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Published 16:19 05 Jul 2026 GMT
A Georgia man who was sentenced to life in prison has gouged both of his own eyes out and claimed that he was a "divine being."
Robert Brandon Keller, 32, also bit off a part of his tongue in an attempt to be placed in a medical facility.
He did so after being found guilty of killing a man during a carjacking in October 2024, according to a report.
Keller appeared in court Wednesday (July 1) and was found guilty on all 10 counts before being sentenced.
His charges were as follows: Four counts of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle in the first degree, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony.
Speaking before his sentencing, Keller claimed: "I’m a divine being," before continuing: "I am here by special presentation and appearance of the entity known as Robert Brandon Lewis Keller."
He added: “I would like the ability to be trusted, to tell the truth, but this is not the setting I trust to do so.”
Keller told jailers that he gouged his eyes out and bit his tongue to "cover his a**" and be placed in a medical prison, reports The Georgia Virtue.
Judge Matthew Hube claimed that the killer "represented the worst of us."
He said that the guilty party "took advantage of someone who was trying to help, and left a trail of wreckage in his wake."
As a result, Keller was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and an additional 25 years.
Acting Bulloch County District Attorney Jillian Gibson thanked the judge for the ruling, stating: “To be able to protect our community from a very dangerous individual, so we are very grateful for that.”
Keller's niece, Mandy Moore, told the court: “Bruce (the victim) is gone and won’t come back, and nothing can fix that, nothing can fill that void.
“The justice system prevailed; no other family will go through what we went through at the hands of this man.”
Back in October 2024, Bruce William Dupree, 43, stopped on the side of the interstate in Bulloch County, Georgia, to give Keller a ride, as he was hitchhiking.
But Keller, under the influence of drugs, attacked the good samaritan, slashing his throat while dragging his body into the grassy centre of I-16, leaving him to die.
A witness called 911 after seeing Dupree covered in blood while shouting for help on the side of the road, before dying as a result of his injuries.
Police tracked the perpetrator in Dupree's stolen car, eventually apprehending him at the Patriot Inn, in Register, Georgia.
Judge Hube said that "Mr. Dupree represented the best of us; he stopped and helped someone that he thought was in need."
