Laramie
Murder and Immoral Acts with a Minor
38-year old Kevin Robinson repeatedly stabbed and killed 15-year-old Daphne Sulk in November 1997 because he had gotten her pregnant, and she refused to get an abortion. Authorities found Sulk's frozen body at the Summit rest area between Laramie and Cheyenne. In December 1998, Robinson was convicted of murder and sentenced to serve 22 to 29 years in prison.
References: "Wyoming: Man Who Killed Over Abortion Facing Trial." Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, September 2, 1998; Village Voice, October 3, 1998; "Man Wants Lesser Sentence in Forced Abortion Death." Associated Press, January 8, 2002; Pro-Life Infonet, January 10, 2002.
Thermopolis
First-Degree Murder, Torture (10 incidents) and Assault (50 incidents)
The appropriately-named Andrew Yellowbear Jr. was a vicious thug who enjoyed beating his girlfriend Macalia Blackburn, especially when she was pregnant. He also loved to torture his little 22-month-old daughter Marcela. Finally, on July 2, 2004, he went even further and tortured the little toddler to death. When she was taken to a hospital after she died, horrified doctors found that she had many broken bones, and that most of her body was covered with bruises, lacerations and burns. She had obviously suffered the most extreme agony for several weeks before she died.
During the course of their 2½-year relationship, Yellowbear beat up Macalia at least fifty times, "not counting times she was only hit." Macalia was hospitalized three times for her injuries, each time when she was pregnant. Yellowbear punched her, pulled her hair and threw her on her stomach, targeting her preborn child. Then he would instruct her what to tell investigators and hospital personnel in order to keep himself out of trouble. When asked why she kept going back to him, Macalia said "`Cause I loved him. ... he would sweet talk me to come back."
In court, Macalia pointed out the many scars she had received during her beatings by Yellowbear. She had a scar in the center of her forehead where Yellowbear hit her with a telephone. She had scars on both legs and cigarette burns on her arm.
Tim Gist, an assistant Fremont County attorney, described Marcela's death as "especially atrocious or cruel. ... She was made to suffer during the last weeks of her life. It is undeniable she would have been in great pain and agony."
On April 1, 2006, a jury found Yellowbear guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his baby daughter, and on April 6, he was sentenced to life in prison.
References: "Yellowbear Found Guilty of Murder Charges." Jackson Hole Star Tribune, April 2, 2006; Anthony Lane. "Family Pleads for Yellowbear's Life." Casper Star Tribune, April 5, 2006; Anthony Lane. "Tension Punctuated Couple's Relationship." Casper Star Tribune, April 8, 2006.
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