Wikipedia

Robison family murders

The Robison family murders (also known as the Good Hart murders) refer to a mass murder which occurred in the secluded resort area of Good Hart, Michigan, on June 25, 1968. The victims were a vacationing upper-middle-class family from Lathrup Village who were shot and killed inside their Lake Michigan holiday cottage, with two decedents also bludgeoned with a hammer prior to death.[2] Their bodies remained undiscovered until July 22.[3]

Robison family murders
Family portrait of Richard and Shirley Robison and their four children
LocationReadmond Township, Michigan, U.S.
Coordinates45°34′02″N 85°06′48″W / 45.56722°N 85.11333°W / 45.56722; -85.11333
DateJune 25, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-06-25)
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder
Weapons
Deaths6
PerpetratorJoseph Raymond Scolaro III (alleged)
MotiveUnknown. Possible concealment of alleged perpetrator's embezzlement from his employer.[1]
ChargesUnattributable due to suicide of prime suspect

Following an exhaustive investigation by the Michigan State Police and the Emmet County Sheriff's Office,[4][5] initial investigations were completed in December 1969, with ample circumstantial evidence indicating the perpetrator was an employee of Richard Robison's named Joseph Raymond Scolaro III, who had engaged in embezzlement which his employer is known to have discovered and begun investigating shortly before his murder.[6][4]

Emmett County prosecutors initially determined insufficient evidence existed to successfully prosecute Scolaro, who committed suicide in March 1973 at age 34—reportedly upon hearing of his likely impending indictment for the murders following the discovery of further physical evidence attesting to his guilt.[7]

At the time of their commission and discovery, the Robison family murders were considered the worst case of mass murder in Michigan history. Officially, the case remains open.[1]

Robison family

edit

Richard Robison was born in Wayne County, Michigan, in November 1925. He had met his fiancée, Shirley Fulton, in the mid-1940s. The couple wed in 1947 and had four children: Richard Jr. (b. 1948); Gary (b. 1951); Randall (b. 1955); and Susan (b. 1960).[8]

Robison operated a small advertisement agency named R.C. Robison & Associates, which strategized advertisement campaigns for businesses with the Detroit region;[9] he also worked as a commercial artist, executive and publisher for Impresario magazine, which was based within his one-story Southfield office. The family was markedly wealthy, and lived in the affluent Detroit suburb of Lathrup Village.[10]

By 1968, Richard Jr. attended Eastern Michigan University, Gary was a student at Southfield-Lathrup High School, Randall was a middle school student, and Susan—described as a "pony mad" child—a first grade student. The family regularly attended church services, and neither parent drank nor smoked.[8][n 1]

Vacation

edit

In the summer of 1968, the Robisons embarked on their annual vacation to the small town of Good Hart, with plans to spend three weeks of their vacation at the seasonal holiday cottage they had purchased in the 1950s and which they had named Summerset. The cottage itself was situated at the end of a private driveway within a heavily-wooded area, and the family had visited the property every summer since 1957.[8][12]

The vacation began on Sunday, June 16, with the family traveling in two cars to the destination. They were accompanied by several traveling companions, who would stay in their own rented holiday homes. These individuals included friends of the Robison boys, some business acquaintances, and personal friends of Richard Sr. and Shirley. Among those to know about the vacation and the location of the Robisons' secluded holiday home were several employees at Impresario magazine.[13]

On June 23, one of the Robisons' traveling companions, 18-year-old Norman Bliss (the son of Richard Sr.'s caretaker), was killed in a motorcycling accident while returning to Good Hart from nearby Cross Village, reportedly while intoxicated. The accident occurred sometime after 1:30 a.m., and the Robison family did not learn of the accident until that evening. Upon receipt of this news, Richard Sr. paid personal condolences to Bliss's parents at their Good Hart holiday home, offering to pay for the teenager's grave marker and flowers or a wreath. He also explained the family would be unable to attend the funeral as they were due to fly to Kentucky and Florida with view to purchasing real estate and would "not be back [to their cottage] for a couple of weeks." He added the earliest date they would likely return would be July 15.[14]

