Harvey Robinson, The Youngest Serial Killer Ever Sentenced To Death
Pennsylvania Department of CorrectionsAn early mugshot of Harvey Miguel Robinson.
Harvey Miguel Robinson had a tough life. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1974, his early years were troubled and dysfunctional, thanks largely to his alcoholic father — a convicted criminal who had previously served time for beating a girlfriend to death in 1962.
Unsurprisingly, this environment shaped Robinson’s development in devastating ways.
By age nine, he had already been arrested and continued to accumulate charges for crimes such as burglary, terroristic threats, and behavioral problems throughout his youth. He assaulted teachers and seemed unable to distinguish right from wrong. Some investigators even believe he may have attempted his first murder as early as 1990, when a 13-year-old girl was brutally beaten with a brick in her bedroom, though he was never charged with the crime.
His confirmed murder spree began in August 1992 with the brutal killing of 29-year-old Joan Burghardt. Robinson broke into Burghardt’s apartment, raped her, and beat her to death, leaving 37 wounds on her body. Police collected DNA evidence but didn’t immediately identify a suspect.
Ironically, Robinson was already in custody on unrelated burglary charges during the investigation. After serving eight months in prison, however, he was released and immediately resumed his violent activities.
His second murder victim was 15-year-old Charlotte Schmoyer, a newspaper carrier abducted during her morning route on June 9, 1993. Her body was later found in a wooded area — she had been raped and stabbed 22 times.
Less than two weeks later, Robinson broke into yet another home intending to attack a woman he’d been stalking. Finding her in bed with her boyfriend, he instead raped and nearly killed her five-year-old daughter, leaving the child for dead before fleeing.
Then, on June 28, Robinson attacked Denise Sam-Cali in her home, chasing her onto her front lawn where he raped and beat her. Sam-Cali resisted him fiercely — which likely had saved her life — and Robinson eventually fled. His final victim was 47-year-old Jessica Jean Fortney, murdered on July 14, 1993.
FacebookThe judge who sentenced Robinson suggested he donate his brain to science.
It was when he returned to Sam-Cali’s home on July 31 that everything started to catch up to him.
Unbeknownst to Robinson, police had stationed Officer Brian Lewis at Sam-Cali’s home after she reported another break-in attempt. Robinson entered through a window to avoid the door alarm, but found Lewis waiting for him inside. After exchanging gunfire, Robinson crashed through a glass storm door and escaped, but his injuries led him to seek treatment at a hospital, where Lewis identified him hours later.
DNA evidence linked Robinson to all his victims. In November 1994, just before his 20th birthday, he was convicted and sentenced to death for three murders, making him the youngest serial killer ever placed on death row.
His death sentence for Burghardt’s murder was later reduced to life imprisonment, since he was a minor when he committed that crime. He also waived his appeal rights for the Schmoyer case in exchange for another life sentence. However, he remains on Pennsylvania’s death row for Fortney’s murder still.
