Authors: Christopher Berry-Dee
Dead Men Talking (9 page)
And, that was it: end of story. Clearly, I’d pissed him off. If John Robinson wasn’t such a deadly serious man, one could read his letters and have a rib-tickling good laugh.
But was this really the end of my work with JR? Has this sick psychopath learned any lessons from his previous behaviour? I’m afraid not. You see, while I am truly and genuinely sympathetic towards this nut ball who lives in a world where elephants fly, lead balls bounce and fairies reign supreme, I am also mindful that JR, when he can afford the stamps, is trawling for gullible people to send him donations so that he can start up yet another nefarious scheme. He is asking people to send in their poetry so he can claim it as his own, and then get the stuff printed and sold, through a friend, to raise funds. I am mindful, too, that this scumbag still hasn’t revealed the locations of several of his victims’ bodies, thereby denying closure to their families. So, I designed a honey trap by entering into the equation a woman who has been writing to scores of serial killers for over a decade. If anyone could get inside the head of John Edward Robinson it would be Annabel Leigh. With her degree in Criminal Justice, I asked her to study his life and crimes, and she presented him with bait which he could never have resisted. Together, we set John Robinson up. We turned the tables on this man who has, for decades, been turning the tables on just about everyone he came into contact with. The results were disturbing yet electrifying. And, when JR reads this book, he will flip.
In trying to get inside the heads of serial killers, any attempt to appeal to the better side of a psychopath’s better nature will be judged by these master manipulators as a sign of weakness, for conscience is something they do not possess, and one’s efforts will fail. While every case is different, in some instances the only key to success is recognising their own perversions and needs, for these people never learn from their own mistakes.
Christopher, you should be using their own ‘victimology’ against them. It is the strongest weapon of all. You would have achieved much greater success with the serial sex-killer, homosexual John Wayne Gacy, had you presented yourself as an attractive young man when you wrote to him - falsify a ‘pretty’ photo if needed be – so that Gacy could have sexually identified with you; in his subconscious you becoming a possible victim, and a photographic image that he could masturbate over while locked up in his prison cell.
You, like so many criminologists and psychologists, miss the obvious. With respect, you guys fail to think outside of the box. If you are writing to a female killer, you should use a multi-sensory approach: the written word which has to appeal to the inmate’s way of thinking; photographic visual stimuli that will conform to their victim type and, finally smell - the latter being most important. A spray of expensive cologne will linger in her cell long after the written word has been absorbed, making your letter stand out, and bring back memories of better days long past. The same approach works even better with men. A sexy photo, a splash of perfume, and they have to reply, and this is why I adopted this approach with JR Robinson.
While this may seem very unprofessional from me, I think that your thousands of dedicated readers will appreciate my no-nonsense statement, being: Mr Robinson’s thought-processing system seems, for the better part of his life, to have been hung between his legs. For my part, I see no reason why nothing much would have changed today. Therefore, I hope that you, and your readers, will find the results of my correspondence with JR of some interest.
Annabel Leigh, to the author.
Annabel’s plan was simplicity itself. She would write to John Robinson posing as someone interested in him as a person, saying that she was not interested in his criminal offences, and she enclosed, with her first letter, a photograph. She also told him that she was fascinated by BDSM. Considering that JR had blown me out, one would have thought that he would have been very careful about who he wrote to next. He wasn’t:
Annabel,
I received your letter. First of all let me explain that I have some simple rules for anyone that I write. You must realize that all kinds of people write. It usually happens when some story is run on TV. All claim to want to ‘be my friend’ when actually all they want is to receive a letter from a death row inmate. My attorney even located a blog that tells people how to write me to receive a response. If that was your goal, here you are…
I laughed when you said you were into true crime, if you have read either of the books written about me, you just read a media created fairytale. 85% of the material is false, but people like to read crap so that’s what they write. The DA who prosecuted me had his wife, who owns a media company; create quite an evil persona of me.
OK, the rules – first, if you really want to communicate with me you MUST sent me a photocopy of your driver’s license and a photo ID that shows who you are, your birth date, address. Second, don’t ask me about my case. I have maintained my innocence from the beginning. My case is on appeal and I don’t need to discuss it. Third, if I detect any phony BS I won’t respond again. Fourth, you must guarantee me that anything we write will remain completely confidential!
If you write to me here is a way to do it. On the front of each page write a very normal letter. If you want to write other information about your experiences, fantasies, etc, write them on the back of the page like a separate letter.
Your list of lifestyle interests looks like you copied it from the alt.com website questionnaire
[the web site where he found Suzette Trouten]
. If you are seeking, tell me but understand I am very demanding!
I am enclosing information that tells you what can and cannot be sent in… actually it’s a list of don’ts. Look good at the information about photos’ ‘sexually obscene material or nudity’. Yes, I want you to send pictures but they have to get past the censors so use your head.
I’m also enclosing you information about how you can help out financially. I live in solitary confinement, I don’t work (they won’t allow it) and I have very limited funds. If you
want to help out with postage and supplies you need to follow the directions.
You say you have two degrees, in what, from where and when?
How involved do you want to get? Are you interested in helping if I need typing complete, computer searches, light investigation? Tell me about your computer literacy, etc. I will give you the opportunity to tell me all about yourself and I want you to be very frank about what you’re looking for! I need someone who will be committed to helping me. If I’m ever going to prove my innocence I need a person on the outside I can really trust.
So, there you have it. The beginning, where we go from here is up to you! You know all about me, I need to learn everything about you…. I mean everything!!!
‘What kind of animals do you have? How long a sub in the lifestyle? Are you willing to take this to whatever level?’
There may come a time when I need to ask a favor, are you willing to help?
