Timothy L. Robinson, a 37-year-old St. Louis resident, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the shocking crimes of murdering a 3-year-old boy and committing a separate violent robbery. On December 10, 2021, Robinson was responsible for the child, Emmanuel Ware, his girlfriend's son, in Lafayette Square where the boy was later found unresponsive by his mother, with Robinson offering a false narrative of a car accident that didn't hold up to the scrutiny of surveillance evidence or the autopsy's grim findings, according to information from the Circuit Attorney's Office.
The autopsy revealed devastating blunt force trauma, and the injuries including a tragic lacerated liver and internal bleeding were not consistent with a vehicle's hit, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore remarked on the heinous nature of the crime, saying "This guilty plea and sentence removes a dangerous individual from our community for a lengthy period of time and serves as some measure of justice for the victims of his heinous crimes." Just days later Robinson, still free, violently robbed a woman after following her off a Metro bus, his brazen attack ended with a stolen purse and a quick arrest since he was found with the victim's belongings on December 13, 2021.
Robinson pleaded guilty to abuse of a child resulting in death, second-degree murder, and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child related to Emmanuel's death, along with a second-degree robbery charge for the separate incident, as detailed by the Circuit Attorney's news release. His sentence for the crime connected to the child's death is 18 years, and for the robbery, he received 15 years, which will run concurrently, with prior convictions on his record that include first-degree burglary and second-degree robbery in St. Louis County providing a backdrop to this recent history of violence.
In a statement that highlights the persistent threat posed by some within our midst, the Circuit Attorney's office confirmed the sentencing aims to deliver justice and improve public safety, the case stands out as a sobering reminder of the deeply entrenched patterns of criminal behavior resistant to the deterrent of the law.
