Criminal Discourse Podcast
Welcome to our true crime podcast, where we explore intriguing cases with the same passion as true crime enthusiasts like you. With each episode, we delve deep into the facts, theories, and mysteries of each case, offering a riveting discourse that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Tune in for a criminally good time!
Criminal Discourse Podcast
Justice in the Shadows: The Murder of Christina Sanoubane
The last years of Christina Sanoubane’s short life were filled with violence and ended in tragedy. She was brutally murdered just days after moving into a new apartment with her toddler-aged son, seeking a fresh start. In her final days, Christina encountered three men who shared a history of violence against women. One was convicted of her murder, but a hasty investigation has left his guilt up for debate. Is Christina’s killer in prison where he belongs, or did the real perpetrator get away with murder at the cost of another man’s freedom?
Hello and welcome to the Criminal Discourse Podcast. I'm Wendy and I'm Trish. We have another fascinating episode for you today. We're actually going back to Cedar Rapids, iowa, where we were in November when Trish covered the case of Michelle Martinko. She was an 18-year-old student who was murdered in the Westdale Mall parking lot around Christmas 1979. And, trish, I understand you actually have a little update about this case. I do.
Speaker 2:It's the update to the update. So I had mentioned in a previous episode that human remains were found in rural Delaware County and it was believed at the time that these could possibly be the remains of Brian Burns, who was the cousin of Jerry Burns, who went missing on the anniversary of Michelle Martinko's death, and Jerry Burns, of course, was the man convicted of her murder. These remains were found on November 5th by some pheasant hunters. Those remains were removed to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office for Identification and they have been confirmed to be those of Brian Burns. Now, that's all they're saying right now. They haven't released any other information in terms of how he died, so we'll have to wait and see, but it has been confirmed that these are the remains of Brian Burns, who is the cousin of Jerry Burns, who went missing on the anniversary of Michelle Martinko's death back in 2013. And, of course, jerry Burns was convicted of murdering Michelle Martinko. That's the latest.
Speaker 1:So today's case is actually one I found, not because I wanted to go. I wasn't looking to go back to Cedar Rapids necessarily Happy that I'm back there but I found it from a forensic files episode in 2010, kind of well known, because they apprehended the killer from a big toe print that was left in a particularly fresh hamburger bun found at the crime scene. So the episode was called pure bread murder One of those kind of funny episodes. The case is not funny. It's sad, of course, but as I researched the case, I found there's a lot more to it than you know as usual, the narrative that we all know and love from the forensic files episode. So hopefully we learn a lot today. There's a lot of interesting twists and turns. So, trish, I'm excited to see what you think by the end of this and throughout, and listeners, I would love to hear, too, what you guys think as you're listening to this and if you think that the police got it right on this one.
Speaker 2:Okay well, we know there are so many true crime podcasts out there to choose from and only so many hours in the day, and we want to take a moment to say we truly appreciate you choosing to listen to us. If you want to join the discourse, you can reach out to us on our website, criminaldiscoursepodcastcom, or on social media, or on Facebook, instagram, youtube, at criminaldispod and criminaldiscoursepodcast. And one last thing the views and opinions discussed on criminal discourse podcast are just that our views and opinions. Everyone is presumed innocent until convicted in the court of law.
Speaker 1:This is the case of Christina Sanubane, and the last years of her short life were filled with violence and ended in tragedy. She was brutally murdered just days after moving into a new apartment with her toddler age son, seeking a fresh start. In her final days, christina encountered three men who shared a history of violence against women. One was convicted of her murder, but a hasty investigation has left his guilt up for debate. Is Christina's killer in prison, where he belongs, or did the real perpetrator get away with murder at the cost of another man's freedom Spoiler? I'm not going to say exactly. I don't think there's enough information to say, yes, the police did it wrong, the wrong guys in jail, but I do think there's a lot of questions that come up here. So now again we're going to Cedar Rapids, iowa, and that Westdale Mall location where Michelle Martinko was killed is just like two and a half miles from Christina Sanubane's murder. Christina was also born November 1979. So just like a month before it happened. Since Trish recently highlighted this location, I'll just remind you guys that Cedar Rapids is the second most populated city in Iowa. It had about 120,000 residents in 2000 when Christina's case takes place and, for reference, it's located in the eastern portion of Iowa, about 240 miles due west of Chicago.
Speaker 1:Christina's story actually begins with the thousands of refugees who fled Laos in 1975 when communists took control of their country. Iowa sponsored 1500 refugees, including Christina's parents, praseth and Linda Sanubane. They settled in Des Moines and had their first child, a daughter named Catherine, in 1978. And then Christina was born a year later, on November 21, 1979. Praseth, their father, died in February of 1982, when the girls were still toddlers and Linda was just 20 years old. So Linda moved to Cedar Rapids and she eventually married a man named Lee Huang. Christina's step sister Angelina and stepbrother Frederick followed.
