Man convicted of capital murder in burned boy case

Colleen and Bobby Middleton in the 359th State District Court on Thursday, March 6, 2014, in Conroe after Judge Kathleen Hamilton ruled that Donald Collins will be tried as an adult for allegedly setting their 8-year-old son Robert on fire with gasoline in 1998. Robert died in 2011. less Colleen and Bobby Middleton in the 359th State District Court on Thursday, March 6, 2014, in Conroe after Judge Kathleen Hamilton ruled that Donald Collins will be tried as an adult for allegedly setting their ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Man convicted of capital murder in burned boy case 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

GALVESTON — From the moment he was doused with gasoline and set on fire until his last breath in 2011, Robert Middleton spent every day fighting — for life, for health, for respite from pain, for a return of the happiness and carefree attitude that was his by nature. But the one thing he never got to do was fight back.

On Monday, a jury in Galveston stepped forward in his absence and convicted Don Willburn Collins of capital murder, almost 17 years after the attack that horrified the community of Splendora and all but defied the legal system to do anything about it.

Collins, whose trial now moves into the punishment phase, faces a maximum of 40 years imprisonment because he was only 13 at the time of the assault, not old enough for the full range of adult punishment. For Middleton's parents, however, the conviction was satisfaction enough. They never knew if Collins would be forced to answer for the inexplicable assault on a wooded path behind their home, just hours after Robert was to celebrate his 8th birthday with cake, presents and a sleepover.

"We wanted to make sure people knew what kind of person he was," Colleen Middleton said. "I didn't think we'd see this day, really."

Her husband, Bobby, tried in vain to hide his emotions born of a long and frustrating legal odyssey.

The Middletons won a victory in civil court in 2011, but there was no criminal prosecution until a new state law and a new Montgomery County district attorney changed the landscape. Previous prosecutors had told them that "contradictions" in various stories made the case too shaky to take to court.

Monday's verdict provided vindication for the couple who had pushed for justice for the boy most knew as Robbie, a happy-go-lucky kid whose life was radically changed — and shortened — by the burns that covered 99 percent of his body and left his scarred and disfigured skin so sensitive that even sunlight was painful. Robbie died two months before turning 21 of a rare form of cancer suffered by burn victims — a key medical association that made the murder charge feasible.



Jury deliberates 4 hours

The jury of seven women and five men, who deliberated for four hours, heard every detail about the events of June 28, 1998, when a barefoot boy wearing a pair of shorts that glowed in the dark headed down a wooded trail that connected the Crossno neighborhood to another where a friend lived. He intended to fetch his friend for a sleepover — his first — and his mother had pitched a tent in the backyard and stocked it with hot dogs.

There was still plenty of light as Robbie padded down the hard dirt path, but he did not see the older boy lying in wait. Suddenly, that boy grabbed him and tied him to a slender tree. He poured gasoline over him and set him ablaze, probably with a Bic lighter found nearby. The jury decided that there was enough evidence, even with no confession or witnesses, to conclude that the older boy was Collins, then Robbie Middleton's next-door neighbor.

Sheriff's investigators arrested Collins for the crime in 1998, and he spent six months in the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center. Prosecutors suspended proceedings while Middleton recovered, then dropped charges in 2000. The case languished until the Middletons won their civil suit against him, which culminated in a symbolic $150 billion verdict that brought new evidence to light.

Montgomery County Attorney J.D. Lambright brought new charges against Collins and sought a ruling from District Judge Kathleen Hamilton that he be tried as an adult. In 1998, juveniles 14 and older could be tried as adults. A change in state law lowered the age to 10, though prosecutors agreed that the maximum penalty would reflect his juvenile status at the time of the crime.

Prosecutors argued that Collins, now 29, burned Middleton to prevent him from telling anyone that Collins had sexually assaulted him two weeks earlier. Robbie did not disclose the previous assault to parents or law enforcement until giving a deposition shortly before his death. Robbie also said Collins had repeatedly assaulted a cousin.

Before that case went to trial, Robbie named Collins as his attacker, as he had repeatedly done. His frail, small body covered in white scar tissue, he once more went through the litany of events of that summer evening. Then came the bombshell allegation that put a new light on the case.



Sister sworn to secrecy

Before the deposition, he had told only his sister about the previous assault and had sworn her to secrecy, too embarrassed to tell his parents. Like them, authorities had concluded that Collins had attacked him because Robbie had witnessed a sexual assault on another boy. Robbie died 17 days after giving the deposition.

At trial, the prosecution spent four days putting on witnesses who said Collins had admitted to them that he had burned Robbie. A half-dozen convicts were bused in from various state prisons to testify that Collins had bragged about the crime in the juvenile detention center 17 years ago.

The most compelling testimony came from a Cleveland man who said Collins had raped him in 2001 when he was 8. The man said Collins threated to "burn him like that other boy" if he told anyone. Collins, who by then was 16, was convicted and held in juvenile detention until he was 21.

Defense attorneys in the trial, which was moved to Galveston because of the extensive publicity the case had received in Montgomery County, failed to persuade jurors that Collins should be acquitted or convicted of the lesser offense of first-degree murder.

E. Tay Bond argued during his closing argument that no physical evidence or eyewitnesses connected Collins to the crime.

"Everything you hear is rumor, innuendo and hearsay," Bond told jurors.

He tried to discredit Middleton's 2011 deposition, telling jurors that Middleton was only responding to suggestions made by his attorney and his mother. Bond also questioned the doctors' opinion, saying that they grew too close to Middleton over the years of treatment to be unbiased.

'Today ... you pay'

Montgomery County Chief Prosecutor Rob Freyer followed Bond with an impassioned plea to jurors that they convict Collins.

Later, Freyer walked over to the defense table and glared at Collins, prompting Bond to jump out of his seat and ask Hamilton to order Freyer away from his client. When the judge declined, Freyer walked behind the defense table and stood inches away from Collins, who turned in his chair to face Freyer and looked up at him.

Bond again objected and the judge ordered Freyer to remain in front of the table.

"Today that little boy gets to hit back," Freyer said, referring to Middleton. Pointing at Collins, he said, "Today is the day that you pay."

Mike Tolson contributed to this report.