A suspect in the first-degree murder of 87-year-old Robert Fuller Jr. is being held without bail. Fuller, a resident at Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility, was murdered on Valentine’s Day of this year.
Marquise Emillo James is accused of fatally shooting Fuller in the head while he was in bed in his apartment.
James, 22, of Baltimore, was a medical technician at Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility for about four months before he allegedly killed Fuller.
During a news conference, police said it was too early to know why James would have killed Fuller, a retired lawyer who was born in Boston on Dec. 28, 1938.
Fuller’s Life Story
Fuller graduated from Milton Academy in Massachusetts, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was an assistant attorney general in Maine from 1968 to 1970 and then started his own law firm. He later joined the Augusta, Maine office of Pierce Atwood LLP, where he retired in 1991, according to his obituary.
Robert Fuller Jr.
Among his many accomplishments, Fuller was fluent in French and was also an author and had self-published a crime novel set in Maine called “Unnatural Deaths.” According to an Amazon review, “Unnatural Deaths” contained “danger and mystery.”
He also wrote a graphic short story, “Flashback Morning.” That story was included in the Milspeak Foundation anthology of the best military-themed short stories published in 1999.
Fuller enjoyed the outdoors and often did overnight hikes on the Appalachian Trail.
After serving briefly as an enlisted Marine, Fuller became a reserve officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the United States Navy. He commanded two reserve units and retired with the rank of captain.
The Fuller family lived in southern Maine for several generations. One of his ancestors built the residence now occupied by the Kennebec Historic Society. He was related to Brig. General Seth Williams, a Civil War officer who served on the staff of then Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant. Melville Weston Fuller, who was chief justice of the United States from 1888 to 1910 was also part of his family tree.
In his later years, he managed the family investments of his late father, donating to many charitable organizations and institutions. He helped build a shelter for women veterans. The family foundation funded a children’s reading room at a public library.
Several buildings and rooms in southern Maine bear his name, including “The Fuller Field,” a multi-sport athletic field at Cony High School. He endowed a professorship at the University of Pennsylvania law school that bears his name.
He moved into Cogir Senior Living facility in 2024 and referred to his home as “Wits’ End.”
Investigation Ongoing
Montgomery County Police officers have gathered evidence including surveillance video of James entering and leaving the building. They also have statements from multiple Cogir employees who recognized James’ plaid coat and his gait from video police distributed.
According to court documents, Fuller’s roommate, who had a separate bedroom and did not hear a gunshot, said he was “concerned” when James administered his nightly Oxycodone medicine, as usual, but then returned a little later to ask him if it had kicked in yet. That was the first time James had ever asked that question, according to Fuller’s roommate.
Other Cogir staff told police 10 days after the homicide that they asked James what he was doing inside the facility two hours after he had clocked out on Feb. 23. They said he told them that he was warming up his car. They offered to see if he could sleep over since it was snowing so hard, but he said he didn’t want to, that he just needed to find his keys.
Law Enforcement Confrontation
On Feb. 24, James was stopped by a Maryland State Trooper. The silver Infiniti he was driving did not have any tags. However, the day before, when police conducted surveillance of James, that car and tags was registered to him.
When the state trooper approached James’ car, he shot at the trooper, who was not hurt, according to police.
Police detectives recovered the spent casings from both the murder and the shooting of the trooper. Tests proved they were fired from the same weapon, according to court documents.
Pending Events
The suspect’s bail status is set to be reviewed on March 5. A preliminary hearing is set for March 27.
A celebration of life for Fuller will be held at St. James Episcopal Church in Potomac on April 29 at 10:30 a.m.
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