During the trial, prosecutors presented no physical evidence linking Robinson to the crime and two witnesses who placed him at the scene recanted. Another man, Romanze Mosby, confessed to the murder to several people in 2004 but refused to sign an affidavit to make the confession official. He killed himself in his jail cell five years later and his confession was never introduced as evidence.
Massey was appointed to study the case after an investigation by the Southeast Missourian in Cape Girardeau raised questions about the conviction, particularly the actions of the lead investigator, Sikeston detective John Blakely. The newspaper investigation found that Blakely knew Mosby was a suspect before the case went to trial but did not investigate the lead. In court testimony, Blakely denied that he framed Robinson.
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