Murder in Massachusetts

Liar, Liar

Theoretically Christopher found himself without a practical place of residence. Yet several of Patricia's employees later told police Patricia allowed Christopher, without Neil's knowledge, to sleep at the restaurant if he didn't have a place to stay; and some said she routinely gave him money to rent a room at Mountain View. There were times, too, Christopher admitted to police later, when he dipped his hand into the cash register at Mrs. O's.

When detectives arrived at the motel, Christopher was more than willing to accompany them to Pittsfield for questioning. Several things weren't adding up. For one, when detectives found out Christopher and Neil were at odds with each other, they had to find out how much animosity and hatred there was between them. Christopher had a baby with his girlfriend, but he rarely took care of the child. However, Patricia and Neil, a family member later told me, were thinking of allowing the mother of the child and the baby to move into the house. Christopher, on the other hand, wasn't welcome. Neil loved the kid. He had never had children of his own, and to watch him with the baby, that source added, you would think it was his own grandchild.

But this grandfatherly affection, coupled with Neil's strong-arm disciplinary tactics earlier in Christopher's life, riled Patricia's son. How dare Patricia and Neil allow his child and her mother to move into the house without him?

Was this, though, enough to turn Christopher from an angry young kid—a dark, goalless, jobless, homeless roamer—into a cold-blooded murderer?

On paper, it worked.

In fact, when detectives looked at Christopher and saw what appeared to be dried blood droplets and spatter on his pants, it appeared as though they had their man.

Christopher Robinson

At the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit, in Pittsfield, detectives read Christopher his rights and then asked him about his life at home with Neil and his mother.

"Living with Neil was good," Christopher responded. Shabbily dressed, donning a tar-black goatee, ear rings and tattoos, Christopher appeared raggedy. Friends said he used to be into the "goth" movement, sporting black nail polish and make-up to accentuate the look. There was definitely a sinister side to Christopher Robinson, at least one that spoke of his wild youth. Continuing, he added, "[Neil] always supplied us with what we needed, but I kinda grew up with the tough love kinda thing."

During high school, Christopher said, Amanda called Child Services one day and reported that Neil had hit them. When the social worker showed up to interview them, Christopher added, "I strongly believe in the family thing, [so] I lied [to them] and said nothing had happened. I didn't want to break up my mother's family."

Christopher then claimed Patricia "was starting to have a nervous breakdown" somewhere around the year 2002. He gave no reason why, other than her problems with Crohn's disease. Regarding Neil, he said, "The last time I saw [him was] on Merill Road. He was going to Home Depot. My mother told me they were rebuilding the house, so I guess he was going to buy stuff ... I didn't wave or anything. He saw me."

Christopher seemed fidgety and nervous. Something was obviously bothering him. Patience, good investigators know, when dealing with someone like Christopher, is key to getting a suspect to open up.

Sit back. Let the kid talk it out. Sooner or later he won't be able to help himself.