By Courtney Dentch
A St. Albans man who confessed to killing his boss blamed the woman for being too strict with him even as he apologized for the 2000 shooting during his court sentencing last week.
Steven Robinson, 42, of 115-27 114th Rd., received 20 years to life in prison for the murder of Elizabeth Parker, a 58-year-old Flushing resident and Robinson’s supervisor at the New York State Veterans Home in St. Albans. The sentence was imposed by Justice Robert Hanophy in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens Oct. 16.
With his head bowed, Robinson told the court, which was filled with Parker’s children and grandchildren as well as his own father, that Parker made him hate a job in which he felt trapped.
“There’s no excuse for what happened,” he said. “That day I felt there was nothing to live for. I was being taken advantage of. I just lost it.”
Robinson confessed to the murder just days after the Aug. 8, 2000 crime, before turning the gun on himself.
“I wanted to die also,” he said. “I put a gun to my head, but for some reason I’m still here. I’d blow my brains out again if it would make [Parker’s] family feel better.”
An ex-con out on parole, Robinson had started working as a custodian at the veterans home in 1997 through a prison work-release program while serving time for drug-related charges. He had a poor relationship with Parker, who he said singled him out for criticism and threatened to send him back to jail.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson and Parker had an argument over a key. Robinson left the hospital and returned with a gun, which he used to shoot Parker in her office, according to the criminal complaint.
Robinson pleaded guilty to the killing last month in exchange for the 20-year sentence. He faced a maximum of 25 years if convicted at trial.
Robinson’s father, the Rev. Willie Robinson, assistant pastor at St. John’s Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Albans supported his son’s claim of abuse from Parker as he condemned his son’s actions.
“Murder is murder, but it has to be provoked. She stressed him out for two years,” he said. “Her family knew her at home, they didn’t know her on the job.”
But Parker’s 37-year-old daughter Lisa defended her mother through tears as she addressed Hanophy.
“From the start Steven Robinson and his father tried to portray my mother as a demonic woman who picked on and threatened him,” Lisa Parker said. “This inappropriate statement and sad attempt to blame the victim is an attempt to justify his despicable act of murder.”
Self-justification aside, Robinson also expressed his remorse for killing Parker.
“There is no way I can ask forgiveness from the family,” Robinson said. “Only God can do that. I’m still trying to forgive myself.”
Parker’s family, several of whom wore pendants bearing Elizabeth Parker’s picture, plans to do everything they can to keep Robinson in prison for the rest of his life, said Lisa Parker, reading a statement for her daughter, Latisha Dukes, who was overwhelmed with emotion.
“In 20 years you’ll see me again,” said Parker on behalf of her daughter. “Every time parole comes up I’ll be there.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
