10 Horrifying Details Surrounding Robbie Middleton, Who Was Tied To A Tree And Set On Fire

6 /10 Going To The Hospital

Robert was then taken to the hospital. There, he was treated for third-degree burns that covered 99% of his body. The only part of his body that remained untouched was the soles of his feet.

While his parents were told he would not survive, to their surprise, he did. He would later have over 150 operations and receive physical therapy at the Shriners Burn Hospital in Galveston, Texas.

5 /10 The Original Trial Of Don Collins

While Don was charged with the crime initially in 1998, the case did not go to trial as prosecutors did not have enough evidence to win.

As the crime was committed when Don was only 13 years old, there was also trying him as an adult, as this age for adult certification was 14.

However, this was changed in 1999 in the state of Texas and lowered to 10 years old. As Robert died in 2011, it was determined that the lower certification age was thus relevant in the case against Don the second time around in 2015.

4 /10 Charging Don For His Crime

At the time of Robert’s death, Don was already serving time for sexually assaulting another eight-year-old boy in 2001 when he was 16 years old.

He also served time for failing to register as a sex offender and was released from prison on September 5th, 2011. After Robert’s death, a coroner deemed it a homicide, and Don was put on trial for the attack.

3 /10 Don On Trial Again

During his trial, a jury convicted Don of murdering Robert on February 9th, 2015. During the trial, prosecutors described him as a child rapist and a monster who liked to intimidate boys and even bragged about setting Robert on fire.

Other evidence shown included an interview conducted by a photographer where Don spoke at the scene of the attack, gave specific details of the crime, and even admitted to playing with fire.

2 /10 The Second Trial Continues

While there were no eyewitnesses and no physical evidence for the crime, the prosecution’s case was strengthened by accounts of witnesses who had heard Don brag about the attack.

Robert’s testimony also indicated that Don attacked him and an adult he could hear but not see. Don was sentenced to 40 years in prison. While the defense tried to appeal the conviction, this was later rejected in 2017.

1 /10 Outcome For The Middleton Family

The Middleton family received the most significant compensation awarded in court at $150 billion in December 2011. This exceeded the Florida tobacco verdict in 2000 of $145 billion, though it was later overturned.

While this was done symbolically, this kept the case in the public eye and kept up the pressure on prosecutors to continue the case against Don.

While Robert’s family was sad to wait 17 years for justice to come for their son, they were thrilled that Don would not be able to hurt another boy and felt that Robert would be satisfied with the outcome.