Murder in Massachusetts

Black Out

After Christopher fired the first shot and Neil fell to the ground, he couldn't remember what happened next. He claimed he "blacked out." But the evidence proves he fired nine more rounds, seven of which ended up in Neil's head, and then beat Neil with a forty-inch metal pipe to cover up the crime. Moreover, Christopher said later that he left the barn door open so Hannah could find her way into the barn after he left—and that he ran into his mother's house to hide the gun in a closet and explain to her what he had done. Both of these things would have taken calculated thought. It's hardly conceivable that he could have blacked out through it all. Killers—especially where extreme violence is present—have been known to describe a period during a murder as "hazy" or somewhat difficult to recall in full, much like a drunk would remember portions of a night out, but not every moment. Yet during those brief periods of blacking out, if you will, most killers cannot remember anything, at least the ones I have interviewed throughout the years. For Christopher to have selective memory is quite rare.

"Robinson stayed up until about four in the morning," Trooper Hill's report stated, detailing the hours following the murder, "because he couldn't get that sound out of his head. That thud sound, the sound of Neil Olsen getting shot in the head." Beyond that, Christopher said he felt "really dirty and took two showers and kept washing his hands" over and over throughout the night.

Berkshire Mall cinema entrance

The next day, apparently now over the guilt of having murdered Neil, Christopher went to the Berkshire Mall, saw a movie, "White Noise," ate lunch at McDonald's, and did some shopping.

Asked why he committed the murder, Christopher told state police he wanted to "help and protect his mother."

Still, in all of the detail Christopher provided police during those two interviews a few days after the murder, he apparently had more to offer. Because in the coming weeks, he would change his story yet again, offering even more specific detail—that is, aspects of the crime that would further incriminate Patricia, labeling her as the true mastermind behind it all.