JOHN EDWARD ROBINSONN A T A L I E C A R G I L L

“The Internet’s First Serial Killer”

BACKGROUND• Third of five children• Had an alcoholic father and a strict disciplinarian

mother• Became an Eagle Scout in 1957• Enrolled in Quigley Preparatory Seminary in 1957 but

dropped out one year later due to disciplinary issues• Later enrolled in Morton Junior College to become an

X-ray techician• Married in 1964, had his first child in 1965, and twins

five years later in 1971• Had gained a popular reputation in online sex

chatrooms where he looked for submissive women• Claimed to have joined a secret sadomasochism cult

where he lured victims to be raped by members• Sexual harassment tendencies; propositioning many

of the women in his neighborhood and an incident with another woman much later, which led to his arrest

EARLY CRIMESRobinson never got in any trouble with the law early in his life throughout high school and college, but did get himself into problems in school and in his workplace, including:• Dropped out of his all-boys preparatory

school for future priests due to disciplinary problems

• Gained his job as an X-ray technician using forged credentials

CRIMES AND SENTENCESYear Crime Sentence

1969 and 1971 Embezzlement 3 years probation, extended probation after second charge of embezzlement

1975 Securities fraud and mail fraud

Extended probation

1980 Check forgery and embezzlement

60 days in jail

CRIMES AND SENTENCES (MURDER)

Year Crime

1984 Hired Paula Godfrey to one of his fraudulent companies, who he sent away for “training”; she was never heard from again

1985 Hired Lisa Stasi; claimed she had committed suicide and gave her baby daughter to his brother and sister-in-law who were looking to adopt; never heard from again

1987 Hired Catherine Clampitt who vanished in June that year1987-1993 (during incarceration)

Hired Beverley Bonner, the prison librarian, who then went missing; Robinson continued to cash her alimony checks

-- Met mother Sheila Faith in a chatroom and convinced her and her daughter to move in with him; they immediately vanished and Robinson continued to cash her pension checks

1999 Met Izabela Lewicka in a chatroom and convinced her to move with him; she vanished in the summer of that year

1999 Met licensed nurse Suzette Trouten and convinced her to move with him; after she went missing Robinson told her mother she had run off with an aquaintance after stealing money from him

EVIDENCE

• Robinson had become very careless over the years of his killing streak and no longer tried to cover his tracks.

• His name had become associated with more and more missing persons investigations, which attracted the attention of authorities

• A task force had found two 85-pound chemical drums on his farm, which contained the decaying bodies of Izabela Lewicka and Suzette Trouten

• Three more chemical drums were found in a storage facility across the state in which Robinson rented two garages; these contained the bodies of Beverley Bonner, Sheila Faith, and her daughter, Debbie

SENTENCE

• In 2002, Robinson received a death sentence for the murders of Suzette Trouten, Izabela Lewicka, and several other minor charges; he received a life imprisonment sentence for the murder of Lisa Stasi (Kansas didn’t have the death penalty at the time)

• Received a five-to-20-year prison sentence for interfering with the custody of Stasi’s daughter, 20 ½ for kidnapping Trouten, and 7 months for theft

• Faced additional murder charges in Missouri• Eventually received a life sentence without parole for each

murder• Currently on Death Row in El Dorado Correctional Facility in

Kansas

QUOTES ABOUT JOHN EDWARD ROBINSON

"He had no real employment, unless you consider figuring out ways of scamming people out of their money to be real employment." –District Attorney Paul Morrison during Robinson’s trial

"This was classic John Robinson. The guy was a gamesman to the end.“ –Morrison on Robinson after he pleaded guilty in Missouri trying to avoid a death sentence

NICKNAMES• The Slavemaster (used in online

chatrooms)• Internet Slavemaster• John Osborne (used for fraud)

CULTURAL REFERENCES

• Internet Slave Master, published in 2001 by John Glatt, documented Robinson’s life and crimes up until his trial

• Depraved, also by Glatt, published in 2005, chronicles the lives of his victims and others who were involved in Robinson’s crimes

• Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet, by John Douglas and Stephen Singular, published in 2003

• Crimes were documented on episodes of Cold Case Files on A&E and on FBI: Criminal Pursuit and Sins & Secrets on Investigation Discovery

• Mentioned in Criminal Minds as an example of old serial killer cases