Due to this conversation pertaining to impending travel plans, the Robisons' travel companions did not become suspicious when the family were not seen for several weeks despite the fact the family Ford LTD station wagon plus their rented Chrysler Newport remained parked close to the cottage.[13] The final confirmed sighting of the family occurred at approximately 4 p.m. on June 25, when individuals tasked to trim trees within the grounds of Summerset left the property.[8]

Murders

edit

The murders began with five gunshots aimed at 42-year-old Richard Robison, fired through a rear window from a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle.[4][12] The murderer then entered the cottage through an unlocked door and killed the remaining five family members—Shirley (40), Richard Jr. (19), Gary (16), Randall (12), and Susan (7)—with shots to the head from a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol.[4][15] Susan and Richard Robison were also bludgeoned with a claw hammer found at the murder scene.[4][16]

Shirley Robison's body was intentionally positioned to lead investigators to believe she had been subjected to a sexual assault.[17] Bloody footprints on the floor led investigators to conclude that one person committed the murders.[4][15][17] The bodies were not discovered until July 22 and the time-lapse between the homicides and their discovery had resulted in the decedents' bodies being in an advanced state of decomposition, thus destroying potential physical evidence.[4][18]

 
An Emmet County undersheriff examines bullet holes in the windows of Summerset Cottage. July 22, 1968.

Initial investigation

edit

Investigators rapidly determined the murders were committed by and individual or individuals known to one or more members of the family. No money or items of value had been taken from the victims, thus discounting robbery as a motive. Furthermore, no family member had been sexually assaulted. Theories pertaining to potential family links to organized crime circles were also discounted.[19]

By the second week of the investigation, the Michigan State Police and the Emmet County authorities suspected Richard Robison's employee Joseph R. Scolaro III, aged 30. He had not been seen or heard from for more than twelve hours on the day of the murders, and his alibis for that time period were disproven. He had also purchased both of the murder weapons determined by police forensic tests to have been used in the Robison family murders, specifically, a .25 caliber Jet-Fire automatic Beretta pistol #47836, and a .22 caliber AR-7 ArmaLite semi-automatic rifle #75878.[4][15] The four .22 caliber spent shells found at the cabin murder scene were forensically compared by their ballistic markings to several .22 caliber evidence shells known to have been fired by Scolaro at a family firing range in 1967 at which time Scolaro used his missing .22 caliber ArmaLite rifle #75878. The two sets of shells were found to be an exact match.[4][15][20] Although Scolaro claimed to have given this weapon away, a neighbor had told police he had seen the .22 caliber AR-7 rifle in Scolaro's house not long before the Robisons were killed.[6][15]

Scolaro's missing .25 caliber Beretta automatic pistol #47836, which he also claimed to police to have given away prior to the June 25, 1968 murders, was matched forensically in similar class characteristics to a second identical .25 caliber Beretta pistol #47910 that he produced for police on the second day after the bodies were found in Good Hart. Both guns had been purchased by Scolaro on the same day, February 2, 1968.[4] Also found at the murder scene were several Sako .25 caliber spent cartridges, a rare 1968 Finnish brand sold only for the limited time of a few weeks in Michigan (January–February, 1968) prior to the murders.[4] It was documented by investigators that one of the actual few Sako ammunition purchasers in Michigan had been Joseph Scolaro III, on February 2, 1968.[6][4] Scolaro's statements that he had given away both of the missing murder weapons and the Sako ammunition prior to the June 25, 1968 killings also proved invalid. They were one more part of his elaborate scheme to obstruct the investigation of the crime.[15][21] During the lengthy murder investigation it was determined by a forensic accountant that more than $60,000 was missing from the two combined businesses of Richard Robison. Furthermore, the two Robison businesses had been left in the care of Scolaro prior to the murders.[6][4]

