Mom arrested in deaths of two of her sons

By Jonathan Martin, Brandon Sprague and Nick Perry
Seattle Times staff reporters

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Marie G. Robinson, 36, is being held on suspicion of homicide and criminal mistreatment at the Kent jail. Charges have not been filed.

Police were alerted Sunday by the boys' paternal grandmother, who was concerned that she was unable to reach Robinson by phone. After knocking on the door of Robinson's apartment and getting no answer, the grandmother called police.

In the apartment, officers found Justice Robinson, 16 months, dead in a crib in a bedroom. His brother, 6-week-old Raiden Robinson, was found in a bassinet in the same room, Kent police Officer Paul Petersen said.

The King County medical examiner ruled yesterday the boys died of malnutrition and dehydration as a result of homicide. Medical investigators didn't say how long the boys had been dead when they were found.

Robinson was home when officers arrived, as was the boys' 2½-year-old brother. The boy, who also was showing signs of malnutrition, was treated by paramedics at the scene and released to his grandmother's custody, police said.

Neighbor Charmaine Dyson came home to the Summit Apartments just after 3 p.m. Sunday to find the man who lives with the mother outside, holding the surviving child. The toddler was naked and wrapped in a blanket, Dyson said.

"He was skinny, like bone," she said. "That baby was alive, but real skinny."

According to state Child Protective Services (CPS), the mother was investigated at least twice since 2002 on suspicion of child neglect. The complaints, in October 2003 and February of this year, were lodged while Robinson lived in apartments in Pierce and Kitsap counties. She moved to King County earlier this year.

Chris Robinson, the state child-welfare director for those counties, said the first complaint was investigated but ruled "unfounded." Robinson, who is not related to the Kent family, said she could not determine the outcome of the second complaint.

The agency's file on Marie Robinson was officially "inactive" at the time of the boys' deaths.

"We're working with the social worker to determine if we have all the records," Chris Robinson said.

CPS received two additional complaints, both in September 2002, regarding child neglect, but neither complaint was considered serious enough to investigate, she said. The agency referred those complaints to area public-health nurses who help struggling mothers.

CPS is planning a complete review of the case, Chris Robinson said.

Asked if the boys' deaths were preventable, she said: "That is an impossible standard for us. The question for us is, was it reasonable for us to do anything else? At this point, it will take a more thorough review by us to answer that question."

In June, an external panel of experts sharply criticized the agency for returning an often-battered toddler in Ephrata to his mother. The woman has been charged with killing the boy, Rafael Gomez.

Ron Rebello, manager of the Kent apartment complex in the 10800 block of Southeast 239th Street, said he had no indication anything was wrong with Marie Robinson or her children. The woman brought the children into the manager's office each month to pay rent.

But Dyson, the Robinsons' neighbor, said the woman's behavior was unusual. "She seemed like she was not all there," Dyson said.

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com