Speaker 1:Christina started dating her fellow classmate, jacob Crossen in 1996, when they were both 16. Christina's intense feelings for Jacob might have contributed to why she started using drugs with him at this time, but that included things like cocaine, weed and meth. Weed is one thing, but the cocaine and meth was a lot more concerning. That's next level. Jacob physically abused Christina, but she told her concerned family and friends that she couldn't leave the man that she loved. By age 17, christina moved into a friend's home and away from her parents' disapproval. Her friend's mother, norma Hoffpauer, remembered Jacob getting into a fight with her daughter about drugs. While Christina still lived there, norma banned Jacob from her home, but it didn't stop their relationship. Christina dropped out of high school during her senior year after becoming pregnant and moved in with Jacob. Their son, corbin, was born in October 1998.
Speaker 1:Jacob was twice charged and convicted of assaulting Christina. The first time was around Christmas of 1998, so this is when she had a little two-month-old, corbin. Jacob shot at Christina's face with a pellet gun. Now these are weapons that are used for shooting like and killing squirrels, rabbits, small game like that, target practicing, yeah. A year and a half later, christina suffered an assault that left her with a four-inch cut on her forearm and small cuts to her throat. She told co-workers who noticed her injuries that quote Jacob was trying to kill me.
Speaker 1:Now Christina worked as a waitress and then at a convenience store and as a telemarketer after Corbin was born. This is when she's still a teenager. One of her former supervisor, sandy Smith, said Christina regularly came to work with visible injuries such as bruises and scratch marks. Whenever Sandy inquired about the marks, christina told her Jacob beat me up again. Another co-worker recalled seeing Christina with a swollen eye, swollen cut lip and injured hand. Now, in 2000, this is shortly after, like a couple months after Jacob had cut her throat, christina broke up with him and moved out. That was seemingly the last straw.
Speaker 2:And for these incidences, these two at least that are documented, did he serve jail time probation something.
Speaker 1:It didn't appear. So no, I couldn't find that. He does have a record, but it's just for a DUI. So I don't believe there is a small blurb in the newspaper about the pellet gun incident, but that's the only one. She told a co-worker after she moved out that Jacob was extremely upset and he responded by telling her your dead meat.
Speaker 1:Christina's family encouraged her to move back in with them, but she refused. They described her as hardworking and independent, but they called her, you know, still young and innocent, at just 20 years old, and they felt like that was a combination that made her vulnerable to being taken advantage of. They weren't shocked that Christina wanted to strike out on her own, because she always wanted to prove herself and go her own way. Her older sister, catherine, described Christina as a fighter. She said her little apartment, car and job meant her freedom, her individuality and, most of all, her independence. She wanted to show everyone she could take care of her responsibilities. I really get the sense, too, that she felt like you know, whether it was Jacob or her son, these are decisions that I made and I'm going to take responsibility for it. I'm not going to make it anybody else's problem. And Christina was determined to provide a safer home for her son and focus on her goals of becoming a television journalist or a fashion designer.
Speaker 1:The first step she took was moving into the front apartment of a duplex at 818 10th Street Southwest and that happened on Thursday, august 31st 2000,. Just before Labor Day weekend, norma Hoffpauer's boyfriend, todd Hale, agreed to help move Christina in with his pickup truck and Christina offered him $25 for helping her. When Christina and Todd arrived at the duplex they met neighbor Tamika Sanders who lived in the rear apartment. She volunteered her partner, 29 year old Carlos Robinson, to help Todd move the heavier furniture. They accepted his help and Carlos made several trips in and out of Christina's apartment. That day Carlos and Tamika lived at the duplex with their four children, a boy and three girls ages three to eight years old, and they were there for almost a year.
Speaker 1:After moving up from Waterloo, about an hour away, carlos had just started training for a steady telecom job after working two part time jobs at a security firm and a nearby convenience store. Neighbors described him with words like you know, he's a sweet family man and they said he never demonstrated anger during Christina's first few days at the duplex. She relied on Carlos and Tamika, her neighbors, for help getting settled in. One time she used their phone to order pizza, for example. Although Christina had been looking for a fresh start, jacob was not ready to let go. A neighbor recalled seeing a red car similar to the one he drove parked at the duplex a time or two after she moved in. Christina also told Todd Hale the guy who helped her moved in that Jacob came to her apartment, fought with her and punched a hole in the wall before leaving.
Speaker 1:Now Todd returned to Christina's around 11 30am on Monday September 4th to collect that $25 that she promised him. Christina never came to the door but Todd said he could hear her TV blaring inside. He looked for Christina through a window and he said he saw these crumpled up blankets on her bed and that made him think that she was still asleep. Corbin, her son, was crying but Todd assumed Christina would wake up and take care of him shortly. He left after several minutes with plans to return later.
Speaker 1:Now Carlos and Tamika, the neighbors, were gone with their kids most of that Monday it's a holiday. When they returned that evening they heard Corbin crying continuously next door. So Carlos went over around six o'clock that evening to check on him and Christina. Carlos's knocks also went unanswered and he could see Corbin crying through a window as well. Todd returned a few minutes later to find Carlos outside Christina's apartment, unable to get her to answer the door. Now this is almost seven hours after he was last there checking.
