Teen faces murder charge

PALMER — He woke up to his parents arguing — it wasn’t this first time — and then his dad moved onto him.

This time, though, 16-year-old William Samuel Carson Robinson told police, he responded with a gun, firing all six rounds from a revolver at his father, killing him in the family living room.

Robinson was formally charged Wednesday with murder in the death of his 57-year-old father, William Robinson Sr.

According to documents Alaska State Trooper David M. Bower filed in the case against Robinson Jr., the shooting was reported at 3:07 a.m., Tuesday.

The boy’s mother, Nicole Robinson, called it in to dispatchers, who sent officers to the family home on Yeoman Drive, which is in the neighborhoods off of Pittman Road near Beverly Lake Road.

“The Palmer police dispatcher gave Nicole and William Jr. instructions for first aid and CPR, which they appeared to attempt. Nicole reported there had been an altercation where William Sr. was being aggressive and then William Jr. shot (William Sr.),” Bower writes in the court documents.

When medics got to the house they pronounced Robinson Sr. dead. Troopers took the mother and her son out of the house and interviewed them at the Pittman Road post.

Nicole Robinson told troopers that her husband had woken up and became upset, accusing her of taking his prescription pills from his shirt pocket. They started arguing.

“Nicole said William Sr. said he was going to shoot her, and she said she’d shoot him, but neither actually attempted to do so,” Bower writes.

Nicole Robison went into the bathroom to get ready to leave the house. Robinson Sr. went outside to disable the Pontiac parked there.

Robinson Jr. told troopers that he woke up to the sound of his parents fighting. While his father was outside, he went and got a revolver out of the living room and “brought it to his room to hide it.”

“William Jr. stated verbal arguing occurred frequently in the home, but stated that this time the arguing seemed to have escalated,” Bower writes.

The teen told troopers that when his dad came back inside he was shouting at him, being “verbally assaultive.” Robinson Jr. went back and forth from his room to the living room several times during the argument.

Eventually he took the gun out of its case, walked to the living room, pausing on his way to tell his mother to stay in the bathroom.

“William Jr. then went to the doorway of the living room where his father was sitting on the sofa. As his father started to stand up, William Jr. stated he took about two steps forward and fired all six rounds at his father. He then went back to his bedroom where he told his mother what happened,” Bower writes.

“William Jr. stated he shot his father because he was afraid of what his father might do to his mother or him,” Bowers writes. “William Jr. stated his father has never physically assaulted him and he has never actually seen his father physically assault his mother, although his mother told him about six months ago that William Sr. pulled her hair. William Jr. stated that his father had not physically assaulted anyone that night, only that he was very angry.”

Six hours after the shooting at 9 a.m., Alaska State Troopers arrested the younger Robinson. He was charged with first-degree murder.

Children at least 16 years of age are automatically waived into adult court in Alaska when the charge they face is murder, manslaughter, first-degree robbery, first-degree sexual abuse of a minor or first-degree assault. The potential penalty for a first-degree murder charge is up to 99 years in prison.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.