Harvey Miguel Robinson (born December 6, 1974) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

currently imprisoned on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He was 18 when he committed his violent spree, killing three and injuring two.

Background

Robinson's father was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

who physically and emotionally abused Robinson's mother and she eventually left the family. His father was later incarcerated for beating his mistress to death.

Crimes

Robinson's rape and murder victims were: *Joan Burghardt, a 29-year-old nurse's aide (August 1992). *Charlotte Schmoyer, a 15-year-old newspaper carrier for ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after ''The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its Al ...

'' (June 1993). Schmoyer was a student at Dieruff High School in

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

. *Jessica Jean Fortney, a 47-year-old grandmother (July 1993). Between the murders of Burghardt and Schmoyer, Robinson was arrested for burglary and served eight months in prison. After the murder of Schmoyer, he was almost apprehended when he was pulled over for a speeding violation. But Robinson received his speeding ticket and left.

Capture

Denise Sam-Cali was one of two of Robinson's victims who survived. The other was a five-year-old girl Robinson stalked for days; Robinson broke into her home, raped and choked her, and left her for dead, but she survived. Sam-Cali managed to break free of Robinson's grip and run outside. Robinson attempted to attack her again but she fled. Eventually, the police used Sam-Cali as bait to lure Robinson in order to capture him. A shootout erupted between Robinson and a police officer, Brian Lewis. Robinson fled, but he was wounded. He went to the hospital, where he was arrested.

Aftermath

Robinson was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for his crimes. As of April 2006, Robinson's execution had been stayed. He was later resentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Joan Burghardt because he was 17 when the crime was committed. On December 14, 2012, Robinson agreed to waive his appeal rights in the Schmoyer case in exchange for a life sentence. In December 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Robinson's death penalty in the Fortney murder. In October 2019, a Pennsylvania judge urged Robinson to consider donating his brain to science, calling it 'the one gift you can give.

In the media

The story of Robinson's crime spree was depicted in the 1996 film titled ''No One Could Protect Her'', with

Joanna Kerns Joanna Kerns (born February 12, 1953) is an American actress and director best known for her role as Maggie Seaver on the family situation comedy ''Growing Pains'' from 1985 to 1992. Early life Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona in San Franc ...

playing the part of surviving victim Denise Sam-Cali. Part of the story of Robinson's crime spree had also been told in the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

series ''

Your Worst Nightmare ''Your Worst Nightmare'' is an American television documentary series on Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true cri ...

''. He was also depicted on A&E's ''

Killer Kids ''Killer Kids'' is a Canadian documentary series. It first premiered in 2011 on ''The Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidia ...

'' and

's ''

Most Evil ''Most Evil'' is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery, first aired in 2006, presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during the program's first three seasons, and by forensic ps ...

'' and ''Dead of Night''.IMDb
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References

External links

* Site about the staying of Robinson's death conviction {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Harvey Miguel 1974 births 1992 murders in the United States 1993 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American people convicted of rape American prisoners sentenced to death American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American rapists American serial killers Criminals from Allentown, Pennsylvania Criminals from Montana Minors convicted of murder Living people Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Pennsylvania Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners sentenced to death by Pennsylvania Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Pennsylvania Violence against women in the United States