NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A 31-year-old New Smyrna Beach man on Wednesday was convicted of killing his grandmother in 2015.

• Patrick Campbell will get life sentence
• Darlene Robertson, 64, killed in home
• Rock, knife used in fatal attack

Patrick Campbell faces a mandatory sentence of life in state prison, said Spencer Stratton Hathaway, a spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Circuit Judge Matthew M. Foxman will impose the sentence after presiding over the case in Volusia County.

Campbell was convicted of killing 64-year-old Darlene Robertson in her New Smyrna Beach home on March 17, 2015. He beat and stabbed her to death with a rock and knife, Hathaway said.

“He then took her car and left the house with a safe that contained money, her cellphone and other items,” according to the spokesman. 

Campbell was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, and grand theft.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for two hours and 29 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts, Hathaway said.

“This case was previously tried in May 2019 and resulted in a hung jury,” Hathaway said.

Assistant State Attorneys J. Ryan Will and Tammy Jaques prosecuted Campbell.