Four years old Derrick Robie lived in Savona, New York with his mother Doreen, father Dave and his 18 months old younger brother Dalton. In the summer of 1993 he was attending a summer camp very close to their house. The road was a dead end and there were no roads to cross. Still his mother took him to the summer camp and came back everyday. In the morning of 2nd August 1993, Dalton started throwing a fit and Derrick asked if he could go alone so mom could take care of the younger brother. His mom agreed to let him go alone as it was a tight knit community and it was just so close to his house. In the evening Doreen went to the summer camp to pick Derrick only to find out he never arrived.. Panicked mom called the police immediately. Police started searching for him and found his body beaten to a pulp, near a small patch of woods closer to the summer camp. His autopsy revealed that he had multiple skull fractures, cerebral swelling and contusions, extreme tearing in chest tissues and several other injuries to his organs.
Over the next few days police interviewed more than 500 people and on 5th of April 13 years old Eric Smith walked to police station with his mother to offer information about the case. Eric also attended the summer camp and on the morning of the 2nd of August he was sent home due to his bad behaviour. He claimed on his way home he saw Derrick, but soon police realised he couldn't have seen Derrick from the angle he was claiming, but he described Derricks clothes and the lunch bag he was carrying with him to the detail. When the officers questioned him he suddenly became emotional and said " You think I killed him, Don't you?" to which the police said No. He further said he is not the kind of a person to kill, hurt or sexually molest anyone.
Upon hearing the details a lady in the neighbourhood conducted an experiment. They found the banana in Derricks lunch bag smashed near the crime scene which implied the killer didn't like bananas. So she invited all the kids over and asked to put bananas in their ice cream and the only one who was against it was Eric. Soon after this, Eric confessed murdering Derrick to his mother, grandfather and great grand father.
Eric was the orange haired freckled kid with glasses and everybody bullied him. He had a tendency to get very angry and when he asked for help from his father he advised him to punch something. After being sent home from the summer camp he was very angry and sadly poor Derrick was the one at sight. Now I am going to quote the case file to describe what actually happened that day and it is very brutal. So if you are a sensitive person please skip the next paragraph as it is very brutal.
"On Monday, August 2, 1993, four-year-old Derrick Robie, carrying his lunch in a canvas bag, left his home to walk to a nearby park to participate in a recreation program. Several minutes later, on McCoy Street near the park, defendant, who was riding his bicycle, encountered Derrick, whom he knew from the recreation program. According to the oral and written statements defendant gave to police one week later, defendant called out, "Hey, kid," prompting Derrick to turn around, at which point defendant "knew I wanted to take him someplace and hurt him." Defendant asked Derrick if he wanted to go to the recreation program by way of a "short cut," but Derrick said that he wasn't "supposed to." Defendant repeatedly assured Derrick, "It's okay, I'm right here," then got off his bicycle and led Derrick through a wooded vacant lot adjacent to the park. As the boys reached a secluded area behind an overgrown hedgerow, defendant put down his bicycle, let Derrick go ahead of him and then reached around and choked Derrick's neck with his right arm. Derrick dropped his lunch bag and kicked his feet and swung his fists in an attempt to get away. Defendant started to release Derrick in order to readjust his grip and choke Derrick with his hands, but because Derrick began to "gasp some air," defendant "squeezed harder." After about 30 seconds, Derrick no longer made any noise, so defendant "figured he was dead" and laid him on the ground. When Derrick again began "gasping for air", defendant dumped Derrick's lunch on the ground, picked up a paper napkin, and stuffed it in Derrick's mouth. Defendant then attempted to stuff a plastic sandwich bag in Derrick's mouth, but pulled it out when Derrick bit defendant's finger. Defendant picked up a small rock, kneeled over Derrick, and struck him with it three times on the right side of the head; picked up a large rock and, with both hands, threw it three times on Derrick's head; then picked up another large rock and threw it twice onto Derrick's chest and once onto his midsection. At that point, defendant took the drink from Derrick's lunch and poured it on Derrick's face. He then pulled down Derrick's pants, took a stick, flipped over Derrick's body, and "put the stick up his butt." Defendant flipped over the body again, dragged it several feet to a rockpile, and left the area on his bike. After about five minutes, defendant returned to the scene to check the body. As defendant subsequently related to police, he wanted to "double, triple check to make sure" that the victim was dead: "I was worried if he wasn't there he might say something however I figured if he's dead, and I believed he was, I won't have to worry about anything." Defendant then left the scene."
Eric was convicted to second degree murder and sentenced to a minimum of 9 years to lifetime in prison. He was held in a Juvenile facility for 3 years and then transferred to an open prison for young adults. He was then sent to several prisons and he was eligible for parole after 9 years in prison. For the 10th time in 2020 he was denied parole.
After he was arrested his sister came forward and claimed she was sexually abused by their step father and most probably Eric was too. It's also said as a kid Eric always had issues; once he killed their neighbours cat. However he sounds remorseful in his interviews. In his 2014 parole hearing he said "He didn't deserve anything that I did to him; no one deserved that kind of violence. What I did to him was brutal". His attorney Susan Betxjitomir insists that he is rehabilitated and ready to return to the society. In fact he is planning to attend college and conduct forensic research on juveniles who kill.
Do you think it's safe for someone who killed a 4 year innocent boy to walk the streets? Or should he be given another chance?
If you are interested in this case you might be interested in reading " Kids who kill: Eric Smith" by Kathryn McMaster.
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