Final co-defendant in Rose murder case pleads guilty in Appomattox

The last of five co-defendants in the murder case of 45-year-old Bedford County resident Carlos L. Rose appeared today in Appomattox County Circuit Court on a scheduled trial date.

Artenna Kainna Horsley-Robey, 31, of Lynchburg, pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, including second degree murder, abduction for monetary benefit, conspiracy to abduct for monetary benefit, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, concealing a dead body, conspiracy to conceal a dead body, and destruction of property.

Rose's burned body and vehicle were discovered on Oct. 21, 2020, a day after he had been abducted at gunpoint on a side road in a wooded area off of Route 210 in Madison Heights, where he and Horsley-Robey were having sexual relations in Rose's GMC Yukon.

According to evidence presented by Appomattox County Commonwealth Attorney Les Fleet, on the evening of Oct, 20, 2020, Horsley-Robey had lured Rose to the LOVE sign in the Percival's Island area of Lynchburg at the request of co-defendant Enrico Andre Moss. Horsley-Robey and Moss are said to have been dating at the time when Moss discovered text messages on her cell phone that indicated an ongoing sexual involvement between she and Rose.

Moss and co-defendants Keyanta Ke'Shaun Robinson and Mik'Tavis Elonta Naeshu Green arrived soon after Horsley-Robey texted Moss to tell him where she and Rose were located in Madison Heights.

The plan, coordinated by Moss, was to abduct Rose and drive to his home in Bedford County to rob him of money. Robinson drove the Yukon while Rose was held in the back seat with Green. Horsley-Robey and Moss followed behind in Moss's car, a Volkswagen Passat. However, the plan went awry when Rose was shot to death by Green and Robinson, allegedly after Rose had reached for Green's gun.

Both vehicles then pulled off the road at an undetermined location somewhere between Madison Heights and Appomattox County. A plan to dispose of Rose's corpse and the Yukon was concocted, and the four co-defendants traveled to the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest in Appomattox County, at Holliday Lake State Park.

There, the Yukon was doused with gasoline and set ablaze with Rose's remains inside. Rose was later identified through forensic DNA testing but his body was so badly burned that his limbs were reduced to stubs.

Horsley-Robey did not shoot Rose or set the Yukon on fire but is equally culpable in the crimes, as Fleet stated in court today.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 13 at 9:30 a.m. Horsley-Robey faces a maximum sentence of 105 years, including a maximum of 40 years for second degree murder.

Moss's sentencing date is March 21. Green is to be sentenced May 25. Robinson is to be sentenced June 8.

The other co-defendant, Montel Shaquille Croner, pleaded no contest and was sentenced on Jan. 5 to a 10-year suspended sentence for his role, which involved supplying the gasoline in the Concord area that was used to commit arson of Rose's vehicle and corpse. Croner contended that he did not know the purpose of Moss's request for the gasoline. He was not present at the site of the arson.

Find out more in the upcoming March 15 issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Pick up a copy or subscribe at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to view the full article in the e-edition version.