MI MI - Richard 42, & Shirley Robison 40, & 4 children, Good Hart, 25 Jun 1968

[itsrak]

Neighbors who saw Fulton's car at Summerset when he retrieved his canoe said that they saw the same car there on July 4,1968, before the bodies were discovered.

I found it interesting that Mardi Link's book on this case made barely any mention of Marvin Fulton at all. Of course, he was long dead by the time she wrote her book. The book does, however, note that Marvin Fulton was a beneficiary to the estate of the Robisons and did receive a chunk of the e$tate...cha ching!

MOTIVE.

 

[AM90]

I think the evidence points to Scolaro murdering the family. Either he did it or he was framed. It is interesting, though, to wonder if the Zodiac Killer could be responsible. As others have pointed out, a person who called himself "Zodius" posted an odd message in the Detroit Press newspaper regarding info about the Robinson family murder. This happened shortly before the official Zodiac murders in California happened. Interestingly, Zodius means "He who God gives victory" and is Celtic. The Zodiac Killer's symbol looks like it could be a Celtic cross, and officer Don Fouke commented that the man he saw during the Paul Stine murder looked Welsh. This may mean nothing but is still worth bringing up. Also, if Ray Davis was murdered by the Zodiac Killer, it is worth noting that he lived in Michigan before moving to California. The only Zodiac POIs that I know with connections to both Michigan and California are Ted Kazynski and Robert Ivan Nichols.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Robison family, Richard, 42, Shirley, 40, and their four children -- ages 19, 16, 12 and 7 -- were from Lathrup Village. They were spending the summer in a cottage in a secluded resort area in Good Hart, Michigan. They were last seen by the caretaker on June 24, 1968.

The caretaker said he noticed bullet holes in the window of the cottage in July and checked under the house after he smelled a strong odor. He did not investigate any further because he said he thought the bullet holes were caused by children using pellet guns.

All six family members were found dead on July 22, 1968, after two people living nearby complained to the caretaker of an odor, according to UpNorthLive. Police said they had all been shot, beaten and left for about a month in the summer heat until their bodies were discovered.

“It was a mass murder,”Lt. Col. Melvin Kaufman, then-deputy director of the Michigan State Police told the Associated Press. The Emmett County prosecutor and undersheriff issued a joint statement saying, “We feel these murders were premeditated.”

Northern Michigan massacre: Family of 6 from Metro Detroit murdered in summer home 54 years ago

A family of six from Metro Detroit was killed in their summer home 54 years ago, and many questions remain unanswered to this day.

www.clickondetroit.com

 

[Richard]

54 years ago...

 

[itsrak]

54 years ago...

And a mystery still.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

A Web of Intrigue - Hour Detroit Magazine

Forty years ago this month, six vacationing members of the Robison family were murdered at their secluded cottage in the northern Michigan village of Good Hart.

www.hourdetroit.com

An adopted child of Michigan’s north country, Carolyn Sutherland talks freely about Good Hart in the dead of winter. How the interminable snow is always whiter than the stuff downstate. How there’s no salt on the roads and no dampness in the air. How the only really bad time is mud season, those ugly months of November and April when Old Man Winter can’t decide whether he’s coming or going.

“That’s when I head for Florida,” says the saucy sexagenarian, who grew up in Huntington Woods. “I have my drinks poolside.”

What sets the proprietor of the village’s general-goods store apart from other locals is that she’s equally glib about the dead of summer in Good Hart — the dead of the summer of 1968, to be precise. “People come into the store and they all want to know about the murders. I’m a walking encyclopedia, so I tell ’em.”

It was a crime that gripped the state and focused an unwelcome microscope on this stretch of wooded bluffs hugging the Lake Michigan shore...

 

[Richard]

Many interesting theories and possible suspects, but still an unsolved mass murder 54 years later.

 

[itsrak]

A Web of Intrigue - Hour Detroit Magazine

Forty years ago this month, six vacationing members of the Robison family were murdered at their secluded cottage in the northern Michigan village of Good Hart.

www.hourdetroit.com

An adopted child of Michigan’s north country, Carolyn Sutherland talks freely about Good Hart in the dead of winter. How the interminable snow is always whiter than the stuff downstate. How there’s no salt on the roads and no dampness in the air. How the only really bad time is mud season, those ugly months of November and April when Old Man Winter can’t decide whether he’s coming or going.

