Accused "Blue Light" serial rapist in AR is found guilty of 1 rape,gets 80 yr.sentence,still faces trial for 3 more rapes
Joe1orbit
Over in Arkansas, the so-called "Blue Light Rapist", believed to have
serially raped at least 4 girls and women, has been found guilty of one count
of rape, in connection with a 1997 attack on a 17 year old girl. He was
sentenced yesterday to EIGHTY years in prison, which is a mighty harsh sentence
for a one-time rapist to receive. I BET that he had raped his own DAUGHTER, a
legally owned slave, he would have gotten 5 years or less of jail time. But
because he foolishly targeted a complete stranger, and prosecutors were allowed
to PREJUDICE the jury against Robert by having jurors who KNEW that Robert is a
suspected SERIAL rapist sit in judgement of him even though he was only CHARGED
with ONE rape of ONE gal, we have not only a guilty verdict, but a HUGE 80 year
prison term being imposed.
Robert Todd Burmingham is the full name of our suspected serial rapist. He
is 33 years old, and used the very clever modus operandi of impersonating a
cop, by putting a flashing blue light on top of his car and chasing cars being
driven by solo women that he found desirable as rape victims. When they pulled
over and stopped, thinking Robert was a cop, he promptly attacked them,
BLINDFOLDING them before they could get a look at him, & then raped them.
Police believe he used this identical MO to rape 3 gals. A fourth woman was
attacked inside her home.
Robert still faces 3 more trials, for raping three other gals. He continues
to maintain his innocence and his NICELY loyal wife is standing by his side,
even offering him an alibi for the night when this rape of the 17 year old
occured, by telling police and the court that her hubby was at home with her
that night. There is SOME forensic evidence linking Robert to these attacks,
but not 100% conclusive evidence. And so the 17 year old gal was put on the
witness stand to say that she recognized Robert's VOICE, as being that of the
man who raped her. How totally OUTRAGEOUS it is, for this type of BLIND
SPECULATION to be allowed in at trial to prejudice the jury against Robert. We
all know that NOBODY has a 100% distinctive voice, and it is IMPOSSIBLE for
anyone to make a 100% accurate identification of a person basd upon her MEMORY
of what the rapist's voice sounded like, a 16 months later, at trial.
We learn the very interesting detail that this "Blue Right Rapist" has
INSPIRED a COPYCAT. At least that's how police are slanting the story. Since
the police say that they CAUGHT the 'real' Blue Light Rapist, and of course
would NEVER want to admit to being WRONG, and having arrested an innocent man,
they are of course saying the the man who put a blue flashing light on his car
and pulled over a young woman driver in AR a few days ago, must be a 'copycat',
rather than the so-called "real" rapist, who is on trial right now. In this
latest incident the man flashed a GUN at the young gal after pulling her over,
but she got suspicious and hit the gas pedal, speeding away and probably
avoided getting herself raped or maybe even killed.
I think that Robert's lawyers should ZOOM in on this so-called "copycat", and
try to use this attack and any others in the future that involve a blue
flashing car hood light, to try and get this guilty verdict overturned on
appeal.
In a media interview yesterday morning, just BEFORE the judge handed down his
sentence, Robert declared: ""I am a family man. I live for my wife and kids. I
love farming. That's what I chose to do with my life. My wife and I have two
young children. I have only one flaw and that's deer hunting." Ha! Beautiful
little speech! Robert hit on ALL the buttons that you would expect a serial
rapist to cover, in an attempt to win leniency for the judge. He EMBRACED the
Sacred Family Unit, he embraced the toxic institution of MARRIAGE, and he
INVOKED his child-slaves. He was trying to TELL the judge: "Look, I know what
your society is about, and if it'll help me to get leniency, I'll be glad to go
along with your society's insane advocacy of the Sacred Family Unit/marriage &
family/hard-working societal-slave, set of societally desirable decrees."
Unfortunately, the judge was not swayed by this interview, and most likely did
not even hear it before imposing his harsh sentence.
