Jacob Randall Robison (Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office)
A 23-year-old man in Florida was arrested last week for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, beating the child so severely that her body was bruised “from head to toe,” in what ER doctors described as “the worst case they’d ever seen.” Jacob Randall Robison was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of second-degree murder in the toddler’s death, court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) at about 11:09 p.m. on the night of July 12 responded to a call from the victim’s mother who said her 1-year-old daughter was “not breathing and turning blue.” She advised the dispatcher that she was pulling into the Dollar General store in the 1400 block of Shadeville Road, which is about 20 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders say they found the mother — identified in court documents as “Skyler” — in the parking lot crying and clutching her daughter to her chest while pleading for help. Two deputies attempted life-saving measures with an AED and chest compressions, but said the little girl was covered in bruises and “completely unresponsive.” Wakulla County Fire Rescue paramedics arrived and transported the child to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where medical staff in the emergency room pronounced her dead.
Detectives at the hospital noted that the victim had “significant bruising to her jawline, chest, and buttocks” as well as additional bruising “from head to toe,” saying it appeared the toddler “had been beaten to death.”
“While in the ER, [a detective] spoke to medical staff in the ER who advised this was the worst case they’d ever seen and whomever was responsible should be put away,” the affidavit states.
A subsequent autopsy found that the victim had recently suffered two separate brain hemorrhages that were “not consistent with a single act.”
Skyler told investigators she had been at work earlier in the day when her live-in boyfriend — identified as Robison — texted her saying he was “cuddling” with the victim when she somehow fell off of the bed, adding, “so if she has another knot on her head [you know] why,” according to court documents.
“She hit hard so I’m sure there will be,” Robison wrote in reference to the head injury, according to the police report.
Skyler advised that she and Robison lived in a shed behind Robison’s parents’ home with her daughter and Robison’s 2-year-old son.
When the victim’s mother arrived home from work at around 10 p.m. that evening, she said her daughter was in her playpen and had “purple lips with a blanket covering her body to her chin.”
“Skyler removed the blanket from [the victim] and saw bruises on her face and body,” the affidavit states. Skyler also stated [the victim] wasn’t breathing, was cold to the touch, and was limp.” Skyler reported that [the victim] did not have bruises to her body when she left for work earlier in the evening.”
Skyler started driving toward the hospital with her daughter before calling 911 for help. Meanwhile, police say Robison told his mother that Skyler was taking her daughter to the hospital and left his son with his mother, explaining that he was going to follow her to the hospital. However, Robison never arrived at the hospital and his father told police that Robison turned off the GPS tracker on his phone just before midnight that evening.
Investigators looking over the crime scene noted that the couple’s bed was wedged between a wall on one side and the baby’s playpen on the other side, “leaving no room for a child to fall as [Robison] claimed.” They also found what appeared to be blood on the underside of a pillow in the baby’s playpen.
Investigators ran Robison’s license plate through a tracking system and located his vehicle in Albany, Georgia — more than 100 miles north of Tallahassee — at about 1:26 a.m. on July 13.
Robison was arrested later that day and is currently being held in the Wakulla County Jail without bond. Robison also has a pending case for child abuse and battery in the county which was filed in April 2023. It is unclear who the alleged victim was in the prior abuse case.
Robison has filed a request to be represented by a public defender in the murder case.
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