It's been nearly a decade since evil Don Collins was put behind bars for an abhorrent crime – after he was exposed in his victim's deathbed video.
Little Robbie Middleton's eighth birthday celebrations were meant to be a day filled with joy but turned into a nightmare. That's because Collins, 13 at the time, bound Robbie to a tree, drenched him in petrol and set him alight.
Surviving against all odds, young Robbie bore burns across 99% of his body for over a decade until his life was claimed by cancer, brought on by the extensive injuries.
In February 2015, justice caught up with Collins when he was handed a 40-year prison sentence. Robbie's mother, Colleen, spoke outside the courtroom of the eerie feeling she always had about the boy who would become her son’s torturer, stating: "He just had the deadest looking expression on his face and eyes and they just looked cold.
"Even as a little child I would look at him and he was expressionless. His eyes were just blank."
As we near the ten-year mark of punishment for this chilling crime, we reflect back at the haunting case.
Robbie, the youngest child of Colleen and Robby, woke with as much excitement as any eight-year-old on his birthday on June 28,1998.
He had received a new tent for his birthday and made plans to see a friend before dedicating the rest of his special day to family in Splendora, Texas, reports the Mirror.
But as he walked home to his family, he was confronted by Don Collins, the same person who allegedly raped him two weeks previously.
Collins, armed with gasoline, was supposedly driven by a sinister motive – to silence Robbie and prevent him from revealing the shocking truth. In a horrific act of violence, Collins set Robbie on fire, leaving him with severe burns that would alter his life forever.
Robbie, with his skin melting away, miraculously managed to stumble out of the woods and back home, where his mother found him. The little boy was unrecognisable, his body ravaged by the flames.
Doctors were astonished to find that only the soles of his feet had escaped the burns. Robbie's chances of survival were slim, but he defied the odds, undergoing over 150 operations and numerous skin grafts.
Despite being severely disfigured, Robbie's spirit remained unbroken, inspiring his friends and family with his courage. In a remarkable display of resilience, he said: "The past is, well, the past. You must let it go."
However, as Robbie grew older, his suffering intensified.
He had to relearn how to walk multiple times due to the constant need for new skin grafts, and he was eventually diagnosed with skin cancer. Robbie passed away in April 2011, at just 20 years old.
in a remarkable act of bravery, he had made a video just 17 days before his death, exposing Collins and ensuring that justice would be served. In the 27-minute video, Robbie revealed the shocking truth about Collins, including the alleged rape that had occurred weeks before the deadly attack.
Collins, who had neglected to register as a sex offender, was already imprisoned when Robbie's death was declared a homicide. Five months after the heartbreaking demise,, Collins faced charges of felony murder, with the deathbed video serving as crucial evidence.
In the harrowing footage, courageous Robbie stated: "Don grabbed me by the shoulder and threw gas in my face, after that I don't really remember anything."
Collins, who allegedly once killed a kitten by stomping on it, was initially taken into custody shortly after the incident but was released without charge.
Following the emergence of the explosive video years later, he entered a plea of not guilty. During his trial, other witnesses came forward accusing him of sexual assault and claimed he had threatened to set them on fire if they ever disclosed what happened.
Robbie's mother recounted how there was a "perfect outline" of her son's figure burnt into a tree following the horrific attack.
Collins received the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and afterwards, a relieved Colleen addressed the media, saying: "I am sure Robert is with us and he is happy. He blamed Don, there was no doubt in his mind."
Reflecting on her feelings, she continued: "I am just going to enjoy this day and not worry about anything else. I am enjoying the moment, I am very happy."
Prior to the criminal trial, Robbie's parents, Colleen and Bobby, were awarded $150 billion in a civil lawsuit against Collins.
Responding to the symbolic gesture, Colleen expressed: "We're never going to see any money. What we thought was please let these people realise Robert was previously, like everybody else's child, and he didn't deserve this.
"When they came back with the $150billion, I was like: 'They get it.' And that made me feel so good."