In his closing argument to the jury, the prosecutor, as is usually the case,
resorted to PERVERSE hyperbole and tried to drive in the prejudicial nail into
Robert's coffin, telling the jury: ""We are not responsible for what happens to
his mortal soul, but we are obligated to protect society." Ah yes, that
PRECIOUS society, for which this prosecutor works as a HIT MAN, blindly doing
whatever it takes to throw anyone deemed "anti-society" into jail, happily
engaging in false prosecution, suppression of evidence, coercion, demonization,
and whatever else it takes to get 12 brainwashed jurors and an equally
societally beholden judge, to return a maximumly punitive punishment upon a
societal VICTIM and creation like Robert, who MIGHT even be INNOCENT of these
crimes.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Associated Press news wire:
Man Convicted in `Blue Light' Rapes
WYNNE, Ark. (AP) -- A man who used a police light to pull over a 17-year-old
girl and rape her was sentenced to 80 years in prison Friday.
The case against Robert Todd Burmingham is one of three in which he is accused
of being the ``Blue Light Rapist,'' an assailant who used a police-style blue
light on his car to stop female motorists and attack them.
Burmingham, whose lawyer was not sure if he would appeal, has yet to go to
trial in the other two cases. Burmingham maintained his innocence and his wife
testified that he was with her at home the night of the July 1997 attack.
The victim, who was traveling alone when she said she was stopped, testified
that she recognized Burmingham's voice.
AP-NY-11-20-98
-----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Reuters news wire:
Blue Light Rape Suspect Convicted
11/20/98
Reuters
(WYNNE) -- Accused "Blue Light Rapist" Robert Burmingham has been convicted of
an attack on a 17-year-old girl. A Wynne jury convicted Burmingham after less
than one day of deliberations, even though both Burmingham and his wife
testified that he was at home on the night in question. The victim identified
her assailant by his voice. Burmingham could get life in prison on this
conviction and still faces three more trials on similar charges.
----------------------------------------------------
The following two news articles both appear courtesy of the 11/19/98 Reuters
news wire:
Another Blue Light Victim Testifies
11/19/98
Reuters
(WYNNE) -- Yet another victim of the "blue light rapist" has taken the stand in
the trial of Robert Burmingham. The victim and told a Wynne jury how she was
stopped in 1996 for what she thought would be a traffic ticket, but instead was
kidnapped and raped. The victim, like others, was blindfolded and cannot
visually identify Burmingham. But prosecutors say it's enough that they have
D-N-A matches in 15 of 15 points of reference on the forensic tests. The
defense is expected to present its case today. Burmingham's lawyers maintain
they can show the D-N-A tests results are questionable.
---------------------------------------------
'Blue Light' Copy Cat On Scene
(BENTON COUNTY) -- A "blue light" copy cat is at work in northwest Arkansas.
Benton County police are investigating allegations of an attempted assault
against a young woman who says she was pulled to the roadside by a man using a
dash mounted blue light. The man approached her car with a gun and took her
license, but she became suspicious and fled the scene.
----------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 11/21/98 online edition of The Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette newspaper:
Blue light rapist gets 80-year term for attack on teen
EMMETT GEORGE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
WYNNE -- Cross County Circuit Court Judge L.T. Simes II sentenced Robert Todd
Burmingham to 80 years in prison Friday after a jury found him guilty of
kidnapping, robbing and raping a Lonoke County teenager in 1997.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for 21/2 hours Friday before
recommending that Burmingham receive 40 years each on the rape and aggravated
robbery convictions, to be served consecutively, and to 20 years on the
kidnapping conviction, to be served concurrently.
Burmingham, 33, of the Pine Tree community was arrested Sept. 15, 1997, on
his father-in-law's farm at Colt following a two-year Arkansas State Police
investigation. He was accused of using a flashing blue light to pull the
17-year-old Cabot girl over near the intersection of Arkansas 31 and Arkansas
38 in Lonoke County on July 11, 1997, and then take her to a farmhouse near
Colt in Cross County where she was raped.
Authorities matched the DNA in a blood sample taken from Burmingham with
the DNA in a semen sample taken from the victim.
After the sentencing, Randel Miller of Jonesboro, Burmingham's attorney,
expressed shock at the sentence his client received. "I was expecting a lengthy
sentence, but I thought the jury would be more compassionate," he said.
The father of the victim read a brief statement from his daughter which
said, "The women of Arkansas will not have to fear this person any longer. ...
I always believed this animal would be apprehended and brought to trial."
The jury deliberated more than four hours Thursday before returning a
guilty verdict. The trial began Monday.
During an hour-long hearing Friday morning, the victim told the jury that
she had to give up a college scholarship because of the emotional impact the
rape had on her. She said the attack occurred two days after she graduated from
high school.
