Killer in 'burned boy' case sentenced to 40 years in prison

See the full timeline of the horrific case. less Don Collins was convicted of tying Robbie Middleton to a tree, pouring gasoline on him and setting him alight on his 8th birthday in 1998 to keep him quiet after sexually assaulting the youth two weeks earlier. Middleton died in 2011 and his death was ruled a homicide. Don Collins was convicted of tying Robbie Middleton to a tree, pouring gasoline on him and setting him alight on his 8th birthday in 1998 to keep him quiet after sexually assaulting the youth two weeks earlier. ... more Photo: Andrew Buckley, Associated Press Photo: Andrew Buckley, Associated Press Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Killer in 'burned boy' case sentenced to 40 years in prison 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

A Galveston County jury on Tuesday sentenced Don Collins to 40 years in prison for pouring gasoline on an 8-year-old boy and setting him afire, causing massive burns that killed him years later.

The seven women and five men on the jury that found him guilty of capital murder Monday heard testimony during the sentencing hearing that Collins stalked an 8-year-old boy before burning him, stomped a baby kitten to death, and molested a 6-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said Collins tied Robbie Middleton to a tree in Splendora and set him ablaze on his 8th birthday in 1998. The jury agreed with prosecutors that Collins burned Middleton to keep him quiet about being sexually assaulted by Collins two weeks earlier. Middleton died in 2011 and his death was ruled a homicide. Collins, of New Caney, now 29, was 13 at the time.

Defense attorney E. Tay Bond told jurors that Collins's mother died when he was 8 and that his father was absent, leaving him in the care of relatives who relegated him to couch.

He also said that testimony showed that an adult who was never identified was on the trail in Splendora with Collins when he poured gasoline on Middleton.

"I'm asking you when you go there to consider everything and remember you are punishing a 13-year-old child for his conduct," Bond said. "And remember an adult was there. The child should be punished as a child."

Prosecutors Kelly Blackburn and Rob Freyer asked the jury for the maximum sentence for Collins, who was detained after the attack but released due to insufficient evidence. Middlleton's parents later won a massive judgment in a civil trial as part of an effort to keep the case alive. Freyer said sentencing Collins to the maximum "puts a value on Robert's dignity, on the Middleton family's pain."

The victim's mother, Colleen Middleton, testified that Collins was stalking her son in the weeks before he sexually assaulted and burned him. She also said that Collins once tried to pull her daughter's underwear down in the backseat of Middleton's car even though Colleen Middleton was nearby.

Her daughter, Heather Middleton Richards, testified that she found Collins, then her next door neighbor, stomping a black kitten to death in her back yard.

Montgomery County Assistant County Attorney Marc Brumberger asked Richards about the loss of her brother. "It's like a piece of me is missing," Richards said. "It's like a big empty black hole now that Robert is gone."

Another woman, now a mother with four children, testified that Collins touched her private parts when she was 6 and he was 11. The Houston Chronicle typically does not identify sexual assault victims.

A 21-year-old Cleveland man sexually assaulted at age 8 by Collins told jurors, "I never had a childhood. That man took my childhood. He said Collins should spend the rest of his life in prison to keep him away from other children.

Rebecca Whitlock, a nurse who helped Robbie Middleton regain his strength and flexibility at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, testified that he was "just a joking kid." He helped other burned children admitted to the hospital and lobbied to keep it open when it was on the verge of being closed following Hurricane Ike in 2008, Whitlock said.

He was so well-liked that Whitlock was instrumental in having June 28, his birthday, declared Robert Middleton Day by the City of Galveston. A plaque with a city proclamation and a photo of Middleton adorn the lobby of the Shriners burn center, she said.

Although the defense had four experts on its witness list, none were called in either the sentencing or trial phase

Collins faced a maximum sentence of up to 40 years imprisonment because Collins was 13 at the time of assault. The law in 1998 did not allow juveniles younger than 14 to be prosecuted as an adult, although the age was subsequently lowered to 10. Prosecutors agreed to the 40-year maximum to have him certified to be tried as an adult without the extra protections afforded a juvenile defendant.

The trial was moved to Galveston County because the case received heavy media coverage in Montgomery County.