On Sept. 16, 2014, 8-year-old Hiawayi Robinson went missing from her home in Prichard, Alabama. Two days later, her body was found behind an abandoned building after a community search. To the horror of family and neighbors, it was determined that the little girl had been raped. Magnifying the horror was the arrest of her father, Hiawatha Robinson, 38, on charges of first-degree sodomy and murder this past this week.
After a three-month investigation, Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich stated that the little girl died of “homicidal violence” at the hands of her father. Rich went on to say, “The facts will show that while engaging in sodomy in the first degree, Hiawatha Robinson Jr., caused the death of Hiawayi Robinson.” Because of the heinous nature of the crime, it was determined that Hiawatha Robinson engaged in “deviant sexual intercourse” which is defined under Alabama law as “sexual gratification involving the sexual organs of one person and the mouth or the anus of another person.”
Prosecutors however did not seek capital murder charges against Robinson. Instead, with the current charges, he is facing 10 to 99 years on each charge. There is a possibility he could face federal charges as well but this is unknown at this time. He is being held in protective custody at the Mobile County Metro Jail.
