Robert Potter, a Lancaster city father of three, died after being assaulted in May 2009 at his East Orange Street home.
His wife, Tonya Potter, stabbed and beat him, prompting a fatal heart attack.
Potter’s family recalls his immense love for his three sons. Potter’s brother called him a “terrific” sibling with a vast knowledge of computers.
One of Robert Potter’s sons described his dad, at Tonya Potter’s sentencing, as “the nicest guy in the world.”
Potter, 48, endured his wife’s alcoholism and mental illness, and it ultimately cost him his life.
Family members said in court that Robert loved Tonya “to a fault.” She had been abusive to him for some time.
In July 2010, Tonya Potter was sentenced to 7.5 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to counts of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. She died last year.
Assistant District Attorney Susan Ellison prosecuted the case.
Potter is one of 15 individuals from Lancaster County with memorials on display across the county this month for the national Silent Witness program, which commemorates lives lost to domestic violence. Two of those individuals were carrying children at the time of their death.
Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman’s office gathered information from friends and families of those lost, for display in the Silent Witness exhibits.
A special thank you to the following who shared their spaces: Stevens College, Millersville University, Elizabethtown College, Lancaster General Health, and New Life Church.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us