Mugshot/Facebook
Robert Camou is a Los Angeles-area man who is accused of rapping about murdering his girlfriend during an open mic event that was captured on video. Authorities are now searching for his girlfriend, who disappeared after what they called a domestic violence incident. You can watch the video later in this article, but be aware that it’s disturbing.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the video was filmed at an open mic freestyle event held at the King Eddy Saloon.
Camou’s off-and-on girlfriend, Amanda Kathleen Custer, 31, has not been found, although Camou is now in custody. “We do not know where victim Amanda is, nor the status of her well being and still need the public’s help,” wrote the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a press release.
“If you see her, or have any information related to this incident, please call us at 323-890-5500, or ANONYMOUSLY at 800-222-TIPS (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the ‘P3 Tips’ Mobile APP on Google play or the Apple App Store.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Camou Is Accused of Rapping That He Buried a Woman in the Dirt
According to KTLA, Camou took the stage and rapped, with expletives, “I killed my b—- and buried that b—- in the f—— dirt.” You can watch the video in the KTLA report above but be aware that it’s disturbing.
Here’s the original report with the disturbing video in it.
Sheriff’s officials say they’re aware of the video’s existence. “We want to make sure it’s unedited,” Deputy Trina Schrader, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, told the Los Angeles Times. “If it’s edited, then in court people can poke holes in it.”
Moore says Tuesday morning— during #LosAngeles SWAT standoff, he realized, it was Robert Camou. “He asked me what was I gonna with the video?” Moore told him it was for @kingeddysaloon social media. He didn’t know Camou was wanted for kidnapping his missing girlfriend. 2/2
Michael Moore, who shot video during the open mic performance, told KTLA: “At first it was like, did he say that? He said that. And he said it with such force.” He added: “I think that everyone in the bar that heard him kinda stopped. Time just stopped. And there were some hardcore rappers up in there, and they stopped.”
KTLA reported that the video was recorded just hours before Camou was taken into custody.
2. Amanda Custer Disappeared After Police Found Evidence of an ‘Apparent Assault’
Amanda Custer
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau Detectives are assisting the Monrovia Police Department “with a Kidnapping / Domestic Violence investigation,” Monrovia Police Department wrote on Facebook.
“The incident occurred on Monday, July 29th, 2019, at approximately 8:30 a.m., on the 600 block of Vaquero Road, in the city of Monrovia.”
According to police, the Monrovia Police Department “responded to the location regarding a domestic violence incident. Upon their arrival they located evidence that there was an apparent assault that had occurred. Investigators believe the victim was kidnapped and taken against her will in a 2017 gray Toyota Prius, CA License plate, ‘8AOR167.’ We are seeking the community’s help in locating the above vehicle and/or suspect and victim. The suspect, Robert Anthony Camou, is a male white, 27 years old, 6’00ft, 150lbs, brown hair and brown eyes.”
Police added: “The victim, Amanda Kathleen Custer, is a female white, 31 years old, 5’08, 140lbs, brown hair and green eyes. The investigation is ongoing, and there is no additional information available at this time.”
3. Camou Studied Communications & Custer Went to Beauty School
Amanda Custer
A Facebook page in Camou’s name says he’s from Monrovia, California and “left California State University, Los Angeles,” in 2018, where he studied Communications. The page adds: “Bachelor’s in communications” and says he was in a fraternity and the Honors Society.
He wrote on another website that he chose the “Social Change Option – Communication (2018) at Cal State LA” and worked as a “wildland firefighter” at the United States Forest Service. However, a LinkedIn page in his name calls him an “aspiring Project Manager seeking employment to gain the hourly experience for the PMI PMP test.”
The page reads, “I have high standards of excellence and am a hard working, dedicated individual with a commitment to self-improvement through using my skills to actualize my talents. I love life and am looking forward to the future!”