During the course of this initial investigation, Scolaro undertook two lie detector tests—both of which he failed.[22] A third test was judged inconclusive as to the truth. Experts also noted that he tried to deceive the polygraph interviewers in his pre-test interviews.[15]

Dismissal of findings

edit

The two investigating police agencies involved in the case presented their combined Evidence Case Report CR 4114-08-785-66 to the jurisdictional prosecution on December 17, 1969.[5] This detailed report implicated Joseph Scolaro as the sole perpetrator of the crime, with ample circumstantial evidence attesting to his guilt and concluding he had the means, motive and opportunity to commit the crime; however, Emmet County prosecutor Donald C. Noggle and Attorney General Frank Kelley ruled in mid-January 1970 that insufficient evidence existed to bring formal charges against Scolaro, referencing the two firearms used in the commission of the murders had not been recovered in addition to the absence of any fingerprints at the crime scene.[18] As such, he was not charged with the murders, although investigators remained convinced of his guilt.[11]

Intervening developments

edit

Within months of the Robisons' murder, Scolaro assumed directorship of R.C. Robison & Associates and Impresario magazine, having purchased the firms from the Robisons' estate. Scolaro managed both firms from Richard Sr.'s office. He would later sell the magazine.[19]

Upon orders of the National Bank of Detroit, executors of the Robison estate, Summerset Cottage was demolished in the spring of 1969.[12]

Reopening of investigation

edit

Four years later, a newly elected chief prosecutor in Oakland County, L. Brooks Patterson—believing the Robison murders had been committed within his jurisdiction—formally reopened the prosecution. This decision was widely publicized in Michigan. Upon discovering the reason Emmett County prosecutors had determined insufficient evidence existed to successfully prosecute Scolaro was a lack of physical evidence to confirm his guilt, investigators sought to retrieve sufficient evidence to secure the prime suspect's arrest.[23]

Suicide of prime suspect

edit

When Scolaro learned of his likely impending indictment resulting from this reopened investigation, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in his Southfield office on March 8, 1973. Two typewritten suicide notes were found close to his body. One note was addressed to his mother, warning her not to enter the office where his body lay; the other—also addressed to his mother—acknowledged the acts of fraud and forgery he had committed in life but ended with a handwritten denial of culpability for the murder of the Robison family.[19]

The note Scolaro left in which he maintained his innocence of the Robison murders stated: "Mother, Where do I start ... I am a [liar]—cheat—phony. Any check that any of the people have with your signature isn't any good, because I forged your name to it to get them off my back. I owe everybody you can think of. I have made poor investments, and in some cases, no investments at all. ... I love you dearly, but living only causes you more heartache. I just can't help myself. Please understand. Love, Joe." The letter also listed several individuals whom he had defrauded in multiple business schemes.[6]

At the base of this letter, Scolaro had penned a denial of culpability for the Robison family murders. This read:[19]

P.S. I had nothing to do with the Robisons. I'm a cheat but not a murderer. Joe.

