Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
John Edward Robinson is a notorious serial killer in American criminal history. He was born on 27 December 1943 in Cicero, the favourite town of the legendary Mafia boss Al Capone, in the US state of Illinois, and brutally murdered eight women between 1984 and 2000. Robinson gained dubious notoriety as ‘the internet’s first serial killer’, as he contacted and subsequently killed most of his victims after 1993 via online chat rooms in BDSM forums under the alias ‘Slavemaster’. His double life as a serial killer only came to light in April 2000, after one woman reported Robinson for sexual assault and another accused him of stealing sex toys. Following a search warrant, two 85-pound chemical drums were found on his farm in Lynn County, Kansas, containing the decomposing bodies of two women. Shortly afterwards, investigators discovered further buried drums containing the bodies of three women in storage units outside Kansas City that belonged to Robinson. All had been killed by blows to the head with a blunt object. But who was this perverse sadist, who, until his arrest on 2 June 2000 by the Kansas City police, was regarded as a devout family man, yet had already had a long career as a fraudster even before the murders were discovered? Robinson grew up in difficult family circumstances; he was the middle of four children born to Henry and Alberta Robinson. Whilst his father was a heavy drinker who nevertheless provided for the family as a machinist at Western Electric, Robinson’s mother was a strict disciplinarian who ruled with an iron fist and tolerated no backtalk. Despite these circumstances, he managed to become an Eagle Scout in 1957. This was the highest rank a Boy Scout could achieve. At the age of 13, he travelled to England with his Scout group to perform in London before Queen Elizabeth II. Backstage, he met the legendary actress Judy Garland, who kissed him on the cheek – an incident that made headlines around the world. Later that same year, he enrolled at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, a school for aspiring priests, but dropped out after a year due to disciplinary problems. His education remained sporadic. He tried his hand at training as a medical radiographer at Morton Junior College, but did not complete that course either. In 1964, Robinson moved to Kansas City and married Nancy Jo Lynch, with whom he had three children: John Jr., Christopher and Christine. Whilst outwardly maintaining the appearance of a respected citizen and loving family man, his criminal career began. In 1969, he was arrested for the first time for embezzling $33,000 from Dr Wallace Graham’s medical practice, where he had worked as an X-ray technician, and was sentenced to three years’ probation. A year later, he breached the terms of his probation by moving to Chicago without obtaining permission from his probation officer, in order to work as an insurance agent for the R.B. Jones Company. In 1971, he was arrested again for embezzling company funds and sent back to Kansas City, where his probation was extended. In 1975, he was arrested again for securities and postal fraud in connection with a bogus medical consultancy firm he had set up. In the years that followed, Robinson – a stocky man who looked like the friendly neighbour next door – built up a reputation as a respected member of his community. He became a Scout leader, a baseball coach and a Sunday school teacher. He was a regular churchgoer who, in 1977, was appointed to the board of a local charity, where he forged letters from the organisation’s chief executive to the Mayor of Kansas City and from the Mayor to community leaders, in which he was named the organisation’s ‘Man of the Year’. Under this guise, he organised a banquet in his honour. Robinson, who was seen by the outside world as a ‘picture-perfect husband’, harboured perverse bondage fantasies, which he was unable to act out with his wife. He therefore used personal ads to seek out submissive women, whom he met in Missouri. They signed slavery contracts and Robinson engaged in a BDSM relationship with them, though he did not kill the women. After completing his probation in 1979, Robinson was arrested for embezzlement and cheque forgery and served sixty days in prison in 1982. After his release, he set up a bogus practice specialising in hydroponics. He swindled $25,000 from a friend, promising him a quick return on his investment so that the friend could pay for his dying wife’s medical bills. At this point, Robinson not only began sexually harassing his neighbours’ wives, but also claimed to be a ‘slavemaster’ in a secret BDSM society called the International Council of Masters, which allegedly kept women as sex slaves, raped and tortured them. In 1984, Robinson’s killing spree began. He set up two front companies and hired Paula Godfrey, a 19-year-old woman, as a sales representative. After Paula Godfrey had told her parents that Robinson was sending her away for training, she disappeared without trace. When they heard nothing more from her, Godfrey’s parents filed a missing person