More than 30 years ago, 13-year-old Eric Smith expressed concern to his family about what would happen if a child killed their 4-year-old neighbor Derrick Robie.
Investigators discovered Robie’s body earlier that morning on August 2, 1993, and swiftly established that the young boy had been strangled and battered to death, according to CBS News’ 48 Hours, which has long investigated the case and its decades-long aftermath in the small hamlet of Savona, New York.
“Eric asked me what would happen if it turned out to be a child. I remarked, “I think they really need some psychiatric help.” And he said, ‘Oh, OK,’ you know.
“And he walked away,” Marlene Heskell, a Smith family friend, told 48 Hours. “And that’s when it all kind of came together for me that, OK, he might really know something or have seen something.”
Less than a week later, Heskell and Eric’s mother took the 13-year-old to the police station, where he confessed to the murder after witnessing him going alone to summer camp. About a year later, Eric was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to nine to life in prison.
While the nightmare appeared to be over for the 940-person community, Robie’s family experienced the pain every two years when Smith was up for parole. Smith, who was 41 at the time, was granted parole in 2021 and relocated to Queens, New York, according to CBS.
What Drove the Teenager to Murder?
In the years following his 1994 conviction, Smith spoke to media outlets about his crime and the possibility of returning to life outside of jail. In a 2004 interview, Smith discussed his childhood bullying experiences and how he saw the opportunity to inflict harm on others as a method to improve his circumstances.
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle stated that Smith grew up in an abusive household. Furthermore, he told a parole board that he was ridiculed by classmates because of “my ears, glasses, being short, my red hair, pretty much all of those.”
“Instead of hurting myself, I hurt someone else,” Smith stated at a 2004 parole hearing, according to 48 Hours.
Years of Therapy, and Alleged Change
According to CBS, after 28 years in prison, Smith claimed in a parole hearing that he was a changed man, citing years of therapy that helped him manage his emotions.
“You can label me a monster, a cold-blooded killer, a demon child, or Satan incarnate,” Smith told local WENY in 2009. “Doesn’t mean that’s who I am.”
Smith aspired to be a counselor and help other mistreated children, according to the local CBS affiliate.
“I want to, you know, get married and raise a family,” he told me. “Hold down, you know, a job. Pursue the American Dream.
Eric Smith’s Controversial Release
Smith’s chance came in 2021, when a parole board agreed to release him from prison, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
According to the newspaper, Dale and Doreen Robie were adamantly opposed to Smith’s parole requests over the years, including advocating for state legislation requiring more years between parole hearings for convicted prisoners who committed severe felonies.
When asked how she felt after Smith’s release, Doreen replied, “I wasn’t as worried about us as I was about everyone else.”
“I don’t let him take up space in my head,” the mother said. “I do not focus on where he is, what he’s doing. … ’cause I don’t care.”