:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/D5QC3TOKVJDMVPV6UWKFYCSVEQ.jpg)
Portsmouth — After an angry ex-boyfriend robbed and killed a Portsmouth woman in her home last year, he and an accomplice returned to steal more from her, police say in new court documents.
Roughly 15 hours after shooting Toni Isenburg in the head, Luther Polston IV came back to take more of her belongings, police wrote.
Detectives last week charged Polston and Matthew English with first-degree murder, burglary, conspiracy and firearms charges in Isenburg’s April 2019 death. Polston, 33, also faces drug charges and is being held without bond. Police didn’t announce their arrests.
On Friday, a judge denied bond for English, also 33, who is accused of being the getaway driver.
Isenburg, 30, was a mother of three and a loyal, loving friend, her friend Katrina Kelley said Friday outside the courtroom.
“She was an amazing person,” Kelley said. “She was working her way out of here.”
Polston was angry Isenburg had recently ended their relationship, and he conspired with English to rob her, police wrote in a criminal complaint filed in court documents. The men believed she had a lot of cash and narcotics because she was selling them, according to police.
[ Previous coverage: 30-year-old woman shot dead Friday afternoon in Portsmouth ]
Before 9 a.m. on April 25, 2019, Polston went into Isenburg’s home at 26 Fairview Circle South to rob her. Police say he shot and killed her.
Isenburg’s roommate came home while Polston was still there. Polston said Isenburg had been asleep but was about to get in the shower, police wrote in their complaint.
After the roommate left, Polston took Isenburg’s makeup bag filled with more than $1,000 and narcotics, and English picked him up in a Kia Soul that belonged to someone else, according to police.
Breaking News
About 12 hours later, at 9 p.m., the two men and the owner of the car drove back by Isenburg’s home — on the pretense of Polston getting his things — but they didn’t stop, police wrote.
Detectives say English and Polston returned three hours after that, around midnight. Polston went inside and stole a safe and lockbox; English drove the car, according to police.
Isenburg’s roommate found her dead in her bed, covered with blankets and pillows, about 1:30 p.m. the day after she was killed, police wrote in court documents.
In arguing for bond Friday in General District Court, English’s attorney said her client was a father of five who pays his child support and doesn’t have a record of violent criminal convictions. “At best,” Diane Toscano said, English was alleged to have been in the car. He previously worked in restaurants and would look for a job if released, she said.
Prosecutor Pia Miller opposed bond, saying it was a serious case and that state law creates a presumption against letting someone out of jail on a first-degree murder charge. She noted English was convicted of burglary in 2005.
English will appeal the district judge’s denial of bond to a Circuit Court judge. Toscano said the case was a sad domestic matter, and English is invested in trying to clear his name and fight the charges.
Margaret Matray, 757-222-5216, margaret.matray@pilotonline.com