Speaker 1:Todd decided to gain entry through a front window and that's when he quickly came upon Christina's semi-clothed body lying face down in her bathtub bearing lifeless, surrounded by blood stains. So he grabbed Corbin, he ran back outside and he shouted for someone to call 911. Carlos was there, so he made the call and he told the dispatcher. This is the quote from the 911 call and he's responding to the questions. I'd like to report a death. I'd like to report a death. The guy said she was dead. I don't know. I don't know my neighbor, she does drugs. When police arrived, they determined that Christina was already deceased. They interviewed Todd, carlos and Tamika. At the scene, carlos told officers that he helped Christina move in, but he didn't know what happened to her.
Speaker 1:Investigators quickly theorized that Christina knew her killer because there were no signs of forced entry. Christina's sandals were found in the middle of her kitchen floor, along with two of her own teeth and a broken piece of a frying pan handle. The rest of the frying pan it belonged to was missing. Now they describe this as like the collar that holds the handle and the pan piece together, like the middle piece. Police believe Christina's attacker used that frying pan to strike her with such force that it caused her teeth to fall out and the frying pan to break. Trails of bare footprints, many of which were difficult to see with the naked eye, were found throughout Christina's apartment. Some were quote inter-bangled with drops of Christina's blood. So this is the first thing. If you've watched the forensic files episode, they kind of lead you to believe that there's bloody footprints all over the apartment and that's not the case. They're footprints that you can't really see and there's drops of blood with them. They're not bloody footprints that you would think. Like a killer leaves a bloody trail.
Speaker 2:Oh, even her son. Her son was walking Correct.
Speaker 1:The rich detail in all of these footprints. It was completely unique to the person who left them and as good as fingerprints for identification that I didn't know your footprints, they can get you as much as your fingerprints can. A rusty colored ring in the bathtub. Christina Layden indicated that it had been filled with water while she bled out, but had drained. By the time police discovered her, there was a bloody, partial palm print on the bathroom sink and strangely fresh hamburger buns were strewn all over the bathroom floor. It looked like someone opened a bag of buns and shook them out. One of the buns retained a partial bare footprint, including the big toe with ridge detail. Now police recovered the bag clip but never found the bag, and when I first heard this I thought you know, corbin was in this apartment alone for almost a day with his mom. He might have taken the hamburger buns to the bathroom asking her to cook, but it is a little suspicious that they never found the bag.
Speaker 1:An autopsy later determined that Christina suffered what they called a brutal assault, with multiple puncture wounds to her neck and face resulting in massive blood loss. The mortal wound was, quote a deep cut to the right side of her throat that cut across the carotid artery and her windpipe. There wasn't enough blood left in her body to conduct a traditional toxicology exam and investigators opted not to have a drug test done on her organ tissue. Did they ever say why? Well, we're going to find out shortly that there's a lot of tests that they just chose not to do, and they used words like no, it wasn't an extra legal loophole or it wasn't necessary.
Speaker 1:We had everything we needed, and this is one of those cases. Before stabbing her, christina's killer struck her repeatedly around her face and head with a blunt object. We assume that this is the frying pan. An x-ray also revealed that a pellet from Jacobs assault in 1998 was still lodged in Christina's face. It's kind of like between her eye and the bridge of her nose. Christina's time of death was estimated to be between 9pm Sunday and 3am Monday, so a big six hour window of time there.
Speaker 2:And. Monday was the Labor Day holiday. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I don't. I don't think this is an international, I think this is just America. So this is Monday, people are off of work, usually it's the end of summer, celebrations, holiday weekend, a lot of stuff going on. Now expert opinions differ whether there was evidence of sexual assault. The official autopsy says there was no evidence of sexual assault, and I know there's controversy with that because it's it's like what kind of injury rises to the level of? You know that was an assault versus consensual sex. But the official autopsy results were that she was not raped. However, there was sperm recovered from a vaginal swab and that sperm contained two male DNA profiles. There was a major contributor from the night Christina died and then a minor contributor that they think was from a few days prior. Now, whatever happened that night, christina's son, corbin, just a month shy of his second birthday, was there to witness it all. He was alone with his mother's body until six o'clock the following evening.
Speaker 1:Now Christina's mother, linda. She planned to visit her and see the apartment for the first time on Tuesday and instead she received that news that her daughter was murdered and took in her traumatized grandson Monday night. Considering how Christina's killer left Corbin behind in that horrific scene. Linda said that's a monster's heart, an inhuman heart. Even 10 years later, the impact of Christina's murder had a devastating impact on her mother. Now Linda said this is in the forensic files episode. I believe that other parents, their children, got killed or murdered and they move on in their life, but me, I don't know why, I can't. I can't go outside. It hurts me and it hits me all the time that I miss Christina so bad.
Speaker 1:Now Christina Sona Bain's ex-boyfriend, jacob Croson. He's the obvious prime suspect from the beginning. I mean a couple months before this happened, he cut her throat and told her you're dead meat. A few days before he had an alibi for most of Sunday night. But there are windows of time that aren't accounted for within her estimated time of death. Several witnesses, including casual acquaintances, came forward to confirm that Jacob was with them that night, hopping between bars, restaurants and residences until about 4am on Monday. Police also wanted to investigate 35 year old Todd Hale, who found Christina's body. The nature of the attack seemed personal and Todd considered Christina a friend from when she lived with his girlfriend, norma Hofpower. Some of Todd's actions were also suspicious, especially the skill with which he broke into Christina's apartment. They even mentioned the police that the window he broke into not only did he get in and out really fast, but there was a dresser with a lot of little items on it and he was able to kind of sneak in without disturbing anything and they just thought it was creepy.
