The Murder Tapes is examining the murder and dismemberment of Robin Lee Upson by her long-time friend and business partner, Christopher Takhvar, in Belleview, Florida, in 2018.
On June 11, 2018, a hiker in Florida’s Ocala National Forest made a particularly gruesome discovery when they came across a decomposing human torso in the forest.
At first, the investigators were a little stumped as to the identity of the remains, but the torso did have a distinctive tattoo of a robin bird. The detectives posted a picture of the tattoo to Facebook, and luckily, a member of the public recognized it as belonging to the 62-year-old Upson.
Christopher Takhvar becomes a suspect in Robin Lee Upson murder
After the detectives had satisfactorily identified Robin’s remains, a family member informed them that Takhvar had recently borrowed Upson’s van but had failed to return it.
The police vigorously searched Upson’s Belleview home and concluded that she had been murdered and chopped up on the premises. However, the whereabouts of her other body parts remained a mystery at this stage.
The van was later found in Orlando, and a forensic study revealed that the vehicle had been used to transport Upson’s dismembered remains. The analysis also suggested that Takhvar had been the only driver of the vehicle.
On August 15, the cops found Takhvar in Jefferson, Texas, where they charged him with stealing the van. While being interviewed, he admitted to stealing the van and then even confessed to killing his friend. He further admitted to chopping up the remains and burying the body parts in the backyard before transporting the torso to the Ocala Forest.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelBut bizarrely, Takhvar claimed he killed Upson in self-defense. He told the detectives that she had suddenly attacked him with a knife while he was holding a chainsaw. Unsurprisingly, the cops didn’t believe his version of events, and he was charged with murder.
Takhvar was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder and grand theft.
More from The Murder Tapes
Follow the links to read about more heinous crimes profiled on The Murder Tapes.
D’Angelo White was set up by five individuals in a conspiracy to rob him of his drug stash. He was lured to an address in Evansville, Indiana, with an offer to purchase marijuana. Once he arrived, Mykel Blair played the role of trigger man and shot White as he sat in his car.
James Hampton and Dwayne Abney marched into a home in Savannah, Georgia, and gunned down Kiana Marshall, Alexis Kitchens, and Corey Martin. These horrific murders occurred because of a rental dispute between Marshall and Hampton’s girlfriend, Diamond Butler.
The Murder Tapes air at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.
Certain cases bother me (and I’m – NOT necessarily proud to say, but an a very…. unemotional person) . In this group of synopsis of a few episodes, the last – by Messrs Hampton and Abney (a young woman, named Diamond was also involved) is utterly repugnant.
The 3 young people were killed because one of them was the renter of the house, and the young woman (Diamond) had NOT paid her ‘freight’ (her rent). instead of acting like a mature adult, she got her thug bf to (supposedly) shoot the house up’, by being an utterly bankrupt piece of garbage, he wanted to …’impress’ Diamond.
The 2 males got life x2 and 3, , whilst Diamond got 90 years. In my way, I would’ve given them exactly what they deserve; no living off taxpayers, I’d kill them in the most torturous possible ways imaginable.
Utter garbage.