B-Ray
11-03-2002, 10:40 AM
Jurors recommend death
Last Modified:
12:57 a.m. 11/3/2002
By John Milburn
The Associated Press
Convicted murderer John E. Robinson Sr. is shown in a courtroom artist's sketch. A jury recommended the death penalty Saturday.
L. ERIC CRAVEN/Kansas City Star
OLATHE -- John E. Robinson Sr. should be put to death for killing two women and stuffing their bodies into barrels on his rural property, a jury recommended Saturday.
The decision makes Robinson the fifth man to receive a death sentence recommendation from a Kansas jury since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1994.
Robinson sat rocking in his chair with his hand on his face before the jury returned. He stood but showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The yellow barrels that entombed two of his victims were in front of him.
Robinson, 58, was convicted Tuesday in Johnson County District Court for the gruesome murders of Suzette Trouten, 27, of Newport, Mich., and Izabela Lewicka, 21, a former Purdue University student and a Polish immigrant. Both women were killed after being lured to Kansas by Robinson to engage in sadomasochistic sexual relations.
Robinson also was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1985 death of Lisa Stasi, 19, whose body has never been found. Robinson will be sentenced for her death at a later date.
Attorneys in the case remain under a gag order and couldn't immediately comment on the sentence recommendation.
Trouten's sister said the family was elated with the verdict and that the nearly three years of anguish were over.
"The really sad thing is that Suzette lost her life to stop this man," Dawn Trouten said. "But he stopped."
Lewicka's family wasn't present Saturday. Neither was Robinson's.
The announcement of the verdict was delayed five hours after a male juror brought a Bible from his hotel into deliberations.
Jurors had reached a unanimous vote to start the day's deliberations, although it wasn't known which way they had voted. After that vote, the juror who had brought the Bible to deliberations discussed what he had gleaned from it the night before.
After jurors were individually asked about the incident, Robinson's attorneys asked for a mistrial of the penalty phase because of potential influence on the verdict caused by the juror's comments about the Bible. The motion for mistrial was denied, as was a motion to replace the jurors. The recommendation for death was returned about 30 minutes later.
Judge John Anderson III will formally sentence Robinson in a hearing likely to take place in a few months. The judge could impose a lesser sentence but in the four previous instances since 1994 when a jury has recommended death, the judges followed the juries' recommendations.
Robinson is the first person to be convicted of capital murder in Kansas since the state Supreme Court upheld the state's 1994 law reinstating capital punishment. Four men had been sentenced to die before that 2001 decision. However, justices set aside all four sentences because of flaws in the instructions given to jurors.
The prosecution of Robinson began with the discovery of bodies on June 3, 2000, on a 16.5-acre farm he owns in Linn County, 60 miles south of Kansas City. Two days later, three more bodies were discovered in barrels in a storage locker he rented in Raymore, Mo.
With the Kansas trial complete, Robinson is expected to stand trial for the Missouri deaths as early as spring 2003.
During the trial, jurors were presented with more than 100 prosecution witnesses, including members of the victims' families, police who discovered the bodies and several women who maintained relationships with Robinson for several decades.
By contrast, Robinson's attorneys presented three witnesses -- the same number as during the penalty phase of the trial -- citing a lack of time to prepare a suitable defense for their client. Repeated efforts to seek extensions were denied by the court before and during the trial.
Robinson's attorneys maintained until the end that their client was incapable of committing the murders, pointing to the unidentified fingerprints and palm prints found at the Linn County and Missouri locations. They also said Robinson suffered from mental disease, but said they were unable to properly evaluate his condition.
Robinson didn't testify during the trial. His wife, Nancy, testified twice, each time saying her husband of 38 years was a good father and grandfather.
The Robinson case began in March 2000 when Trouten's family notified police in Kansas that she was missing after coming to Kansas, purportedly to take a job caring for Robinson's father. The investigation continued, with officials linking Robinson to the 1985 Stasi investigation.
He was arrested on June 2, 2000, on charges of sexual battery filed by two women with whom Robinson had engaged in sadomasochistic sex at Kansas City-area hotels. The charges were amended in subsequent days following the discovery of the bodies in Linn County and Missouri.