Speaker 2:Or he knew Right, like how to. I was when you mentioned he was there in the morning to collect his $25 and he couldn't get in. I'm curious why he came back that night Like did he try to call Christina? Did they look at the phone logs? Like why would you just show back up seven hours later and then say, oh, I'm going to try the window now Just because someone's there now, right?
Speaker 1:I don't think they did ever check the phone cards and they did mention in the forensic files episode, though being very suspicious of you know he's. This is how he got. Maybe this is how he got in to kill her. Why there's no sign of forced entry, because look at how good he is at this. However, norma gave Todd an alibi. She said Todd was with her all night Sunday until he left for Christina's late Monday morning. Investigators became more suspicious of Christina's next-door neighbor, carlos Robinson, after they theorized that all those bare footprints they found at the crime scene that they belong to her killer and that meant her killer lived nearby, because why else would he be barefoot?
Speaker 2:Well, and I take it, they ruled out those footprints against Christina's yes, okay, and her son yes.
Speaker 1:Now Carlos's partner, tamika Sanders. She was visiting her sister in Waterloo overnight on Sunday. That leaves Carlos home alone with his children, at the duplex and without a solid alibi. Police asked all three men to provide footprints, palm prints, fingerprints, dna samples for comparison to crime scene evidence. They also executed search warrants for Jacobs and Carlos's residents and vehicles. So they kind of got. These are my two prime suspects now.
Speaker 1:Although Jacob was the prime prime suspect, he was not investigated to the extent you might expect. For example, cedar Rapids police never checked Jacobs cell phone records when they found stained clothing in his truck. They never collected the clothing or had it analyzed, because they did a lighting test on the scene and it didn't indicate that the stains were blood. Christina's body was found on Monday evening and by Tuesday morning police had matched Carlos's footprints to the ones found in her apartment, and that includes the partial print in that hamburger bun found in her bathroom and other prints that were again quote intermingled with drops of Christina's blood. Cedar Rapids police stopped investigating Jacob and Todd as suspects because they felt quote there was no need to talk with other people once the footprint had been matched to Robinson.
Speaker 2:Did they ever?
Speaker 1:match the bloody palm print. Later they did yes, also to Carlos. That one's a little bit more, but for whatever reason, even in the forensic files episode they really especially the hamburger bun print Like this is the one. Now Carlos was re-interviewed Tuesday morning, so this is the morning after all of this happened. He again denied being in Christina's apartment except to help her move in, and he confirmed that he was barefoot at that time and that's a detailed Todd remembered to like yeah, he helped us move in and his bare feet.
Speaker 1:Forensic experts agree that, quote his footprints could have remained on the uncarpeted surfaces of the floor for three days or more and, quote blood could have fallen on the floor before or after the footprint was made. The interviewing officer said Carlos changed his story when confronted with the fact that his footprints matched those found at the crime scene. They say now Carlos explained that he became concerned after he heard bumping noises coming from Christina's apartment Sunday night. He went next door to investigate and let himself in when Christina didn't answer. How did he let himself in this? I do not know. He did not have a key. To my understanding.
Speaker 2:Was the door unlocked and he just let himself in.
Speaker 1:This is my assumption that the door was unlocked, because some of this is coming from articles, you know, summarizing what he said. So there's not that like hard and fast you know.
Speaker 2:Trans to the detail.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly the transcript. Once again, you know when Carlos goes to check on these noises, he says he's barefoot. So this is just a dude who walks everywhere barefoot. He eventually found Christina, he says, laying on her bathroom floor with her back against the bathtub. She appeared unconscious and a dark foamy substance was slowly falling from her mouth. So not in the tub, no throat slit. And he also says it's really dark. Carlos said he was so startled by what he saw that he slipped and caught himself on her sink. Now this is possibly to explain the bloody palm print which I think at this point he didn't know about. There was liquid on the floor which he says could have been blood, could have been water, I don't know. There was liquid and that's why he slipped. But again, her apartment was completely dark so he couldn't tell for sure what anything was. In a panic he ran back to his apartment, said he smoked a little weed to calm down and he decided not to call 911 at that point because he wanted to avoid involvement with the police.
Speaker 2:But he had to have heard Corbin crying the whole, even the next day, if he did this Sunday night.
Speaker 1:I don't know what time they left on Monday morning. I assume they left to go pick up his wife and Waterloo and go spend time with their family. I don't know what time Corbin went to bed. You know he might have gone to bed before his mom was killed. He could be asleep, sure. I'm just not sure. You would think, though, this is very suspicious. Even if he's telling completely the truth, that's suspicious behavior. Now, this is the statement that a single police officer, the only one who interviewed Carlos that day typed up, and Carlos refused to sign it. During the more than eight hour interrogation that resulted in this statement, officers at the Cedar Rapids Police Station ignored multiple requests from two defense attorneys who attempted to contact Carlos and instructed police to stop questioning him. More than one judge would later defend the police department's actions, noting that the attorneys were reaching out on behalf of Carlos's family and Carlos never asked for an attorney himself. They were not required to tell Carlos that attorneys were trying to reach him.