“That’s when I head for Florida,” says the saucy sexagenarian, who grew up in Huntington Woods. “I have my drinks poolside.”

What sets the proprietor of the village’s general-goods store apart from other locals is that she’s equally glib about the dead of summer in Good Hart — the dead of the summer of 1968, to be precise. “People come into the store and they all want to know about the murders. I’m a walking encyclopedia, so I tell ’em.”

It was a crime that gripped the state and focused an unwelcome microscope on this stretch of wooded bluffs hugging the Lake Michigan shore...

Joe Scolaro? Monnie Bliss? John Norman Collins?...or...

 

[itsrak]

So Mrs. Robison's brother was curiously listed as an officer of Mr. Robison's company. And he'd for some reason been invited to lunch with Mr. Robison and a key employee of Mr. Robison's big client Masco/Delta who may have been engaged in a scam of overbill Masco. And Mr. Robison had been expecting a large $200k inflow the day of the murders - from Masco? And Mr. Fulton, curiously, may well have showed up at the murder scene on July 4 while the bodies were rotting inside the cabin, and showed up there again after bodies were discovered and investigation was underway (neighbors/witnesses who saw the red car on both occasions think it was the same car on both dates). The victims had been struck with both .22 and .25 cal ammo.

And so a bit over a year later the cops run a check for any guns registered to Mr. Fulton. What are the odds that a) he'd have registered weapons and b) that he had acquired both relatively recently (within 12 months of the murders) and c) that one would be a .22 cal and the other would be a .25 cal (and these aren't sporting/hunting guns, they're pistols)....same as the murder weapons! and d) that police would conclude that the lands and grooves of the guns matched those of the weapons used in the murders!

... or was the perp the usual - a family member? A member of the Robison family? Shirley Robison's brother, Richard Robison's brother-in-law, Mr. Marvin Fulton. That'd be my bet.... His guns were a match. His car was a match. He may well have been at the crime scene after the murders but before the bodies were discovered. He was listed as an officer of Mr. Robison's company. And he had motive - believe he inherited a chunk of the estate....

 

[Richard]

John Norman Collins has a long thread in the serial killer topic area.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Recently heard about this horrific & incredibly tragic Robison family case. After doing some research on this crime, I still don't have any strong opinion(s) on who the perp./perps. were.

-I don't believe that this was a random event by a serial killer who was only interested in sick mayhem, etc. It doesn't make a lot of sense that a stranger (who didn't already know them ahead of time) would randomly & viciously go after an entire family like this in a remote cabin. And, they didn't even live in that area full-time - but were only there on summer vacation.

-This crime seems specifically targeted towards these family members & the motive may very well have been money/revenge.

I wonder if the case will ever be solved at this point. It's been 50+ years, and it's very possible the perp./perps. have already passed.

Here's a recent article about the case:

Who killed the Robison family? 55-year-old mystery still haunts Northern Michigan

55 years ago, all six members of the family were slain in their Lake Michigan cottage near Good Hart. Their killer was never caught.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Richard]

55 years ago and still unsolved today.


The Robison family, Murdered 25 June 1968.

 

[Melquiades]

Surprised there's much doubt from people posting here. To me this is an open-and-shut case and the only reason the prime suspect hasn't been in jail for the last 50 years is because he killed himself as he was about to be charged.

Scolaro had motive, means, and opportunity and the firearms/ballistics evidence is absolutely damning. He owned both types of guns used in the case, conveniently 'gave them away' just before the murders, shell casings known to have been fired by Scolaro from one of his guns matched casings at the murder scene, and he was known to have bought the rare type of ammo used in the killing a few months prior. He did it, beyond a doubt.

 

[Betty P]

Surprised there's much doubt from people posting here. To me this is an open-and-shut case and the only reason the prime suspect hasn't been in jail for the last 50 years is because he killed himself as he was about to be charged.

Scolaro had motive, means, and opportunity and the firearms/ballistics evidence is absolutely damning. He owned both types of guns used in the case, conveniently 'gave them away' just before the murders, shell casings known to have been fired by Scolaro from one of his guns matched casings at the murder scene, and he was known to have bought the rare type of ammo used in the killing a few months prior. He did it, beyond a doubt.