‘Thanks for the letter and the picture. I hope it’s just the first….. Oh, last rule – if we’re going to do that you have to commit to write at least once a week!
JR
P.S If you have experience is setting up websites or blogs, let me know!
From here on, Robinson didn’t waste any time in returning to his controlling ways. He said that he was in a ‘foul’ mood because someone was ‘attempting to sell an envelope’ supposedly written by him on the internet for $40. ‘I hate that kind of crap, and that’s why I’m careful about writing to people,’ he whinged. ‘They use me and I hate it!! Your first assignment is to go online and see if you can find out who it is for me.’
Despite being told by Annabel that she wasn’t interested in his case, JR then wrote that his, ‘conviction was more than a miscarriage’.
I was framed, and that is what I have to prove. My appeal, when filed, will result in a
new trial. But, when that happens I have to have everything necessary to prove my innocence. Your degree might come in handy if you are to work with me…help me investigate what needs to be done, etc. In time I will reveal what has to be done…I do have attorneys provided by the state for my appeal. One is a young woman who I trust. She tells me I will get some relief either a new trial or convictions reversed. If not, there are more appeals and whatever the case it will require heavy investigative efforts. This is not a game!!! We believe we know who set me up, why it was done and how. Now we have to prove it.
Ever the authority on BDSM – although he categorically denied it to me – JR goes on to say, ‘Submission has to be a total commitment without reservation.’ Then, completely contradicting himself, he adds, ‘Obedience is voluntary and must be given, accepting the Dom as her master, following his instructions. Tell me about any fantasies you have, how, why, what. I also need to know what you think I can offer you.’
Returning to funding and empire building. JR, he asks:
Check out how difficult it is to set up a web site. I’ve had an idea… for a long time now to set up a non-profit organization specifically to help death row inmates with $s for investigators, lawyers, etc. Yes, there are a lot of anti-death groups out there, but none actually help the inmates. They protect, hold vigils and raise fund to pay big salaries. Hell, with your smarts we might just do…Of course you would probably have to move here
[to Kansas from California
] when it really got going. So, the web site would have to be really professional, able to accept donations, tax free, etc. I’ve been working up the idea for awhile. Interested?
Then, in the same paragraph, he hit’s overdrive, changing direction in a heartbeat, with: ‘I like my submissive shaved and able to complete simple tasks…like masturbation. I want her to be able to begin, get just to the point of release and stop. Wait a moment, begin just until she is ready and stop again, repeating this four times, it takes practice, then on the fifth time feeling the massive release…Do it. Write about it. How did it make you feel?’
Reading down through JR’s correspondence to Annabel, one gets the idea that he is about to break into song and dance. ‘You say you like poetry. Do you write it? What kind?’ he asks. ‘Send me something you have written. I too like poetry and would like to do a book of it but not identify the author of a book of poetry and short stories from an anonymous death row inmate. Hell, with self-publishing it should be easy! Just need someone to type up my poems, locate pictures on the internet to go with them and go. You must type it out for me.’
Changing tack again, he boasts: ‘I just finished a two-year project and wrote a disertation [sic] on the history of the death penalty in Kansas. From territorial days to today. A reference librarian at the Kansas Historical Society got me the research information. It’s pretty good…needs to be typed also, so you can do it as well! Can’t send it out, no money!’
And, almost immediately, and without drawing breath, he suggests: ‘One letter a week, photos that will please me. Now, in your next letter at the end of it under your name, I want you to put something make-up color on your erect left nipple and make a print of it. A nice, small, round print, and you’ll enjoy it.’
As far as I can ascertain, John’s only hobby, other than fleecing and murdering people, was fishing in the pond on his rented La Cygne property, however, it seems that he does have a passing interest in golf, as he suggests: ‘Also next time you’re out shopping, pick up a package of golf balls. 3 balls in a package, and locate some very small tiny rubber bands. Insert them into your vagina when you next go dancing. You will find that I am demanding but reasonable. I want you to be all you can be and still commit. You’ll understand more about that later.’
No doubt there are some golfers who will have something to say about that!
With him being a self-professed pioneer in hydroponics, we should not be surprised that John then moved on to horticulture, not that he’ll be doing any of it for some time to come: ‘I am into gardening and growing things,’ he claims, then instantly changing the subject:
As we progress I will of course ask you to help with things. Looking up people on the internet, locating them, perhaps even doing some investigative work, Nothing dangerous, but it will be important…I don’t have much support. In fact, sometimes I think I can count the number of people in the world who think I’m innocent on my penis!!! I need some help to keep going. I want you to figure out if you can afford something each month…I am seeking at least $400,000. You tell me! Can’t promise a return, but if together we can prove my innocence it will be one hell of a story.
Dream on, John! But hard on the heels of that letter came one where he explained, most astutely in fact, that he was, ‘not the most popular person in the world’, and that he lives in a 6x10ft concrete cell 24-hours a day. ‘This is called “segregation,”’ he informed Annabel, ‘a kind word for solitary confinement.’
Always the most charitable of guys, John says that he draws sarcastic cartoons about politics, his case and prison. ‘My attorney keeps the originals but I have sent some signed copies to certain individuals. One [copy] was sold with my permission by a local battered women’s shelter for $750. When I found out that a guard’s ex-wife bought it I had a great laugh. I do hate it when people write to me and con me and then sell envelopes, etc, for personal gain.’
When I asked the Kansas Department of Corrections to confirm whether Mr Robinson was, indeed, such a popular and accomplished cartoonist, a spokesperson eventually replied:
‘It is a policy of the KDOC not to comment on an inmate’s specific custodial details, so I am afraid I cannot answer your question. I can tell you that this inmate does not attend any art-related activity because of his security status combined with his inability to draw a straight line.’