Speaker 2:That is technically true, it's technically true, but he needed to say, hey, I'd like an attorney.
Speaker 1:For all of our listeners. If you ever find yourself in this situation, ask for an attorney. It is technically legally true. It just doesn't sit right in my heart. Sure, there is also debate over whether police properly mirandized Carlos during this time. The interviewing officer said he verbally read Carlos his Miranda rights, but only after confronting him with the footprint evidence. So the logic here is you know he voluntarily agreed to come for an interview. He wasn't a suspect until, you know, around 9 am when we got the footprint match. Then he became a suspect. Then it was an interrogation, so then we read him his Miranda rights.
Speaker 2:But usually don't they get them. They read it to them, but then they also give them a written statement to read and sign that it was given to them.
Speaker 1:And Carlos never signed the form acknowledging those rights. So, and because it was just that one officer, there's debate of it's. He said, she said, and we believe the officer, because he's an officer of the law.
Speaker 2:was this interrogation taped? Usually they'll be videotaped audiotape.
Speaker 1:There were portions taped, but I don't know that it all had audio. So dicey, dicey, dicey. Carlos Robinson was arrested at the conclusion of this interview and this is within 24 hours of calling 911 to report the discovery of Christina Sanobane's body. He was charged with first degree murder and held over for trial on $500,000 bond. I want to point out to that his attorney argued he would. He would be in jail for 14 months waiting for trial, and his attorney argued for you know at least.
Speaker 1:I don't know what all the negotiations usually are with bond and bail, but they wanted at least like, let us put up 10% so he can be at home with his family. He's not a flight risk. They never allowed for anything. They kept it at $500,000 the whole time. Police theorize that Carlos used the opportunity of his partner, tamika being out of town visiting her sister to go over to Christina's house and make a sexual advance toward her. They think that she rejected him and kicked him out. And that's when Carlos became enraged and hit Christina with one of her frying pans, knocking her unconscious. He dragged her to the bathroom. They think that he raped her and if she was unconscious it's possible that that could be why there's not as much evidence of a sexual assault.
Speaker 2:Maybe no, but that's not what the evidence showed and that's not what the and I'm not saying he didn't, I'm just saying you have to base it on fact, Like that's your theory.
Speaker 1:But there's no fact to back that up. There's no fact. They also said things like the position of her body in the bathtub is what made them think that it was a sexual assault, but she was closed anyway. Afterward, whether whether he raped her or not, he placed her in the bathtub, cut her throat, fill the tub with water to try to hide physical evidence. Afterward they think Carlos returned to the kitchen looking for something to carry the murder weapons out in. To avoid leading a blood trail, carlos settled on the hamburger bag, leaving the buns scattered on Christina's bathroom floor. After he opened it, police think Carlos disposed of the murder weapons immediately and they have never been recovered. They've never found the sharp instrument used to cut her up. They've never found the frying pan pieces. They also theorized that he could have been motivated to murder Christina out of fear that Tamika would find out about his infidelity or anger over being rejected by Christina and because Christina you know, if he did rape her, she could have identified him after the fact, if she survived, did he?
Speaker 2:have any history of cheating on Tamika.
Speaker 1:He's got a history that we'll get into soon, but not necessarily of infidelity that I know of. Carlos's neighbors were shocked by the announcement. They said it was quote so out of character for him and not reflective of the quiet, helpful, hardworking man that they knew. But you know a lot of people say that when somebody gets popped for a crime. When Carlos's father, timothy Robinson, learned of his son's arrest he said quote it was like a death in the family. His mother, pam, insisted our son is not the monster, he is still walking around out there somewhere.
Speaker 1:This was not Carlos's first encounter with law enforcement. Here's where it gets even dicier. In 1993, carlos pled guilty to assaulting Tamika, his partner and the mother of his children, and was placed on one year of self-probation. During an argument, carlos pushed Tamika into a door, causing her to hit her head. In 1995, carlos was sentenced to 90 days in prison after he choked Tamika. He attacked her when she tried to stop him from hitting their two-year-old son with a belt.
Speaker 1:Carlos's trial wouldn't begin for more than a year and in the meantime forensic analysis determined that Carlos was the major contributor of the sperm evidence, meaning he either had sex with Cristina or raped her the night she died. The second sperm sample, the minor contributor from a few days prior, didn't match Carlos, jacob or Todd, and it has never been identified or compared to anyone else. That doesn't sit right with me either. The bloody, partial palm print on Christina's bathroom sink also belonged to Carlos. During a search of his apartment, police recovered the clothing Carlos wore the night Christina died, remember they found Jacob's clothing too, but they never brought it in for testing. They did find on Carlos's shirt three spots of blood. One had Christina's and Carlos's DNA and two contained Carlos's DNA.
Speaker 2:Only Did Carlos have after they arrested him, did he have any scratches, bruises, cuts on him? None that were noted.