Yes, the Michigan SP did a very thorough investigation, JMO. They followed all the leads and looked at numerous suspects. The discovery of Scolaro's embezzling and strong ballistics evidence made a good case.

IIRC, Emmett County was reluctant to pursue prosecution because of the cost. About the time the state had built a solid case, Scolaro committed suicide.

 

[Richard]

55 Years later...

The big question remains: Why would he (or anyone) want to kill the entire family?

 

[Melquiades]

55 Years later...

The big question remains: Why would he (or anyone) want to kill the entire family?

I guess there are two possibilities :

1) It was planned that way by Scolaro to try and throw suspicion off him and make the crime look like a random sex-motivated attack.

2) Scolaro initially only intended to kill Richard Robison and then something went wrong or he was spotted by other family members and then once that happened he killed the rest of them to eliminate witnesses, and then staged the crime scene.

I suspect it's probably (2) given that the initial shots fired were on Richard Robison through a window into the cabin and then the rest of the family was executed with a different gun inside the cabin.

 

[Richard]

I guess there are two possibilities :

1) It was planned that way by Scolaro to try and throw suspicion off him and make the crime look like a random sex-motivated attack.

2) Scolaro initially only intended to kill Richard Robison and then something went wrong or he was spotted by other family members and then once that happened he killed the rest of them to eliminate witnesses, and then staged the crime scene.

I suspect it's probably (2) given that the initial shots fired were on Richard Robison through a window into the cabin and then the rest of the family was executed with a different gun inside the cabin.

Good analysis. However, this case is full of mysteries and anomalies that makes it hard to fully comprehend and solve.

Besides Scolaro, several other potential suspects were also suggested and some investigated - among them: The cabin caretaker Chauncy Bliss, two ex-convicts Bloxum and Brock, Brother-in-law Marvin Fulton, Serial Killer Ed Edwards, the Zodiac, and Michigan Co-ed killer John Norman Collins, as well as possibly Mr. Robison himself.

For Scolaro to have carried out this crime alone would almost require superhuman abilities and inhuman personality traits. He would have needed a compelling reason to travel all the way up to a remote location - and back home, in a very short time frame, without being seen, and attempting to establish a strong alibi. And he would have had to have been absolutely cold blooded to have killed an entire family in such a manner.

Police initially stated that a total of 4 firearms were used, and yet only .22 and .25 bullets were found at the site and in the bodies. A single weapon with more substantial knock-down power would have been a better choice. And why would one person bring a total of four guns to the scene?

Unfortunately, none of those weapons were ever found or connected to the murders with a strong enough chain of evidence to convict anyone. The closest any of the ballistic tests came was to say that the shell casings from one of the guns (found at the scene) matched casings found at a shooting range that Scolaro was said (by whom?) to have used at one time.

The possibility exists that maybe Scolaro arranged the murders and hired professional killers to carry out the job. If that is the case, how did his ammunition and possibly his firearms become involved? Wouldn't a professional killer provide his own weapon(s)?

The use of a small caliber weapon like a .22 or .25 is often a choice of either a professional hitman or of a person ignorant of firearms. A larger caliber rifle or pistol, while much more effective, would have made a lot more noise and would have raised the possibility of a neighbor becoming alarmed. But if the killer(s) wanted to delay discovery of the scene, why turn up the furnace heat? Certainly confusing factors.

It is somewhat telling that Scolaro disposed of (claimed to have sold) his firearms so quickly and that they could not be located by investigators. Some summaries state that two of the Robinson boys may have been trying to get to a bedroom for a .22 rifle to use in defending the family, yet other summaries state categorically that no firearms were found at the scene.

Scolaro's suicide in 1973, as an investigation into him was heating up, is certainly a strong indication of his involvement, even though in his suicide note he denied killing the family.

The fact that a luggage tag bearing Mrs. Robison's name and address turned up in an abandoned car in Toledo, Ohio years later might indicate that there were, in fact, others involved in this mass murder, although it is truly a mystery as to how or why it turned up in the glove compartment of this car.

Another big question is: Why did it take so long for anyone to figure out that there was a problem at the Robison cabin? Suspicion might point to the caretaker/manager of those cabins - a strange person as some have pointed out. The heat in the cabin had been turned up full blast on 25 June 1968, which would have hastened decomposition of the bodies, and yet it was 22 July before the bodies were discovered. Nobody noticed the odor? Or didn't think it important enough to mention? And their car would have remained in one place, undriven - another clue.