report. The police questioned Robinson, who denied having any knowledge of her whereabouts. A few days later, her parents received a typewritten letter bearing Godfrey’s signature at the bottom, in which she thanked Robinson for his help and stated that she was ‘fine’ and did not wish to see her family. The investigation was closed as Godfrey was of legal age and there was no evidence of a crime. To this day, there is no trace of Godfrey. A year later, under the alias John Osborne, Robinson met Lisa Stasi, a young mother, at a women’s shelter and promised her work and accommodation. Shortly afterwards, she and her daughter disappeared. No one suspected that Robinson had sold four-month-old Tiffany to his own brother, disguised as a legal adoption, which later proved to be illegal. Robinson demanded $5,500 from his brother Don and his sister-in-law Helen – who were unable to adopt a baby through the normal channels – to cover legal fees. It was only after the murders were discovered that a DNA test revealed that the adopted girl was Tiffany Stasi, the daughter of Lisa Stasi, who remains missing to this day. In 1987, Robinson had employed Catherine Clampitt, a 27-year-old single mother, who moved to Kansas City without her child, whom she had left with her parents in Texas. She, too, soon disappeared without trace. From 1987 to 1993, Robinson served several prison sentences for fraud and breaching the terms of his probation. During this time, he befriended 45-year-old Beverly Bonner, the librarian at the Missouri prison. After his release, Beverly filed for divorce from her husband and moved to Kansas to work for Robinson. Robinson arranged for her social security benefits to be redirected to him. Beverly Bonner was never seen again after that. Robinson had, in the meantime, discovered the internet and the world of BDSM chat rooms, where he posed as a ‘slavemaster’ and sought out women who enjoyed taking on the role of the submissive partner during sexual intercourse. Robinson always presented himself as a wealthy businessman who promised his ‘sex slaves’ the moon. One of his online acquaintances was Sheila Faith and her disabled daughter Debbie, to whom he promised a better life. He wanted to cover the treatment costs for Debbie, who suffered from cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair. Shortly after the pair had moved to Kansas City, they disappeared in 1994. Here, too, Robinson continued to collect Sheila’s social security benefits. The perverse thing was that he had raped not only Sheila, but also her paralysed daughter Debbie. Robinson’s next victim was Izabela Lewicka, a 21-year-old Polish immigrant. She moved to Kansas City and became entangled in a codependent relationship, which was set out in a 115-point ‘slave contract’. Robinson even got engaged to her and took her to the registry office, where she applied for a marriage certificate but never collected it. In the summer of 1999, she, too, disappeared without trace. Robinson told a web designer that she had been deported for using cannabis. His last known victim was Suzette Trouten, a nurse from Michigan, who was also lured to Kansas City via a BDSM relationship. After informing her family that she would be travelling with Robinson, she too disappeared. On 2 June 2000, Robinson was arrested at his farm in La Cygne, Kansas, after two women had reported him for sexual assault. During a search, investigators found the decomposed bodies of Izabela Lewicka and Suzette Trouten in chemical drums. In neighbouring Missouri, the task force discovered three further drums containing the bodies of Beverly Bonner, Sheila and Debbie Faith. Cat litter had been spread around the drums to mask the foul odour. Robinson was convicted of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to death in Kansas on 21 January 2003. He was also given a life sentence for the murder of Lisa Stasi. Missouri also sought the death penalty, but a compromise was reached: Robinson pleaded guilty and led investigators to further victims, such as Paula Godfrey and Catherine Clampitt. However, he showed no remorse and accepted no responsibility for the murders. Robinson remains on the death row list in Kansas. In 2005, his wife Nancy filed for divorce after 41 years of marriage. Until then, she had believed in her husband’s innocence, despite the overwhelming evidence, which illustrates that Robinson was a master of manipulation. In 2006, Lisa Stasi’s daughter sued the Truman Medical Centre, which had played a part in her illegitimate adoption, and received an undisclosed sum in compensation. Robinson’s life and crimes have been documented in several books and television programmes, including Internet Slave Master and Depraved. His case even led to numerous internet hoaxes warning against certain screen names allegedly linked to Robinson. This harrowing story highlights the dark side of the internet and how Robinson used it to destroy countless lives. Despite his cruel actions, he remains an example of how thorough investigations and cooperation between law enforcement agencies can help to secure justice for the victims.
