Man Accused of Killing Hartford Mom Charged With Murder Before

The man accused of killing a 23-year-old Hartford woman has been charged with murder before, according to state police records obtained by NBC Connecticut.

Robert Lee Graham, 59, of Hartford, was arrested late last Friday for allegedly murdering Tashauna Jackson.

Jackson, the mother of a 5-year-old, was last seen getting into Graham's car and was found dead in Bloomfield last week.

NBC Connecticut obtained a copy of Graham's criminal history, which reveals a plethora of prior arrests dating back to 1972 and includes charges of murder, rape and assault.

The murder charge stems from an incident in 1990, when Graham was also charged with first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, second-degree reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor.

According to police documents, Graham was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1993. He does not appear to have served the full sentence, as he was arrested again in 2007 and charged with breach of peace.

Graham has also been charged over years with assault on an officer, threatening, larceny, robbery, violation of probation and multiple counts of first-degree assault stemming from separate incidents.

He was accused twice of rape, once in 1972 and again in 1974. Graham's current home address on East Harold Street in Hartford is not listed on the state sex offender registry.

More recently, in February of this year, Graham was arrested and charged with evading responsibility in Bloomfield. He was arrested again in April and charged with driving under the influence in Hartford, records show.

Graham is now back in custody for allegedly murdering Jackson. Police said they found her blood in his van.

He appeared in court Monday, where a judge set his bond at $2 million and a public defender disputed his arrest record. Defense attorney Deron Freeman said little evidence links Graham to the case.

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