Robert Brandon Keller’s case centered on the death of Bruce William Dupree, a man who had stopped on the interstate because he believed Keller needed help.
The detail made the sentencing even more painful for Dupree’s family, as the court heard that an act of kindness ended in a violent carjacking and murder.
The injuries came after Keller was accused and later found guilty of killing a man during a carjacking in October 2024, a report said.
Keller appeared in court on Wednesday, July 1, where a jury found him guilty on all 10 counts before the judge handed down his sentence.
That list showed how the case was built around both the killing and the actions prosecutors said happened around it, including the attack, the robbery, and the vehicle hijacking.
Why the trial still moved forward
Keller’s self-inflicted injuries became one of the most unusual parts of the case, but they did not stop the trial from going ahead.
Earlier in the case, a judge found Keller competent to stand trial, WJCL reported in February 2026. Competency in court is about whether a defendant can understand the case and take part in a defense.
By the time jurors returned their verdict on July 1, the focus had moved back to the killing of Dupree, the charges tied to the carjacking, and the sentence Keller would face.
What Keller said before sentencing
Before the judge sentenced him, Keller spoke in court and described himself in strange terms.
He claimed: “I’m a divine being,” before continuing: “I am here by special presentation and appearance of the entity known as Robert Brandon Lewis Keller.”
He added: “I would like the ability to be trusted, to tell the truth, but this is not the setting I trust to do so.” Keller also told jailers that he gouged out his eyes and bit his tongue to “cover his a**” and get placed in a medical prison, reports The Georgia Virtue.
What the judge said in court
Judge Matthew Hube did not soften his words when speaking about Keller and the harm caused by the crime.
He said the killer “represented the worst of us.”
The judge also said Keller “took advantage of someone who was trying to help, and left a trail of wreckage in his wake.” Keller was then sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, plus an extra 25 years.
Keller’s niece, Mandy Moore, also addressed the court and spoke about the loss left behind by Dupree’s death. She said: “Bruce (the victim) is gone and won’t come back, and nothing can fix that, nothing can fill that void.”
“The justice system prevailed; no other family will go through what we went through at the hands of this man.”
How the attack happened
In October 2024, Bruce William Dupree, 43, stopped along the interstate in Bulloch County, Georgia, to give Keller a ride because Keller was hitchhiking.
Keller, who was under the influence of drugs, then attacked the good Samaritan. He slashed Dupree’s throat and dragged his body into the grassy center of I-16, leaving him there to die.
A witness called 911 after seeing Dupree covered in blood and yelling for help on the side of the road. Dupree later died from his injuries.
Judge Hube said that “Mr. Dupree represented the best of us; he stopped and helped someone that he thought was in need.”
That statement became one of the clearest contrasts in the case: Dupree stopped because he believed someone needed help, while Keller used that moment to carry out a deadly attack.