Some case summaries state that robbery did not seem to be a factor, since some cash and Mr. Robison's ring were not taken. However, could there have possibly been a large amount of cash, papers, or valuables in that cabin? If the perpetrator(s) had time to re-arrange the bodies and stage the scene, perhaps they also had time to thoroughly search it as well. Shirley Robison's wedding ring was taken.

Was the murder of this whole family the objective? Or was it just something that occurred in an attempt to kill Mr. Robison and then eliminate witnesses? Or was the main target Shirley Robison? Or Susan?

The killing of little Susan by bludgeoning with a hammer was a totally cruel and violent act which set it aside from the other murders by firearm. And what of the sexual component of the crime regarding Mrs. Robison? And the theft of her wedding ring? This part of the story sounds very similar to the crimes attributed to John Norman Collins. Collins was a thief and burglar and he had accomplices in those crimes - and he knew Richie Robison personally. Perhaps only coincidence, but something to seriously consider.

Only five or six days after the murders of the Robisons, Joan Schell was abducted by three men in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One of those men was John Norman Collins. Joan's mutilated and decomposed body was found several days later.

 

[Melquiades]

Good analysis. However, this case is full of mysteries and anomalies that makes it hard to fully comprehend and solve.

Besides Scolaro, several other potential suspects were also suggested and some investigated - among them: The cabin caretaker Chauncy Bliss, two ex-convicts Bloxum and Brock, Brother-in-law Marvin Fulton, Serial Killer Ed Edwards, the Zodiac, and Michigan Co-ed killer John Norman Collins, as well as possibly Mr. Robison himself.

For Scolaro to have carried out this crime alone would almost require superhuman abilities and inhuman personality traits. He would have needed a compelling reason to travel all the way up to a remote location - and back home, in a very short time frame, without being seen, and attempting to establish a strong alibi. And he would have had to have been absolutely cold blooded to have killed an entire family in such a manner.

Police initially stated that a total of 4 firearms were used, and yet only .22 and .25 bullets were found at the site and in the bodies. A single weapon with more substantial knock-down power would have been a better choice. And why would one person bring a total of four guns to the scene?

Unfortunately, none of those weapons were ever found or connected to the murders with a strong enough chain of evidence to convict anyone. The closest any of the ballistic tests came was to say that the shell casings from one of the guns (found at the scene) matched casings found at a shooting range that Scolaro was said (by whom?) to have used at one time.

The possibility exists that maybe Scolaro arranged the murders and hired professional killers to carry out the job. If that is the case, how did his ammunition and possibly his firearms become involved? Wouldn't a professional killer provide his own weapon(s)?

The use of a small caliber weapon like a .22 or .25 is often a choice of either a professional hitman or of a person ignorant of firearms. A larger caliber rifle or pistol, while much more effective, would have made a lot more noise and would have raised the possibility of a neighbor becoming alarmed. But if the killer(s) wanted to delay discovery of the scene, why turn up the furnace heat? Certainly confusing factors.

It is somewhat telling that Scolaro disposed of (claimed to have sold) his firearms so quickly and that they could not be located by investigators. Some summaries state that two of the Robinson boys may have been trying to get to a bedroom for a .22 rifle to use in defending the family, yet other summaries state categorically that no firearms were found at the scene.

Scolaro's suicide in 1973, as an investigation into him was heating up, is certainly a strong indication of his involvement, even though in his suicide note he denied killing the family.

The fact that a luggage tag bearing Mrs. Robison's name and address turned up in an abandoned car in Toledo, Ohio years later might indicate that there were, in fact, others involved in this mass murder, although it is truly a mystery as to how or why it turned up in the glove compartment of this car.

Another big question is: Why did it take so long for anyone to figure out that there was a problem at the Robison cabin? Suspicion might point to the caretaker/manager of those cabins - a strange person as some have pointed out. The heat in the cabin had been turned up full blast on 25 June 1968, which would have hastened decomposition of the bodies, and yet it was 22 July before the bodies were discovered. Nobody noticed the odor? Or didn't think it important enough to mention? And their car would have remained in one place, undriven - another clue.