Last Modified:
12:57 a.m. 11/3/2002
By John Milburn
The Associated Press
Convicted murderer John E. Robinson Sr. is shown in a courtroom artist's sketch. A jury recommended the death penalty Saturday.
L. ERIC CRAVEN/Kansas City Star
OLATHE -- John E. Robinson Sr. should be put to death for killing two women and stuffing their bodies into barrels on his rural property, a jury recommended Saturday.
The decision makes Robinson the fifth man to receive a death sentence recommendation from a Kansas jury since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1994.
Robinson sat rocking in his chair with his hand on his face before the jury returned. He stood but showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The yellow barrels that entombed two of his victims were in front of him.
Robinson, 58, was convicted Tuesday in Johnson County District Court for the gruesome murders of Suzette Trouten, 27, of Newport, Mich., and Izabela Lewicka, 21, a former Purdue University student and a Polish immigrant. Both women were killed after being lured to Kansas by Robinson to engage in sadomasochistic sexual relations.
Robinson also was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1985 death of Lisa Stasi, 19, whose body has never been found. Robinson will be sentenced for her death at a later date.
Attorneys in the case remain under a gag order and couldn't immediately comment on the sentence recommendation.
Trouten's sister said the family was elated with the verdict and that the nearly three years of anguish were over.
"The really sad thing is that Suzette lost her life to stop this man," Dawn Trouten said. "But he stopped."
Lewicka's family wasn't present Saturday. Neither was Robinson's.
The announcement of the verdict was delayed five hours after a male juror brought a Bible from his hotel into deliberations.
Jurors had reached a unanimous vote to start the day's deliberations, although it wasn't known which way they had voted. After that vote, the juror who had brought the Bible to deliberations discussed what he had gleaned from it the night before.
After jurors were individually asked about the incident, Robinson's attorneys asked for a mistrial of the penalty phase because of potential influence on the verdict caused by the juror's comments about the Bible. The motion for mistrial was denied, as was a motion to replace the jurors. The recommendation for death was returned about 30 minutes later.
Judge John Anderson III will formally sentence Robinson in a hearing likely to take place in a few months. The judge could impose a lesser sentence but in the four previous instances since 1994 when a jury has recommended death, the judges followed the juries' recommendations.
Robinson is the first person to be convicted of capital murder in Kansas since the state Supreme Court upheld the state's 1994 law reinstating capital punishment. Four men had been sentenced to die before that 2001 decision. However, justices set aside all four sentences because of flaws in the instructions given to jurors.
The prosecution of Robinson began with the discovery of bodies on June 3, 2000, on a 16.5-acre farm he owns in Linn County, 60 miles south of Kansas City. Two days later, three more bodies were discovered in barrels in a storage locker he rented in Raymore, Mo.
With the Kansas trial complete, Robinson is expected to stand trial for the Missouri deaths as early as spring 2003.
During the trial, jurors were presented with more than 100 prosecution witnesses, including members of the victims' families, police who discovered the bodies and several women who maintained relationships with Robinson for several decades.
By contrast, Robinson's attorneys presented three witnesses -- the same number as during the penalty phase of the trial -- citing a lack of time to prepare a suitable defense for their client. Repeated efforts to seek extensions were denied by the court before and during the trial.
Robinson's attorneys maintained until the end that their client was incapable of committing the murders, pointing to the unidentified fingerprints and palm prints found at the Linn County and Missouri locations. They also said Robinson suffered from mental disease, but said they were unable to properly evaluate his condition.
Robinson didn't testify during the trial. His wife, Nancy, testified twice, each time saying her husband of 38 years was a good father and grandfather.
The Robinson case began in March 2000 when Trouten's family notified police in Kansas that she was missing after coming to Kansas, purportedly to take a job caring for Robinson's father. The investigation continued, with officials linking Robinson to the 1985 Stasi investigation.
He was arrested on June 2, 2000, on charges of sexual battery filed by two women with whom Robinson had engaged in sadomasochistic sex at Kansas City-area hotels. The charges were amended in subsequent days following the discovery of the bodies in Linn County and Missouri.