” and that “he killed her,” the Pensacola News Journal reported.
However, Early argued that James was not guilty of murder, telling jurors that the crime of manslaughter was more indicative of what happened, according to the newspaper. Prosecutors disagreed.
“A manslaughter is where a person does an act, they lose it, and the person is dead and they didn’t mean to kill them, and it’s done in the heat of passion,” Early said, the newspaper reported.
When Robinson died, she had broken ribs, a broken breastbone and bruises covering her body, according to prosecutors.
A detective with the Pensacola Police Department testified that Google searches related to her death, including “how to determine if someone was dead, how long someone can live off CPR, and searches about how to tell if someone had been choked by the neck,” were found on her phone.
When James was interviewed by law enforcement following his arrest, he said he had been dating Robinson for two years and had been living with her for around a year, according to the arrest report.
He also mentioned they had been fighting “over family issues that arose because of Robinson’s diminished mental acuity” and that he was angry with Robinson, accusing her of giving away his personal belongings to family members, the arrest report says.
Before Feb. 3, James had been arrested in connection with domestic violence against Robinson, the report says.
Robinson told “law enforcement that she was afraid that James would kill her,” an Escambia County deputy wrote in the report.
Disagreeing with Early’s assertion that James did not mean to kill Robinson, prosecutor Andrew McGraw said her injuries were intentional, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
“Those are severe injuries and those are injuries that took a lot of force and a lot of determination to inflict,” McGraw said, the newspaper reported.
James’ sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 5, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Man beat girlfriend to death, then tried to get help from family, FL officials say."
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