Family members of Nikki Curtis, the 2-year-old murdered by Robert Roberson, have written to the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee blasting the “one-sided” portrayal given of the killer in their attempt to exonerate him.
Roberson was convicted of murdering his daughter Nikki over 20 years ago and was scheduled for execution earlier this month. That has been put on hold amid legal maneuvering from members of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, who have painted him as innocent and forced a stay of execution by issuing a subpoena to Roberson to appear before their committee.
Now, three members of her family are speaking out.
Nikki’s brother, Matthew Bowman, as well as her aunt Jessica Carriere, and grandfather, Larry Bowman, say they felt the need to come forward due to the committee’s actions:
In the ongoing saga surrounding the case of Robert Roberson, we have heard from a wide array of people proclaiming his innocence: from a law enforcement officer who investigated the case, a juror who found him guilty, so-called experts in the media, and even acclaimed TV personalities and best-selling authors. Now, in a last-ditch effort, some members of your committee are proclaiming his innocence, and you have held hearings in an attempt to halt Roberson’s execution.
Lost in this parade of people who are overeager to proclaim the innocence of a man found guilty by a jury of his peers are the facts about Nikki Curtis’ murder and the voices of those who knew him best and who witnessed the repeated abuse by Mr. Roberson – Nikki’s family.
Given the one-sided picture of Mr. Roberson that has been recently portrayed in the media, we feel obliged to speak up and defend the real victim in this case, whose life was taken by the hands of Robert Roberson, Nikki Curtis. Nikki’s story must be told.
To that end, the family says that Roberson should be put to death based on the facts of the case and the evidence that led to the jury’s verdict.
WARNING: This section of the letter includes graphic portrayals of violence and sexual assault.
Because so many facts seem to have been intentionally left out of the current conversation surrounding Mr. Roberson’s case, we wanted to reiterate several facts, all of which were presented at the trial:
- When Nikki was brought to the hospital, the following injuries were found:
- Extensive bruising to her chin, face, ears, eyes, and mouth
- Handprint on her face
- Bruised and mushy back of skull
- The Medical Examiner, Dr. Jill Urban, testified that Nikki died from blunt force head injuries, not from being shaken:
- 6 supervising medical officers concurred with this assessment
- No one testified in the original trial that Nikki died because of being shaken
- Dr. Urban confirmed this assessment in 2016, noting additional evidence Nikki did not die from being shaken, including:
- Lacerations inside Nikki’s mouth
- Red bruising on the left side and top of Nikki’s head Trauma to Nikki’s spine, including bleeding of the spine
- Trauma to Nikki’s entire brain – that caused Nikki’s brain to shift inside her skull, compress her spinal cord, and impede her breathing
- Robert Roberson had a reported history of sexually and physically abusing two-year-old Nikki Curtis, as well as another little girl, including:
- Putting his penis in two-year-old Nikki’s mouth
- Rubbing his penis against two-year-old Nikki’s vagina
- Placing a child in a bed of fire ants
- Whipping Nikki when she cried
- Assaulting Nikki with a board and paddle
- Throwing Nikki on the bed so hard she bounced off and hit the floor
Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott has filed a brief in the Supreme Court of Texas to say the committee has overstepped its authority in its efforts to delay Roberson’s execution. Last week, a group of lawmakers led by State Rep. Cody Harris, who represents Palestine where the murder occurred, also filed a brief saying the committee was usurping power in its quest to exonerate Roberson.
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