At California State, he wrote that he was an intern for the campus newspaper; underwent police and fire agility training; made the dean’s list; and was awarded a scholarship for teacher preparation and urban learning. He wrote that he also studied education at a community college in Glendale and was on a forensics and debate team at a city college in the Los Angeles area. Altogether, though, he lists five difference colleges he claims to have attended, studying everything from forestry to business administration. He also claims he completed high school early through an independent study program and made an all-conference academic team.
He also claimed to be a sponsored athlete in skateboarding.
According to her Facebook page, Amanda Custer “studied at Lyles College of Beauty” and went to Liberty High School in Bakersfield, California.
She was from Bakersfield and was living in Monrovia, California. Her last publicly visible Facebook post showed her with a small boy. In March, she wrote under a photo showing her with the boy, “he is in Idaho with my parents now. But I’m not giving up. He is in good hands and I’m am thankful for that. I’m gunna get it right and be the best for him so I can give him the best like he deserves. That was my last visit with him before they left. :(.”
She also posted pictures showing her with a dog and of flowers. She wrote that her parents had given her a book called “The Rock: The Bible for Making Right Choices.”
4. Authorities Took Robert Camou Into Custody After Introducing a Chemical Agent Into His Vehicle
Police attempt to locate poster.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau investigators “continue to assist Monrovia Police Department with the kidnapping and domestic assault of Amanda Custer,” the Sheriff’s Department wrote in an update. “The incident was reported Monday, July 29, 2019, at approximately 8:15 a.m., on the 600 block of Vaquero Road, Monrovia.”
The Sheriff’s Department explained that “a wanted flyer with suspect Robert Anthony Camou’s photo and the vehicle we believe he was driving was distributed to the media, social media and local law enforcement agencies throughout Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County. This morning, July 30, 2019, at approximately 2:45 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers on patrol located suspect Camou’s 2017 gray Toyota Prius on Hill and 2nd Street in downtown Los Angeles.”
According to authorities, “officers made contact with the occupant that they believed to be kidnapping suspect Robert Camou. He was not compliant with officer’s commands and refused to exit the vehicle. Officers backed off believing they were dealing with a potential dangerous suspect. LAPD SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) was requested for the barricaded suspect.”
At that time, wrote the Sheriff’s Department, “LAPD SWAT officers responded and made numerous attempts for the occupant to exit the vehicle and cooperate. At about 7:45 a.m. they introduced a chemical agent into the vehicle. The occupant then exited the vehicle and was taken into custody. He has since been identified as suspect Robert Camou. Once he is medically treated for exposure to the chemical agent, he will be transported to a local sheriff station and booked for an unrelated no bail domestic violence warrant. The suspect’s vehicle will be searched and processed by investigators.”
5. Custer & Camou Previously Filed Warring Restraining Orders Against Each Other
#BreakingNews @KTLAMorningNews has acquired #Exclusive Video of kidnapping suspect Robert Camou singing at a local bar, hours before he was arrested by #LAPD. His Lyrics are dark & ominous. his girlfriend Amanda Custer who is still missing @jennifergould has details coming up.
According to KTLA, Camou previously was charged with four felony counts, including burglary and assault and battery, on May 29.
Those charges involved a victim known only as “Amanda C.” and occurred in April, the television station reported. ABC 7 reported that Amanda had filed for a restraining order against Camou. They’d dated for two years, and their relationship was “marked by multiple allegations of domestic violence,” according to ABC 7.
“He has made over 100 (phone) numbers to verbally bash me,” Custer said in the restraining order document, alleging that Camou once “turned around, came running at my window, and broke my double-pane window with the hatchet,” ABC 7 reported.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Custer also alleged that Camou “took the hatchet and smashed the side mirrors off her grandmother’s car,” and he’s already facing misdemeanor charges for that, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
She claimed he has firearms and added, “I also think he would go as far as hurting her or killing her to hurt me.” The petition was denied, and Camou then filed his own restraining order against Custer, which was dismissed, The Times reported, adding that Custer’s grandmother also sought a restraining order against Camou, alleging he attacked Custer and harassed them. That request was also denied.