Murderer Denied Parole 10 Times for a Crime He Committed as a 13-Year-Old Boy
Eric Smith’s story: Is the criminal justice system failing young offenders?
On August 2, 1993, in Steuben County, New York, four-year-old Derrick Robie kissed his mother goodbye and made his way to a local recreational summer camp. Unbeknown to his mother this would be the last time she would see him alive.
As Derrick made his way to summer camp he crossed paths with Eric Smith. Eric was thirteen years old and making his way home from the recreational summer camp. The summer camp instructors had sent him home early for bad behavior. Eric saw Derrick and lured the boy into a remote part of a nearby park. There, Eric strangled Derrick, beat him, and dropped large rocks on the little boy’s head. He proceeded to sexually assault Derrick’s lifeless body with a tree limb.
It’s hard to fathom what came over Eric on that frightful day. How could a thirteen-year-old boy commit such a heinous crime that was seemingly out of Satan’s playbook?
The murder investigation
