Man Accused of Exposing 4 Women to AIDS Is Slain

A philandering husband accused of giving the AIDS virus to four girlfriends was killed when someone shot him in the back of the head two weeks before he was to go on trial in one of those cases.

“This was not a robbery; it was an execution,” said Sgt. Andre Hill, a homicide detective.

Robert Warren, 24, was working in a friend’s backyard Thursday afternoon when he was shot once at the base of the head and once in the right shoulder, police said. By the time someone reached him, he was nearly dead.

“He was talking, but words weren’t coming out of his mouth,” said David Whitfield, 43, who had hired Warren, the son of a friend, to do some work at his house. “I never saw anybody.”

Police said they weren’t certain of a motive. Lt. Col. Joseph Mokwa said revenge was one possibility, and another was drugs.

The neighborhood of rundown houses and overgrown vacant lots is known for heavy drug activity.

Police said Warren had tested positive for the AIDS virus in 1992. He was charged in April with risking infection of another with HIV, for allegedly passing the virus to a girlfriend.

Four women had claimed they contracted the virus from Warren. One died of AIDS within weeks of talking to police.

Police would not release the women’s names or the name of Warren’s wife.

Warren was free on bail and his trial was scheduled for Feb. 26. He was also awaiting sentencing in an unrelated assault case.