After passing 28 Years in prison for the murder of a 4-year-old boy in upstate New York, Eric Smith, a convicted murderer, was released after his 11th parole hearing.
In August 1993, Smith, with 13 years old, lured 4-year-old Derrick Robie into the woods of Savona, New York, where he strangled and beaten with rocks and then sexually abused the boy’s body with a stick.
The then minor was convicted of second degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to 9 years to life for Robie’s death.
At his eleventh board hearing parole in October of 2021, Smith, who now has 41 years, appeared and was finally released, after arguing that he was a different man and that he was not a danger to society.
Also, Smith revealed that he was engaged to a woman who had written to him in prison, asking questions about the juvenile justice system because she was studying law. They both met and fell in love.
The parents of the deceased child opposed the man’s release every time he appeared in court, which was every two years after he turned 21.
Although Smith was eligible for release in November of last year, his release was delayed until February of this year because it took him months to find a home where to live. He now lives in Queens, New York.
Dorren Robie, Derrick’s mother, told the show 48 hours on CBS, that her son’s killer is now free and that she is worried about the safety of her loved ones.
“I don’t let it take up space in my head,” she said. “I don’t focus on where he is, what he’s doing…because I don’t care. As long as I’m not around friends and family.”
The day of Derrick’s murder
Remembered in the interview that on August 2, 1993, left her son to walk alone for the first time to summer camp, just a block from her home in the town of Savona.
“He gave me a kiss and I said: ‘I love you’”, Doreen told for 48 hours. He says, “I love you, mom.” And he jumped off the sidewalk.
According to his mother, Derrick was blond and cherubic-faced, played T-ball, was popular in the community, and was known as “the unofficial mayor of Savona.”
In contrast, Smith was a decade older than Derrick, and had been relentlessly bullied by other kids, causing his anger to rise.
Seeing that Derrick was walking alone, Smith offered to take him on a short cut to summer camp. Instead, he killed him by strangling him and hitting him with stones.
The child’s parents reported the Derrick’s disappearance a short time later. Within hours, authorities found his body.
While officials were searching for the killer, a friend of Eric Smith’s family told 48 Hours she noticed the pre teen acting strange. At one point the woman recalled that Smith asked her what would happen if the murderer is a child. “I think they really need psychiatric help.” And the , “Oh, okay, you know. And she left, “she said.
The woman called Eric’s mom and together they took him to the police. The investigator, John Hibsch, said the boy apparently enjoyed talking about Derrick’s murder, but he initially denied having anything to do with it.
As the interview progressed , Smith made a confession in the presence of his mother. “I’m sorry, Mom. Sorry. I killed that little boy ”, recalled his grandfather, who was there.
Eric Smith, 25
Who was 13 when he lured Derrick, 4, into the woods and beat him to death with a rock
Was quietly released from prison after being paroled to Queens, New York
The child murderer spent 28 years behind bars
Derrick is still dead, and rolled in his grave~ pic.twitter.com/NvDCFebTpw
— EdoIsHip❁ ~🇺🇸~ (@HipIsEdo) March 21,
Tried as an adult
In August 1994, the boy was tried as an adult and appeared in court in his gray Bugs Bunny sweater. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Nine years after Derrick’s murder, the young man of years, Eric Smith appeared before the Parole Board for the first time, but his request was denied. That way they would continue more audiences. Each time the boy’s parents pleaded with the panel members to keep their killer in jail.
On the other hand, at the parole hearing of 2004, Smith said that she had previously been a victim of bullying, so she admitted that it felt good to strangle Derrick “because instead of hurting me, I was hurting someone else.” In addition, he said that if he had not been arrested, he probably would have killed again.
“My anger was not directed at absolutely to Derrick. He was targeting…all the other guys who used to pick on me. And when I was torturing and killing Derrick… that’s what I saw in my head” , he said in an interview with WENY-TV in the year 2004.
Years later, Smith apologized to Derrick’s parents and stated that if he could switch places with him “and take the grave so that alive, I would in a second.”
Smith said that after years of therapy, he was a man different, not the “murderer” and “satan incarnate” as he has been called.
“I am not a threat” Smith told the board. “The boy of 13 years old who took the life of [Derrick]…it’s not the man sitting in front of you talking…if you gave me the chance, it wouldn’t just prove that I’m not a threat. He would definitely be an asset to society.”
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2022