The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-13
ROBIS0N'S FEARFUL CRIME.
Beginning of the Trial for the Murder Of
a Three Year-0ld Child.
4 Pen-POrtrait of a Brutal Man-EIistOry 81
the Atrocities Inflicted on the Person
of Childish Innocent.


Judge Cunning. The crime, considering the
unoffending and helpless infancy of the little
victim, is a monument of deliberate and fiendish
cruelty, and has greatly stirred this community.
The greatest interest is manifested in the case,
and at one time there were fears that mob vio
lence would usurp the prerogatives Of law and
order. The crime was committed on the I'd of
the month, but general sentiment calling for a
speedy trial, on last Saturday the grand jury
returned bill of Indictment against Robson,
and to-day his trial has begun. The story
of the murder, briefly told is this: James
Collett Robson and Maud NJ. Henry were
married last Easter. The boy, BERTHE Durham,
was born to Maud NJ Henry out of wedock,
and at the time of the mothers marriage to
Robson was about two years old. The child's
reputed father, Durham, is brOtherin-law of
Mrs. Robson. The care of the child during
the first few months after Mrs. Robison's mar
riage was in the hands of the mothers father,
Robson from the first showing hatred of the
little fellow, who, Notwithstanding the stain of
birth, was bright, handsome, joyous and af-
fectionate child. After a time Mrs. Robson
insisted upon having the child with her, and
on the assurance from her husband that he
would not i'll treat it she brought it to her home.
AS the prisoner sat in the courtroom, intently
watching the impaneling of the jury that is to
try him for his life and his quick eyes following
the movements of the court officers and every
one connected with the case your correspondent
took his picture. He is twenty five years old,
five feet and ten inches high, and weighs 1873
pounds. He has black hair, restless, dark brown
eyes a swart complexion high cheek bones,
small, black mustache and decidedly slant
forehead He wore thin suit of well-worn,
sate-colored jeans, colarless and blue-striped
calico shirt He was born in johnson
county, and his father and mother both live in
Martinsville. The mother is said to have In
dian blood in her VEINS the father is q Mexican
war veteran, a survivor of tho Third Indiana
regiment, The prisoner is farm Iaborer, in
dolent and shiftless He and his wife and
step-son lived in small DOLLHOUSE about
mile and half west of Centerton (between
four and FIVE miles north of Martinsville), and
the one-roomed dwelling bore about all the evil
dences of poverty and discomfort.
On Sunday, week ago, in that miserable
dwelling, the tllree-ye old step-son died, muir
dered by James Robson. Mrs. Greed, a neigh
Dor, came in to prepare the little corpse for
burial, when the truth of the awful crime was
disclosed. Cuts and bruises covered the body
from feet to head, and from the different stages
of healing, it was plainly seen that they had not
been all inflicted at the same time, but that the
hapess child had suffered weeks and months of
savage and cruel punishment The mother, 1T
first arrested as accessory but since released
says that she pleaded with her husband not to
beat the boy, but that she was afraid to Say or
do much for fear his hands wo,rid fall upon
her. She is a half-witted thing, and has but a
vague idea Of the enormity of the crime of which
her husband has been guilty, nor does sho seem
to care much about the loss of the child. In
beating the child, she said that jim us she calls
him, TOOK almost anything that came handy;
sometimes sticks of stove-wood, sometimes fence
palings; at ether times he would knock it down
with his fists or catch it by the throat and choke
it. Besides this, the child had been kept half
starved, and the pangs of hunger had mingled
with exposure to cold and these inhuman beat
ings.
During a lull in the court proceedings one of
the attorneys of the prisoner called to your
correspondents recollection the trial in this
murder of Fred Weamer. AS the attorney
talked, Robson, who sitting beside him,
listened price was tried in $780," said the at
torney. During the trial his little girl, five
years old, beautiful child, sat beside him and
patted his cheek calling him mine papa mine
pretty papa Some months before that Price,
in fit of anger had set that little girl upon a
red hot stove" Robson listened, pleased with
the story, and probably contrasted it with his
own experience
DR., II. c. Robinson who, with DIR. Hendricks,
made the post-mortem was the first witness
placed upon tho stand. He said that he got to
the little ox-house at 10 o'clock on Sunday
March 2; the child had died that morning; found
the child in a coffin, from which the coroner re-
moved it. jim, his wife and some other people
were there, among them Jim's mother Found the
face blue and swollen, with scabs about the nose
and mouth blue spots and sores were over its
entire body arms, legs and head. There was a
long cut on the head that went to the bone. 1t
had been done at least twenty four
hours, perhaps forty eight hours Its
neck was badly scratched and cut
Two large bruises were over the stomach and
ribs and one on the front of the head. There
were more bruised and sore places than sound
flesh upon the child Found string on the
child's urinary organ, the flesh about which was
liberated. Asked why that had hcen placed
there. and Jim answered that it had been done
to keep the child from wetting the bed at night
The doctor said that while these awful dis
closures of cruelty were being made Jim sat in
the corner stoical spectator no impression
seemingly being made upon him by anything
that was said or done. In examining the brain,
found a large blood eliot between the skull and
brain on the right side, extending somewhat
over the left side. Could not tell how long it
had been there, but person could not live long
in such a condition. Some of the wounds on
the legs were two or three inches long and from
one-ouarter to threequarters of an inch wide.
The blood-clot was the result of yiocncc--a blow
upon the head.
There is no end to the stories that are tod Of