VISTA — The trial of a man accused of bludgeoning a paraplegic military veteran to death with a wooden log in Oceanside began Aug. 18 at the Vista Courthouse, more than 18 years after the killing.
On June 19, 2008, a home care nurse found Cecil Zachary Jr., 51, dead in an adjustable hospital bed in the living room of his home in the 1500 block of Molly Circle in the Fire Mountain neighborhood. A towel covered his face, and officers reported finding “obvious signs of trauma.”
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Zachary, who had been paralyzed from the waist down in a traffic collision decades earlier and rarely left his bed, according to neighbors, died from blunt-force injuries to the head.
The investigation stalled after authorities failed to identify a suspect.
In February 2025, Oceanside police arrested Jeffrey Roberson, 60, in Spring Valley on suspicion of killing Zachary after investigators found new DNA evidence linking him to the crime. During a subsequent police interview, Roberson admitted to the killing, according to the Oceanside Police Department.
Roberson was later charged with murder and use of a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense.
Attorneys on both sides presented opening statements to a jury on Aug. 19 and began direct and cross-examinations of four prosecution witnesses.
Deputy District Attorney John Philpott began his opening statement with the words “I was pissed” — a phrase Roberson used during a recorded police interview.
Philpott told the jury that the statement incriminated Roberson and provided a potential motive. He also said the weight of the log used in the killing showed Roberson was intentionally “choosing death” each time he allegedly struck Zachary.
“He committed a crime of violence and rage,” Philpott said. “When given the choice between life and death, Roberson was choosing death.”
Philpott said advances in DNA technology and the M-Vac collection system enabled investigators to develop a DNA profile pointing to Roberson, who also gave three inconsistent accounts of the incident during his interrogation.
Defense attorney Mark Christopher Davis painted a different picture of the incident, arguing that Roberson acted in self-defense after Zachary pointed a firearm at him and yelled “son of a bitch.”
Davis described Zachary as a man “haunted by demons,” citing Zachary’s financial hardships and history of substance abuse leading up to the killing. Zachary documented his financial struggles in a journal police found at the scene.
Davis declined to provide additional comment to The Coast News.
Prosecutors called several witnesses from the Oceanside Police Department who responded to the scene, including an officer, the lieutenant who served as the case’s lead detective, a retired officer and a former field technician who photographed the scene.
Questioning by both sides focused on whether Zachary had a gun inside the home that he could have used to threaten Roberson. Witnesses did not recall seeing or searching for a firearm during the initial investigation.
Testimony and the presentation of evidence were expected to wrap up Wednesday.
Philpott told The Coast News that a verdict could come back as early as Aug. 28, though the timing remains uncertain.