Speaker 1:Now the murder trial against Carlos Robinson began the Monday after Thanksgiving. This was one week after Christina Sondabane's 22nd birthday. The local newspaper published a birthday message from Christina's mother. Happy birthday to you, christina. Why was your life so short? Like a song ended too quick. Since you've been gone, I've cried for you every day, no matter what. It will never be the same anymore, christina. You're always in my heart and nothing gets us apart. Love you, mom and your family.
Speaker 1:When Carlos took the stand at trial, he refuted the forensic evidence against him as only proof of him being in the apartment, not that he assaulted or killed Christina. Carlos testified to another version of events Now. He claimed that he went to Christina's apartment around 8 pm because she asked him to share his weed with her. Carlos says they smoked together and then had consensual sex. During their second round of intercourse Carlos heard a knock and a man's voice at Christina's door so he left quickly and this was around 9 pm, so I assumed through a back or a side door of the apartment. A little later, carlos said he heard thumping from Christina's apartment that he first thought was his kid's rough housing. He went to go yell at them and discovered that it wasn't them, it was coming from her place.
Speaker 1:Shortly after that Carlos rode his bike to a nearby convenience store to purchase candy and beer. Candy for the kids, beer for him, you know? I hope so. Hope not beer for the kids. Around 10 pm he called Tamika Again, she was visiting her sister in Waterloo, so he's just calling to check in and she told him to check on Christina because of the noises. When Carlos found Christina's body he said quote I had no idea what was going on in there, I didn't want to stick around and see. He apologized on the stand to Christina's family who were in the courtroom, for not calling 9-1-1 right away and he cited his fear of Tamika finding out that he cheated and he was afraid of being framed for whatever had happened. Carlos insisted that Christina was not in the tub and her throat wasn't cut when he found her, and that was between 10 pm 30 and 11 pm that Sunday night.
Speaker 2:He said she looked unconscious. Does he know that for sure?
Speaker 1:that she wasn't dead. No, he said he never touched her body. How did he get?
Speaker 2:the blood on his hands then. That left the bloody palm print.
Speaker 1:So I think the theory with that for him is there was already blood on her on the sink and he just grabbed it when he fell.
Speaker 1:Carlos admitted that he withheld information from police at first and he insisted that the typed statement being used against him wasn't what he told the interrogating officer and that's why he refused to sign it. Of course police said well, you know that's a really convenient tactic, isn't it? His attorney said, quote he didn't tell police the whole story, but everything he told them was true. Of course a defense attorney is going to say that. Now Todd Hale was also grilled about quote inconsistencies and omissions in his statements to police. So Carlos is not the only one who's been inconsistent in not telling the police everything. For example, there was a deposition taken several months after Christina's murder and in that Todd revealed Carlos offered him and Christina weed when they moved in, so sort of solidifying this idea that Carlos and Christina were smoking weed together. Todd explained his changing statements as a result of shock from discovering Christina's body. Like Carlos and Christina's ex-boyfriend, todd also has a history of violence against women. In 1989, todd knocked the mother of his four-month-old son to the floor, struck her repeatedly in the face, kneaded her in the ribs and choked her. He pled guilty to simple assault and paid $100 fine. In 1991, he assaulted her again. Those charges were dismissed. In 1993, he faced more assault charges after he threw a glass of milk in his own mother's face, tossed her to the ground and kicked her repeatedly. Those charges were also dismissed. Todd's last assault charge was in 1995 when he threatened another man with a knife during a fight. It's one of several drunk imbrals that he ended up in. Todd's most serious sentencing, probation and really short prison stints came from his numerous DUI offenses throughout the years, not for these assaults. The most obvious suspect, though, of course, was Christina's volatile ex-boyfriend, jacob Crossan, and Carlos's primary defense tactic was to implicate him in Christina's murder. Remember, christina moved to her apartment to escape Jacob's violence. He threatened Christina when she moved out, and then he tracked her down and confronted her at her new residence. Remember, just a couple months before that summer he cut her throat and that's how she died. A co-worker from the convenience store where she worked a shift on the Sunday she died just hours before her murder testified that Jacob visited Christina at work that day. The defense called multiple witnesses to testify about Jacob's severe and prolonged abuse of Christina over about four years, from age 16 right up until the days before her murder. One witness, christina's former supervisor, sandy Smith. She actually called Carlos's defense attorney with information after reading early trial coverage. Police never interviewed her and she was surprised that Jacob's abuse wasn't being mentioned at all. At least two witnesses testified that Jacob threatened Christina's life. While Carlos admitted that he regretted some of his actions, his attorney emphasized that, quote he was the last in a long line of people to fail her.
Speaker 1:After two weeks of trial proceedings and six hours of jury deliberation, carlos Robinson was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, and he was also required to pay $150,000 to Christina Sonobane's estate and $2,000 to the crime victim's assistance program. Carlos insisted that quote he did not commit this crime. I know it, my family knows it. Part of me knows that. The Sonobane family knows I did not do it. Now I will say that they have, on the record, said you know the right guys in jail for this. He added that justice for me will be finding the real person who committed this ungodly crime.