"What he said and did to me that night I will never forget," the teenager
said. "I believe if he gets out, he will come after me. So many nights I wished
he had killed me." She said she has been in therapy since two days after the
attack.
She said she had to quit her job at a Cabot bank because "the questions and
the looks and the glances were too much to face. ... I can never forget what
this man did to me."
After her testimony, Burmingham family members made passionate pleas for
mercy from the jury.
"He has never been violent even to the point he could not even discipline
his children," said Beverly Douglas, 41, of Wynne, the defendant's sister. "He
does have young children and I ask you to take that into consideration."
Joyce Burmingham, 65, Burmingham's mother, said before breaking down in
tears, "Now his life is in your hands. I beg you for mercy."
When Burmingham took the stand, he thanked Simes, saying, "I think you are
a fair and good man." He then turned to the jury and said, "I will not beg for
mercy because I didn't do this."
To the victim, he remarked, "I believe this lady thinks I am the one that
did this. I'll do this man's time, but y'all be careful because he's still out
there."
At that point, Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long Jr. of Forrest City
jumped to his feet and said, "So you refuse to accept responsibility for what
you did?"
Burmingham answered, "I didn't do this, Mr. Long."
Moments before the hearing, Burmingham's father, Frank, 67, told a
reporter, "Well, they hung my boy!"
Long lectured to the jurors, "What about the fact he chose to victimize two
teenagers? What about the fact he did all these things with a gun? What if one
of these ladies decided not to do it or runs away?"
"We are not responsible for what happens to his mortal soul, but we are
obligated to protect society," Long said.
Long, who was seeking a life sentence in the case, has indicated he will
try Burmingham again for the Jan. 9, 1996, kidnapping and rape of a 15-year-old
Forrest City girl. The girl, who was driving home from a basketball game in
Marianna at the time of the rape, testified against Burmingham on Wednesday.
Like the Cabot girl, the Forrest City girl, now an 18-year-old college
student, said her attacker, who was masked and had a gun, used a flashing blue
light to pull her over in her car. Both said their attackers put a shirt over
their heads before abducting them.
Burmingham also is charged with the rapes of two women, ages 23 and 33, in
their homes in Cross County.
In an interview Friday morning before his sentencing, Burmingham maintained
his innocence. "I am a family man," he said. "I live for my wife and kids. I
love farming. That's what I chose to do with my life." Burmingham said he and
his wife have two young children.
"I have only one flaw and that's deer hunting," he said, disputing Long's
assertion during the trial that he refused to acknowledge his guilt in a night
hunting case that led to a theft by receiving conviction several years ago.
The massive publicity generated by his arrest prevented him from getting a
fair trial, Burmingham said.
"My first lawyer [Wayne Emmons of Memphis] told me they had two years and
$2 million poured into this case," Burmingham said. "They were under a lot of
pressure to find somebody." Emmons resigned as Burmingham's attorney for health
reasons.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kermit Channell, supervisor of the DNA section of
the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock, testified that the DNA from
Burmingham's blood sample matched the DNA in semen samples taken from both the
Lonoke victim and the Lee County teenager.
Miller vigorously attacked the accuracy of the DNA evidence during the
trial, asserting that it was subject to human error and not always reliable.
The state police listed the wrong date of birth for Burmingham on the Crime
Laboratory's evidence submission sheet, Miller said. The date, Oct. 22, 1965,
is the date of birth for Noel Perry Casey, who was a suspect in the case for a
time, Miller said.
The state police took blood samples for DNA testing from Casey and
Burmingham. Miller said the blood samples from the two men could have somehow
been switched.
Casey lived in the farmhouse where authorities said the 17-year-old victim
was raped. DNA tests eliminated Casey as a suspect, Channell said.
The farmhouse, which is located near Colt, belongs to Burmingham's family.
"The DNA [evidence] was very overwhelming," Miller said Thursday night
after the verdict. "It was hard to overcome."
Miller said he did not know whether Burmingham intended to appeal the
verdict or whether he would represent him at any trials in the future.
Burmingham has 30 days to appeal.
This article was published on Saturday, November 21, 1998
george shewbart
although he was the Red Light Rapist (this was long before police cars
switched to blue from red)
And, as Alex the Great once said "Let us walk off the map" in pursuit of
our dreams