Some case summaries state that robbery did not seem to be a factor, since some cash and Mr. Robison's ring were not taken. However, could there have possibly been a large amount of cash, papers, or valuables in that cabin? If the perpetrator(s) had time to re-arrange the bodies and stage the scene, perhaps they also had time to thoroughly search it as well. Shirley Robison's wedding ring was taken.

Was the murder of this whole family the objective? Or was it just something that occurred in an attempt to kill Mr. Robison and then eliminate witnesses? Or was the main target Shirley Robison? Or Susan?

The killing of little Susan by bludgeoning with a hammer was a totally cruel and violent act which set it aside from the other murders by firearm. And what of the sexual component of the crime regarding Mrs. Robison? And the theft of her wedding ring? This part of the story sounds very similar to the crimes attributed to John Norman Collins. Collins was a thief and burglar and he had accomplices in those crimes - and he knew Richie Robison personally. Perhaps only coincidence, but something to seriously consider.

Only five or six days after the murders of the Robisons, Joan Schell was abducted by three men in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One of those men was John Norman Collins. Joan's mutilated and decomposed body was found several days later.

It’s just beyond a doubt that Scolaro did it. The firearms stuff is absolutely damning.

It’s not impossible that he had an accomplice but if he did it was probably some buddy of his that is on nobody’s radar.

Anything mentioning Edwards/Zodiac/Collins is just nonsense. This was a personal crime, not a random attack by some high-profile killer with zero connections to the case and a different MO who happened to be committing crimes at the same time.

 

[Richard]

It’s just beyond a doubt that Scolaro did it. The firearms stuff is absolutely damning.

It’s not impossible that he had an accomplice but if he did it was probably some buddy of his that is on nobody’s radar.

Anything mentioning Edwards/Zodiac/Collins is just nonsense. This was a personal crime, not a random attack by some high-profile killer with zero connections to the case and a different MO who happened to be committing crimes at the same time.

I think that, although there is much to support the inditement of Scolaro, there would have been plenty of "doubt" for the defense to have introduced in a trial, had Scolaro not committed suicide before one could be held.

The prosecution would have had to place him at the scene of the crime with some sort of positive forensic evidence, which would have been difficult to do. There were no fingerprints of his there, nobody saw him there, no gas receipts or phone records place him in the vicinity, etc. And any time line would have to fit to times when he was known to be elsewhere.

And the ballistic report could not conclusively determine, by rules of evidence, that Scolaro owned or fired the guns used in the crime. That does not mean that they couldn't attempt to introduce the reports as evidence, but there would certainly be questions and doubts raised because it would basically be only circumstantial evidence at best: The guns used were caliber .22 and .25 and Scolaro might have owned such weapons at some time, but they were unavailable for testing to be conclusively linked to the murders. The .22 caliber shell casings found at the scene reportedly matched some found on a public shooting range where Scolaro had done some target practice - but that is not proof that they were fired from his gun.

You are perhaps correct to state that this was a personal crime, but it could also be a very "impersonal" one committed by someone who was completely sociopathic. Thus the consideration of other potential suspects. Where is the evidence that Scolaro had ever committed such a horrendous act before or after? On the other hand, John Norman Collins was a budding serial killer who HAD likely committed other murder(s) before and after the murder of this entire family - and for no apparent reason other than his own love of killing. Collins certainly has never had any empathy for any of his victims. Collins was a burglar who broke into homes, he attacked female victims viscously by bludgeoning, shooting, stabbing, and strangulation. His known victims had clothing removed or cut from their bodies and often were mutilated badly. As to firearms - he did own a .22 pistol as well as other firearms that he had stolen. He also had associates or partners in some of his crimes.

However, as with Scolaro, placing Collins (or any other potential suspect) at the scene of the Robison family murders would be a difficult but necessary task for any prosecution.

 

[Richard]

Joseph Raymond “Joe” Scolaro III​

BIRTH 10 May 1938 Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA
DEATH 8 Mar 1973 (aged 34) Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan, USA
BURIAL Ottawa Park Cemetery Clarkston, Oakland County, Michigan, USA
PLOT Block 3, section 100, grave 6




LINKS:

Joseph Raymond “Joe” Scolaro III (1938-1973) -...

www.findagrave.com

Mystery of Michigan family slaughtered in their log cabin in 1968 remains unsolved

On the steamy afternoon of July 22, 1968, a group of women sat down at an outdoor table in Good Hart, Mich., to play bridge.

www.nydailynews.com