Speaker 1:Public reaction to the verdict included criticism of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. One resident wrote to the paper to say they were appalled and frightened by the brief investigation and lack of concrete evidence that resulted in a life sentence. Quote shame on the police department to leave so many stones unturned. Whether Carlos Robinson is guilty or not, the investigation failed this community deeply has the jury never heard of the concept of reasonable doubt. In his first appeal, carlos argued that all the evidence and statements obtained during his police interrogation should not be admissible and that the trial judge aired by overruling his motion to suppress it. By their own admission, officers were already convinced of Carlos's guilt and it seems like you know maybe I don't I don't know that unlawful is the right word, but they use some dicey tactics to secure his arrest. In denying Carlos's appeal, the court had to weigh whether quote police deception might have risen to the level of a due process violation. They said it didn't. Their opinion was that Carlos is changing narrative to explain what they called largely circumstantial evidence against him, as it emerged was a clear indicator of his guilt, regardless of what methods the investigators used.
Speaker 1:In more recent years, carlos has appealed for additional forensic testing on specific pieces of evidence because he believes the results could identify what he calls Christina's real killer. One of the prosecution's key arguments to the jury was that there was no evidence of anyone in that apartment other than Carlos and Christina. Carlos says there are items from her apartment and storage that were never tested for DNA because it would lead to a suspect other than him. I would say that the prosecutors only partially correct, because the only crime scene evidence that was matched to a suspect was matched to Carlos.
Speaker 1:Police collected dozens of personal items from Christina's apartment, including knives, scissors, bedding and drug paraphernalia, along with several pieces of forensic evidence in her autopsy and the crime scene that have never been identified. That includes hair and fibers from Christina's calf and inner thigh. They were not a match to Carlos or his clothing and their source has never been tested. We've never gone any further than to just say it's not from Carlos. Cedar Rapids Police defended their decision not to test certain pieces of evidence because quote the footprints were more important, and not the fibers and hairs on her body, on her body, not that other sperm sample, not you know if she was doing drugs with someone in the apartment before it happened.
Speaker 1:Not the knives or scissors that could have been the murder weapons cleaned up. None of it, none of it. The court agrees that not only would it be too costly to test each piece of evidence now, but Iowa State law won't allow Carlos to request DNA analysis because DNA convicted him of a crime. Further, if any of the evidence was tested and matched to someone other than Carlos, the court says that's not enough to overturn his guilty verdict. He's still guilty of the crime. It is what it is Now. In a separate appeal, carlos asked the state to compare the minor contributor of the second sperm sample recovered during her autopsy to someone he suspects is Christina's killer. The state has only tested it against Todd Hale and Jacob Croson and neither were a match. Carlos' request was denied, with the court stating that Carlos is the only person who suspects anyone else of killing Christina.
Speaker 1:Christina Sona Bain's family again, they believe the right man was convicted of her murder, and her older sister, Catherine, wants the public to know that Christina was quote an intelligent, strong-minded and passionate young woman, not a misguided and naive girl. She felt that, based on trial coverage, many people believed Christina was a promiscuous drug user, but quote, people failed to see she was a young, lonely woman. She craved acceptance, love and companionship and was fooled by a monster with a friendly face. Christina's son, corbin, moved in with his father, jacob Croson, after the trial, but he remained close with his maternal grandparents and spent a lot of time in their home too, and despite his past troubles other than a DUI in 2002, jacob has remained off law enforcement's radar, and the same goes for Todd Hale, the other suspect. His last charges stemmed from a 2011 DUI. Like most families in their position, the Sona Bains recognize that justice will never replace the person they lost.
Speaker 1:On the third anniversary of her murder Christina's younger sister, angelina, who was only like nine years old when Christina was killed she submitted a memorial to the local paper, summing up the emotions her family continues to process. It's been year three and no one could see how much your death affected me and my family. We've been through so much pain, the happiness we could never regain as we sit here and ask God why we sit here and cry, letting time pass us by so many memories to cherish, and those will never perish. For all three years you've been my angel from above, the one that I'll always love. For all my life you've been such a wonderful sister, mother and daughter, and for all of eternity you will always last in our hearts.
Speaker 1:So this is one where I don't want to cause a ruckus saying that the police got the wrong guy. I don't necessarily think they did, carlos' explanation of the evidence is suspicious. The fact that there is so much evidence is suspicious, but I cannot get over the idea that her ex-boyfriend, her violent ex-boyfriend, cut her throat a few months before this happened. The older she was, dead meat because she moved out, had already found her new place and if we believe everything that Carlos said is true, it's possible that you know he, you know, let's say, the knocks at the door when they were, if they were having consensual sex, if that was Jacob, and he comes in and confronts Christina you know, now you're sleeping with someone else, and then the next thing he does is kill her. I don't know it's. I think. For me the disappointment is that the police, in my opinion, did not investigate this thoroughly enough to be able to conclusively say that we definitely have the right person, no question, and that's disappointing.
Speaker 2:I would say they probably could have saved themselves some criticism by making sure you had a videotape transcript of the interrogation. You had that signed documentation of the Miranda rights even from the get-go Like, hey, I'm inviting you down here, we don't have all the data back yet, all the testing back, but hey, I need to let you know your rights and go from that point on. I think that could have saved some criticism of the police department. I also think you should have had a toxicology report done on Christina. I get it.
