Murder in Massachusetts

More Lies

In what had been the first homicide in Berkshire County in quite some time, after Christopher Robinson was arrested on January 11, 2005, for the murder of his stepfather, he was held on a $1 million dollar bond, pending a later arraignment.

Residents in and around Lanesborough were astonished by the news of Christopher's arrest; if not the gruesome details of the crime that were released. For Berkshire County is known for its remarkable aesthetics, fall foliage, breath-taking views of the Berkshire Mountains, and Norman Rockwell. Murder was perhaps the last thing on the minds of residents as the 2004-2005 holiday season wound down and people started looking forward to the New Year.

When detectives returned to Patricia's house after interviewing Christopher, she gave state police consent to search the house and, without much trouble, handed over Neil's dental and medical records. One of the detectives later said he felt Patricia didn't seem too concerned, but she acted rather "sharp and direct" as they began collecting evidence. Patricia, whether she knew it or not, was on notice. Detectives were watching her every move.

"She was upset, not thinking straight," a family member later said. "They made a big deal out of what she was wearing on the night Neil was killed. Patricia couldn't remember. She called them pajamas one day and a nightgown the next—and suddenly that made her a suspect."

In retrospect, it was a lot more than a pair of pajamas. Patricia's own son had sold her out.

At the foot of Patricia's property line, cops located the rifle Christopher used to shoot Neil. He had told detectives he and Patricia had put it in the house, in one of the closets, but he went back a day later and threw it in the woods.

"They made a big deal out of Christopher saying that he went into the house after killing Neil," added that same family member. "They claimed he hugged Patricia, and she helped him hide the gun in the house."

With due respect to Patricia's intelligence, why would she hide the murder weapon, if she was involved, inside her own house? Furthermore, if Christopher hugged his mother, wouldn't her night clothes be covered with blood? Christopher's clothes were saturated with Neil's blood. Wouldn't there have been blood all over the house: on the doorknob, upstairs in the hallway, in the closet, the kitchen, anywhere Christopher had been after the murder?

Very little blood had been found in the house.

Perhaps the house had been inundated with blood—but maybe Patricia cleaned it all up before calling 911 and discarding the clothes she wore that night?