Man who killed 4-year-old as a teenager blames his anger for bullying | New York News

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By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press

Eric M. Smith told New York State parole officers who granted his release that he “became the bully I didn’t like” when at age 13 he lured a boy from 4 years old in the woods, strangled him and beat him to death with a stone. , according to a transcript of the hearing released Wednesday.

“When I saw him, the first thought I had was that I wanted to hurt him,” Smith, now 41, said during his 11th and final parole hearing on Oct. 5 in Woodbourne Medium Security Correctional Institution.

He blamed his attack on Derrick Robie, whom he didn’t know, on the pent-up anger that he was regularly brought to tears by other children who targeted him for being small with red hair and glasses.

“After years of thinking, looking at who I was then and what was going on, I basically became the bully I didn’t like for the rest of my life,” Smith said.

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In a decision two days later, board members said they took into account Smith’s age at the time of the attack, the mistreatment he described in his childhood and his clear criminal record for having granted his release after more than 28 years and 10 previous refusals.

The ruling “should in no way be interpreted as condoning your heinous behavior or mitigating the terrible loss of life you have caused,” the ruling said.

Derrick’s parents, Dale and Doreen Robie, have opposed Smith’s release whenever it was considered. They could not be reached for comment on Wednesday; a telephone list for Dale Robie was not in service.

Over the years, parents have pushed for parole reforms that include extending the time between hearings for violent offenders from two to five years now.

Smith was convicted of second degree murder in 1994 after killing Derrick as the young boy walked alone in the Steuben County village of Savona in August 1993.

The case received wide attention due to the young age of the victim and suspect, along with a widely circulated photo of Smith in court wearing a Bugs Bunny sweatshirt and with a tuft of red hair.

He told the parole board that as a 13-year-old teenager who struggled in school, he had an unhealthy attitude and lacked the skills to express himself.

Smith said he was cycling near the summer recreation program he occasionally attended when he saw Derrick heading to the park lodge.

“I asked him if he wanted to be shown a shortcut, and I told him I would take him there,” Smith said. He detailed the boy’s strangulation until he passed out, repeatedly hitting him, hitting his head with a stone, then sodomizing him with a stick to make sure he was dead so that the boy couldn’t tell.

He confessed a week later.

Smith’s lawyer argued unsuccessfully that he was mentally ill. Smith was sentenced to nine years in life.

Once released, as early as Wednesday, Smith said he would likely live with his mother until the arrival of his fiancee, who has not been identified, and that he would use his training in prison to pursue work in electricity or carpentry.

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