Posted: 11:33 AM Dec 7, 2009
Reporter: Heather Biance
Email Address: heather.biance@wctv.tv
Robinson Sentenced to Life without Parole
Updated 10:30 pm. 12.7.09
It's a tragic love story filled with lies, manipulation and eventually murder.
And Monday, the man who admitted to killing 25-year-old Elisabeth Killam just weeks after they broke up, will be behind bars for the rest of his life.
It's been just seventy-five days since Elisabeth Killam was found strangled to death by a man she knew and trusted, her ex-boyfriend Terrell Robinson.
The 36-year-old broke down just days after he admitted to strangling a pregnant Killam for at least five solid minutes and asking for the swiftest and harshest punishment possible.
On Monday, Robinson forfeited his right to a trial, saying he didn't want to prolong the inevitable.
I don't want to drag anybody through any more further torment through this situation. I'm hurting because of it, her family's hurting because of it, my family, everybody involved in this is hurting. There's just no need to be drug on."
With tears in their eyes, Killam's mother: "Our loss and our grief are still so fresh," her father: "I feel a physical pain like a huge part of my heart has been ripped out of my chest" and sister spoke to the courtroom expressing the grief they've experienced since they learned of her gruesome death.
"I will always imagine the terror, panic, betrayal, desperation and pain as she struggled to take one last breath," says Elisabeth's sister, Allison Killam.
Robinson held his head in his hands at several points throughout the afternoon, offering his verbal apologies to the Killam family, but knowing it will never be enough.
The state did not pursue charges in the death of Killam's unborn baby.
Killam's parents say they will accept their daughter's diploma at this weekend's FSU graduation ceremony.
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Updated 3:10p.m 12-7
36-year-old Terrell Robinson was sentenced to life without parole Monday afternoon.
Robinson will now be behind bars for life for the murder of 25-year-old Elisabeth Killam which happened on September 23rd.
It was an emotional hearing as Elizabeth's mom,father and sister spoke to the courtroom about their lost loved one.
Since being arrested, Robinson has tried to make this as quick of a process as possible, accepting the sentencing without going to trial.
Robinson expressed his apologies to Elizabeth's family and says that he doesn't want to drag this on for them or for himself and will accept punishment for what he did.
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A man who pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the strangulation of his girlfriend is expected to be sentenced Monday afternoon.
Terrell Robinson says he murdered her in her Chartre Oaks apartment on September 25th.
The 36-year-old told the judge at his plea hearing, he was "completely and absolutely guilty" of the murder of his girlfriend, 25-year-old Elisabeth Killam.
Arrest papers say Robinson strangled Killam after confronting her about her involvement with an ex-boyfriend.
We'll have the outcome of his sentencing tonight on Eyewitness News and WCTV.TV.
By David Sáez
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
10:20 A.M.
Terrell Lee Robinson, 36, has been arrested on charges of murder and robbery in connection with the death of Florida State University junior Elisabeth Killam, 25, said Tallahassee Police Department spokesman David McCranie.
TPD officers found Killam dead Wednesday afternoon at Chartre Oaks apartments, 2001 Belle Vue Way.
A TPD report said Robinson admitted to choking Killam because he was jealous of a relationship she had with another man. Robinson and Killam lived together and were romantically involved, according to the report.
When officers arrived at the apartment Wednesday in response to reports of a possible murder, they knocked on the apartment door but did not receive an answer. They forced the front door open and found Killam dead in her bedroom, McCranie said.
Robinson was also in the apartment semiconscious. He was taken to a local hospital, and officers believe he may have attempted suicide by ingesting medication.
Investigators from TPD's violent-crimes unit gathered physical evidence and interviewed neighbors. They found that Robinson had been living with Killam in her apartment and the two were romantically involved.
Investigator Angie Boothe interviewed Robinson, and he said he was jealous of Killam's relationship with another man and choked her to death during a confrontation, according to a TPD report.
Robinson is being held in the Leon County Jail without bond on charges of murder, robbery and two outstanding violation of probation warrants issued by the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
6:44 a.m.
Terrell Lee Robinson, 36, has been arrested on charges of murder and robbery and was booked into the Leon County Jail Thursday night, according jail records.
Robinson was being held by the Tallahassee Police Department in connection with the murder of Florida State University junior Elisabeth Killam.
TPD found Killam dead Wednesday afternoon at the Chartre Oaks apartments.
Robinson was also on the scene and had been taken to a local hospital for injuries.
Robinson was arrested by TPD and booked into jail at 8:17 p.m. on Thursday. He has been charged with murder and robbery without a firearm or weapon.
Return to Tallahassee.com for more on this story.
Man held in death of FSU student
Local authorities are pursuing murder charges and have taken a man into custody as part of an investigation into the death of Florida State University student Elisabeth Killam.
Killam, 25, of Venice, was identified Thursday as the woman who Tallahassee police found dead Wednesday afternoon at the Chartre Oaks apartments, 2001 Belle Vue Way.
An autopsy established that Killam's injuries pointed to homicide as the cause of death, TPD spokesman Officer David McCranie said. He declined to provide further information about how the student was killed because the case remains under investigation.
Police have taken Terrell Lee Robinson, 36, into custody, McCranie said. Robinson was the man who police found injured in the apartment with Killam. Robinson was treated at a local hospital and released, McCranie said. He and Killam lived in the apartment and had a relationship, McCranie said.
Robinson is listed as a wanted person on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.
McCranie said that investigators believe only Killam and Robinson were involved in the incident. Charges are pending, McCranie said. Investigators are consulting with the State Attorney's Office on the investigation.
Robinson was listed as an absconder and fugitive in the Department of Corrections' offender database. He was sentenced in Bay County to five years of community supervision in January for charges of forged checks and grand theft. The database also indicates that Robinson received a six-year sentence for aggravated battery intended to harm in an offense that occurred in 1994. He was also sentenced to two years for burglary and grand theft.
The database shows he had been incarcerated from March 9, 1995 until August 1, 1996, and then again from Nov. 13, 1997, to Oct. 6, 2000.
Joe Blackwood was visiting a friend at the apartments and met Robinson and Killam at the pool on Tuesday.
"It was the first time I met them," he said. "I would've not even known they were together. There was no arguing; everything was cool."
Killam was a junior at FSU enrolled in the College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance.
According to her My-Space page, the last person to post a message on her site was someone identified as Terrell Robinson. It was posted on Tuesday morning.
The site lists Killam's interests, among them pottery, drawing, music from artists such as Ben Harper and Ani DiFranco, movies "The Notebook" and "The Wedding Singer," television shows "South Park" and "Family Guy," and books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
In an area titled "Heroes," Killam lists her mother: "(She) is the strongest woman I have ever known, always looking out for her own happiness. She takes crap from no one. I try to have this strength in myself."
Killam's parents were reached in Venice by telephone, but they declined to say anything except that they were still waiting to hear more information about what authorities think led to their daughter's death.
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