Murder in Massachusetts

Moment of Death

After explaining to detectives that his mother was the brainchild of Neil's murder, Christopher Robinson went on to describe how he had tried to murder Neil on numerous other occasions, but couldn't muster the "nerve" or "courage" to go through with it. He claimed his mother kept pushing him to get it done. But he continually backed out. He painted quite a picture of mind manipulation on Patricia's part, saying that, over a period of months, she convinced him that Neil was a brutish, abusive husband that needed to be out of the picture. Once he was gone, Christopher claimed his mother promised, Amanda, Christopher and his child could live happily ever after in Neil's house with her.

Interestingly enough, after describing a conversation he had with his mother about the bloody metal pipe found the day after Neil's murder, Christopher said, "My sister was there last night [when we talked]. She did not hear our conversation. She's kinda got a big mouth so my mother didn't want her to know."

(Amanda would tell an entirely different story later.)

According to Christopher, this mind manipulation by Patricia picked up steam during the summer of 2004. Christopher said he bought an eighteen-inch machete to chop wood and take on camping trips and then decided to use it to kill Neil. He waited outside the house several times, prepared to attack Neil from behind with the machete. But every time he felt he could go through with it, he backed down when the moment presented itself. And when he failed to complete the job, he said his mother would get angry and pressure him to go through with it.

But when January 9, 2005, came around, Christopher said he had made up his mind. In his second statement, taken by Trooper Michael Hill, Christopher explained the night of the murder yet again, adding new details. He said he left his motel room around 10:30 p.m. and, a few minutes later, parked his car near the Skyline Country Club. He parked close to the driving range area, which was separated from the house by a large culvert, so no one would see his car.

Quietly, Christopher said he walked across the driving range, in through a small area of trees and brush, and made it into Neil's barn without anyone hearing or seeing him. Once inside, he said he found a cozy place by the entryway to hide, and waited for Neil to walk in. Hannah was outside the barn in her pen. Christopher knew Neil fed the horse every night at around eleven o'clock.

Neil Olsen was large man, big-boned, barrel-chested. Very strong. He had worked with his hands all his life. Considering Christopher's small size and frail body, Neil could have likely snapped Christopher in two with one had tied behind his back. Hiding, ambushing Neil, Christopher knew, was the only way to get the job done.

So as soon as Neil walked into the barn and prepared Hannah for her nightly feeding, Christopher stepped behind him and, "a foot-and-a-half away," with his "eyes closed," pulled the trigger.