FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The case of Robbi Robinson Jr., the man accused of setting fire to a woman in a Fairfield Twp. home last month, is headed back to the grand jury.
It is now a homicide case after Brenda Scott, 50, of Liberty Twp. died because of injuries in the May 11 incident. Police said she jumped from the second story of the home, engulfed in flames.
One charge considered for Robinson will be aggravated murder with a death penalty specification, according to prosecutors.
Police and prosecutors say Scott was assaulted before being set on fire by the suspect. Robinson, 23, is being held in the Butler County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.
On May 11, Scott was found on fire in her backyard by a neighbor, who called 911. Police arrested Robinson after he was caught running from the home.
Robinson was initially indicted for attempted aggravated murder, as well as felonious assault and aggravated arson.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said Monday the case will be presented to a grand jury for consideration of murder charges. The investigative evidence indicates an aggravated murder charge with specification for the death penalty if convicted could be one of those charges.
Gmoser pointed to elements of the crime that meet the death specification, including prior calculation alleging Scott was splashed with an accelerant in an upstairs bedroom and punched in the face by Robinson.
At arraignment on the original charges, defense attorney David Brewer entered a not-guilty plea on Robinson’s behalf and stated he had filed a motion questioning his client’s competency to stand trial. Judge Keith Spaeth ordered a forensic psychological evaluation and set a hearing for June 15.
Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Katie Pridemore requested the judge set a high bond, outlining the trauma Scott suffered that included two teeth being knocked out by the roots in addition to the burns and injuries from jumping out a second floor window.
At the time of the arrest, Robinson was possibly having “suicidal ideations”, and while he has been in the Butler County Jail, phone calls to family indicate he tried to reach out to the victim, Pridemore said.
“The charges have become much more significant than the two charges filed in lower court,” Pridemore said. “The charges are particularly heinous and he poses a threat to society and especially the victim.”
In jail-monitored phone calls, Robinson said he “wants someone to get into the hospital room, talk to the victim, talk her out of prosecuting, have her drop the charges ...” Pridemore said.
Scott was in a bedroom of the home on Arroyo Ridge Court about 10:25 a.m. May 11 when she was hit in the face. She was then splashed with an accelerant and set on fire, according to McCroskey and court documents.
A neighbor called 911 and jumped a fence to help the woman.
“I see a little fire next to her and she is laying in the backyard,” the man told the dispatcher. “She is talking to me. She is hurt bad.”
The woman can be heard in the background saying, ”he set me on fire.”
The suspect, who was still in the residence, used gasoline, she said.
Then the caller said he saw smoke from coming from the house.
“He set the house on fire too, oh my God,” the caller said.
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