Unbelievable Crimes

North Texas woman admits to killing husband and burying him in front yard

It's been more than four years since Ervin "Shorty" Robinson disappeared without a trace from his Tarrant County home. His wife, Neola Robinson, initially told police that her husband had run off with another woman.

But just as her murder trial was to begin on September 15, Neola pleaded guilty to killing Shorty and burying his body in the couple's front yard. She was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

"After three years of being stuffed in an air mattress and buried in his own front yard, he was found," prosecutor Joshua Ross said.

Authorities believe Neola strangled Shorty to death on May 31, 2010. When the 57-year-old failed to show up for work for two weeks, his boss filed a missing persons report with the Pelican Bay police.

Investigators extensively questioned Neola, who maintained that Shorty had left on Memorial Day weekend with another woman. Police found this story hard to believe, especially considering that Shorty's car and motorcycle were still parked at the couple's home and Neola was forging her husband's signature to cash his checks.

Without any sign of Shorty, the investigation languished for years until the Texas Rangers joined the case in the summer of 2013. According to a statement from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, Neola led Texas Ranger Clair Barnes to Shorty's body, which was "buried a mere 15 inches into the ground" at the couple's home on Partridge Court.

"Much may be said about the investigation and the delay in locating his remains, but the important consideration is that after three years of being concealed from his family, his friends, and everything important to him; after three years of being stuffed in an air mattress and buried in his own front yard, he was found," prosecutor Joshua Ross said. "A person he should've been able to trust the most, his own wife, was responsible for putting him there."

In exchange for Neola's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a separate charge for tampering with evidence. The 63-year-old woman will have to serve at least nine years before she is eligible for parole.

Neola Robinson, 63, pleaded guilty to murder.

unspecified

Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

undefined

The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

marijuana