Speaker 2:Maybe there wasn't enough blood, but there's other organs in the body to see. Maybe that could have given them something in terms of was she did. She smoke weed, perhaps? What was the nano level of that the THC content in her blood? I just think if they did a little more it would take away some of the questions and criticism. Not that they don't have the right guy. I mean, if you can give a criminal discourse life tip, if you discover somebody in a precarious situation because you've gone into their apartment, whether they're unconscious or dead, call the police right away, and it's better to have to deal with the fact that you cheated on your spouse than to be put away for life for murder if you didn't commit it.
Speaker 2:Because if Carlos is innocent, then he really jammed himself up by not calling the police because you were worried about your relationship with your girlfriend. Well, there's a dead body here and a young boy, and I mean there are a lot of questions. Don't get me wrong. I think there are three viable suspects in this. I would imagine he still has his federal appeals, even though the state court seems to have knocked down everything. He can now go to the federal level with his appeals.
Speaker 1:Let me see here His last appeal was in 2021. And that was the DNA sample, the minor contributor that he wanted tested.
Speaker 2:Now can somebody else the heat can't because he's a prisoner. But can somebody else say, let's say, an innocent project decides to take on his case. Could they petition to have those samples tested?
Speaker 1:I think that's possible. I think there could be a push for at least some of the other evidence of the crime scene, especially because and this is key the jury's decision is what the court keeps coming back to. This is not enough to overturn what the jury decided, however. The prosecutor hammered home to the jury in opening and closing arguments. There's no evidence of anyone other than Carlos in this apartment. So if there is evidence of that, in my mind that's the lynchpin.
Speaker 2:Even Hale who was there who helped her move in? How is there no evidence he crawled through the window, at least once we know of? How is there no evidence that he was in the apartment? Maybe eliminated, but I mean just there should be evidence that he was there and handling the furniture.
Speaker 1:And this is the other thing too. You have all these people in the community saying, oh, this is not really the Carlos we know he was so friendly. He was also beating up his wife and kids. He's not everything you thought he was. So I don't think that he's a purely innocent guy. I do think it's possible that he did this. There was a YouTube comment on the forensic files video where someone said she escaped from one monster only to end up moving right next door to another one. I do think it's possible that they definitely got the right guy. It's just so disappointing to see the lack of due diligence. It's important to go through the steps.
Speaker 2:Yes, again, they could probably do with a lot less criticism or questioning. They may have the correct man serving time for her murder. Her family believes that, so the jury believed that. But the questions linger because why didn't you take the time to give them, as Miranda writes, right away? Why didn't you take the time to audio record or video record the entire interrogation?
Speaker 1:Check the ex-boyfriend a little bit harder. The one that said he wanted to kill her, the one that almost did shot her in the face Right Check that guy Really nailed down his alibi that there really would be no in the time frame that, yeah, he could have gone over there.
Speaker 2:In terms of questioning the neighbors about seeing the red car, they saw it there a few times. Did they see it there that night? I get it Going through those motions and steps.
Speaker 1:But for the Cedar Rapids Police Department they did do a wonderful job with Michelle Martinko. They did and this is not necessarily indicative of their entire department and hopefully from this experience maybe they learned a little bit too. You know, the next time they had a case they really Make sure you get the Miranda right sign. Let's take that shirt in. I know the light said there was no blood, but let's just take it.
Speaker 2:Well, if you want to learn more about today's case, head over to our website, criminaldiscoursepodcastcom. There you'll find detailed show notes that Wendy put together and all the resources she used to bring you this episode, and we invite you to join the discourse and let us know your thoughts on today's case or any other case. Do you have questions? Did you think if they just did a little more and checked a few more boxes, the Cedar Rapids Police wouldn't have the criticism or questions that they do? Let us know your thoughts. Did they get the right guy? Is Carlos, or do you believe, hey, there is possibly other viable suspects? Or reach out anytime and tell us about yourself or suggest a new case for us to cover. And if you've enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on whatever platform you're listening to us on. Leave us a five-star review, tell a friend so they can join the discourse too. And you can also share these episodes. I know on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, hit the three little dots. That'll bring up a menu and it says share. You can share it and send it directly to them.
Speaker 2:So, as always, if you see something, know something, say something. Like you go into someone's apartment and find them unconscious against a bathtub and you know there's liquid on the floor, but you don't quite know what it is. But he knew when he got back to his apartment because he had blood on him. Call the police, report it. Just do it. Just do it. Save yourself a headache, save any questioning, because, honestly, what would the narrative have been? Well, if he did this, why would he call the police and report?
Speaker 1:this right? Why would he admit to cheating on his wife, Right Wife or girlfriend? They said common law wife. They'd been together for 11 years.
Speaker 2:Would have saved him so much trouble, but you might have that missing piece of the puzzle it would take to solve a crime. So before we go, remember we want you to stay safe out there, we need to be kind to one another and we need to watch out for one another. So until next time, guys. Bye, thank you.