FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP., Ohio — Robbi Robinson Jr., accused of setting a woman on fire, will go to trial and likely face murder charges — and possibly the death penalty — after he was deemed competent in a Thursday morning hearing.
Robinson initially faced charges of attempted aggravated murder, felonious assault and aggravated arson, but after 50-year-old Brenda Scott died from her injuries one month after the May 11 incident it's now a homicide case.
A grand jury has not yet indicted him on murder charges, but he's scheduled to reappear in court July 6.
He could face the death penalty if his case goes to trial. Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser told the Journal-News he would likely seek a charge of aggravated murder with a death penalty specification.
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.
Investigators said Scott jumped from the second-story window while on fire. Body camera footage released from first responders showed an officer discovering Scott in the back yard of the home.
The officer asks her to stay with him, telling her that medics are on their way.
"I gotta breathe," Scott tells the officer. "My inhaler's in the house ... I can't breathe, he knocked my teeth out."
According to police, Scott was in a bedroom on the second story of the home when Robinson assaulted her then set her on fire. Police said he resided in the home and referred to Scott as his stepmother.
Scott was initially airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, but she later died from her injuries.
Dennis Williams, a neighbor, was the one to find Scott laying in the backyard and called 911.
Williams said it was a normal day of working from home, until he heard his dog barking in an unusual way. This got him outside, where he found Scott laying on the grass and yelling for help.
I said, 'what happened, what happened?' and she said, 'he set me on fire,'" Williams said.
He said he could immediately tell she was badly injured.
"She had just terrible, terrible burns on — I mean I'm no expert, but at least half her body — I mean terrible burns," Williams said. "She wasn't still on fire at that point, but there was a little bit of flame next to her that was dying."
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