Since Michigan law does not permit an open murder case to be officially closed, the suicide of the prime suspect Scolaro placed the case in the inactive file. Thus, many questions remained unanswered.[11] Over many years other crime theories have surfaced but to date none has ever been substantiated.[6]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Those who knew Richard Robison Sr. on either a personal or professional basis were quoted within the two police reports filed on the case as saying they had never known a better family man, friend, or business partner.[11]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Schollett, Mark (August 13, 2015) [November 17, 2013]. "Robison Family Murders Considered Solved by Many 45 Years Later". Upnorthlive.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Clarke, Kayla (July 10, 2022). "Northern Michigan Massacre: Family of Six from Metro Detroit Murdered in Summer Home 54 Years Ago". WDIV-TV. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (July 7, 2018). "The Good Hart Murders: Case Closed". Northern Express. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Case Evidence Report: CR 4114-08-785-66". Michigan State Police. December 17, 1969. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Wolff, Joseph (January 6, 1970). "Robison Murders Believed Solved". The Detroit News.[full citation needed]
  6. ^ a b c d e f Link, Mardi (2008). When Evil Came to Good Hart. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-03722-3.[full citation needed]
  7. ^ Clock, Bob (July 21, 1978). "Robison Bodies Found Ten Years Ago Tomorrow: 6 Murders in Good Hart Still Cloaked in Mystery". Petoskey News-Review. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Bak, Richard (May 28, 2008). "A Web of Intrigue". Hour Detroit. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  9. ^ When Evil Came to Good Hart ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3 p. 19
  10. ^ When Evil Came to Good Hart ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3 p. 49
  11. ^ a b c Wiles, Richard (2012). "Summerset: The Robison Family Murder Tragedy-Epilogue".[full citation needed]
  12. ^ a b c Clock, Bob (June 25, 1969). "Robison Murders Year Ago: Still No Motive". Petoskey News-Review. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Robison Family Murders Discovered Twenty Years Ago Today". Petoskey News-Review. July 22, 1988. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  14. ^ When Evil Came to Good Hart ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3 p. 79
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Michigan State Police Synopsis for the Prosecution of the Richard Robison Murder Case, June 15, 1970[full citation needed]
  16. ^ Lovelace, Fred (July 23, 1968). "More Photos of Tragedy at Blisswood Resort". Petoskey News-Review. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Clock, Bob (August 24, 1968). "Rule Mass Murder Premeditated". Petoskey News Review.[full citation needed]
  18. ^ a b Wiles, Richard (2009). "Summerset: The Robison Family Murder Tragedy".[full citation needed]
  19. ^ a b c d "Man Commits Suicide, Denies He Killed Family". Ironwood Daily Globe. Associated Press. March 9, 1973. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Silent Evidence: Cases from Forensic Science ISBN 978-1-887-90539-8
  21. ^ Covault, Ronald (2009). "A Letter of Evidence".[full citation needed]
  22. ^ When Evil Came to Good Hart ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3 p. 68
  23. ^ When Evil Came to Good Hart ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3 pp. 115-117

Cited works and further reading

edit
  • Branson, Jack; Branson, Mary (2011). Delayed Justice: Inside Stories from America's Best Cold Case Investigations. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-616-14392-3.
  • Buhk, Todd (2021). Cold Case Michigan. United States: History Press. ISBN 978-1-467-14873-3.
  • Dietz, Mary Lorentz (1983). Killing for Profit: The Social Organization of Felony Homicide. Boston, Massachusetts: Nelson-Hall Publishers. ISBN 978-0-830-41008-8.
  • Evans, Colin (1996). The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved 100 of the World's Most Baffling Crimes. New York City: John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 978-0-471-07650-6.
  • Halber, Deborah (2015). The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America's Coldest Cases. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-451-65758-6.
  • Hickey, Eric (2003). Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime. London: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-7619-2437-X.
  • Katz, Hélèna (2010). Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes, and Disappearances in America. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-37692-4.
  • Leyton, Elliot (2011) [1986]. Hunting Humans: The Rise Of The Modern Multiple Murderer. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-140-11687-8.
  • Lester, David (2004). Mass Murder: The Scourge of the 21st Century. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-590-33929-9.
  • Link, Mardi (2009). When Evil Came to Good Hart. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-02196-3.
  • Mayo, Michael (2013). American Murder: Criminals, Crime, and the Media. Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-578-59191-6.
  • McRery, Nigel (2013). Silent Witnesses: A History of Forensic Science. London: Random House Books. ISBN 978-1-847-94683-6.
  • Meyers, Charles (2004). Silent Evidence: Cases from Forensic Science. Charlotte, North Carolina: Catawba Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-887-90539-8.
  • Newton, Michael (2004). The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. New York City: Checkmark Books. ISBN 0-816-04980-7.
  • Phelps, M. William (2020). Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest. New York: Pinnacle Books. ISBN 978-0-786-04474-0.
  • Yount, Lisa (2007). Forensic Science: From Fibers to Fingerprints. New York City: Chelsea House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-604-13061-4.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robison_family_murders&oldid=1232696776"