Final witness testifies in case that may overturn David Robinson's murder conviction

HILLSBORO, Mo. — Sikeston, Missouri, police chief Mike Williams on Tuesday reaffirmed his interviews and reports made in 2000 about David Robinson. Williams is the final witness in Robinson’s latest court battle that aims to overturn his murder conviction at the Missouri Supreme Court.

Williams twice interviewed Robinson after the killing of Sheila Box in 2000, for which Robinson is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Other than interviewing Robinson, Williams played a minor role in the investigation that was led by Sikeston police detective John Blakely. Williams was a captain at the time of the murder.

Judge Darrell Missey has been assigned by the Missouri Supreme Court as special master in the case. Missey set a Jan. 16 deadline for the attorneys to turn in the last of their filings — findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Missey then will review the materials and make a recommendation to the Supreme Court about Robinson’s conviction. Robinson’s attorneys said Missey hopes to have his recommendation made by the end of February.

It is unclear how long it will take the Supreme Court to rule on Robinson’s appeal.

Robinson is serving his life sentence without parole even though the only two state eyewitnesses in the case have recanted, and another man, Romanze Mosby, confessed to the crime on tape to a public defense investigator. No physical evidence exists that ties Robinson to the murder.

Mosby committed suicide in prison not long after confessing to his stepfather and a day after he read an article saying Robinson had been approached by a legal team from Bryan Cave Law Firm that was looking into his case.

Mosby’s confession, which was recorded in 2004, was ruled invalid in previous appeals because he refused to sign an affidavit. At one point, the notary who arrived at the jail to certify the confession testified Mosby told her the content of the document was truthful, but Mosby refused to sign his name. No court had considered the confession until Missey listened to it during a hearing in August.

Other Mosby acquaintances said Mosby had confessed to shooting Box, but their testimony was ruled hearsay.

On Tuesday, assistant attorney general Katherine Dolin, representing the state in the case, asked Williams several questions about his interviews of Robinson on the night of the killing and another Aug. 30, 2000.

Williams referred to his interview statements during the course of the questioning and confirmed his reports. It was not made clear at Tuesday’s hearing why Williams was being called by the state as a witness, but Robinson had testified at hearings in August that Blakely, Williams and detective Dan Armour had framed him.

Williams’ involvement and testimony was important in the original trial. The prosecution at the time used some of Robinson’s statements to Williams to help convince the jury Robinson was the killer.

During Williams’ interrogation of Robinson in late August 2001, Robinson became angry he was being considered a suspect and asked Williams whether they had checked out his alibis.

Robinson made comments that Box, a white woman, probably was in the predominantly black neighborhood at night to buy drugs, and he said, “Quit trying to make her into a church woman.”

Robinson also commented about “controlling Sunset,” referring to the area of Sikeston where he lived.

At one point, police — in what Williams described Tuesday as an “interrogation technique” — asked Robinson whether the shooting was self-defense, to which Robinson replied, “You-all the ones that made me a killer.”

Robinson also said he obtained a paralegal certification in prison, stating murder is the easiest crime to “get away with if you do it alone.”

All of these statements were used in closing arguments by the prosecution to paint Robinson as a person capable of killing Box.

Robinson has denied making several of the comments and said many of his words were twisted and taken out of context. The interview by Williams, nor any others conducted by the Sikeston Department of Public Safety in the Robinson case, were recorded.

Under questioning by defense attorney Charles Weiss, Williams responded the department had access to recording devices but did not use them.

Though Robinson’s statements were used against him at trial, Williams testified Tuesday that Robinson maintained his innocence through both interviews.

Williams said he interviewed two other witnesses in the case, but Blakely handled the bulk of the investigation. Williams said he had “very little” communication about the case with Blakely.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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