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A 14-year-old boy charged with the murder of an 84-year-old woman was considered a juvenile offender and handed a bail of $1 million.
A 14-year-old boy was charged with murder for the killing of an 84-year-old woman in Onondaga County Court on Tuesday. As a minor, the defendant was allowed to make bail. Judge Matthew Doran set the bail at $1 million cash or a $2 million bond. However, it is unlikely that the defendant will be able to pay.
In January 2021, Jahkim Robinson was suspected of an attempted robbery on Eva Fuld, his neighbor. Robinson was accused of forcing his way into the retired teacher's apartment.
According to a grand jury indictment in April, prosecutors believed Robinson stabbed the victim 43 times, causing injuries on her torso and extremities and leading to her death.
Authorities claim that the suspect was not acting alone
Investigators believed Robinson did not act alone. Instead, authorities claimed that several individuals entered Fuld's home after she opened the door. The group then allegedly beat and stabbed the woman before stealing a number of her belongings.
Police said many of Fuld's items, including her car keys, vehicle, credit cards, insurance cards, and several wallets, were retrieved from Robinson when he was detained.
Friends described the former French teacher as "kind and quirky," the Syracuse Post-Standard reports. Her body was only discovered four days after the attack took place.
As per CNYCentral, Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said in a news conference after Robinson's arrest, "Some neighbors were concerned about the former teacher, her car was missing. So officers called the landlord and performed a check on her apartment, and they found a horrific scene."
In early February, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner described Fuld's murder as "horrifying and disgusting." The department's investigation was still underway, according to a series of updates.
Robinson is currently the only suspect since no other arrests have been made in connection with the killing.
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Boy charged with two counts of murder, felonies
Robinson faces two counts of second-degree murder, based on the premise that he killed the woman while committing two different felonies: robbery and burglary. He is also accused of being a principal and an accomplice. However, the distinction is both academic and strategic.
The US Constitution forbids a person from being punished twice for the same offense if convicted. As a young offender, the defendant faces the prospect of release within five years after any prospective conviction, at least for the time being.
Robinson is currently at Hillbrook Detention Center in Onondaga County, a tiny 32-bed juvenile detention facility.
The following is taken from Fuld's January obituary, as per Law & Crime via MSN:
On January 25, 2021, Eva Mae Fuld was discovered at her house. Eva Fuld was the only child of Kate and Albrecht Fuld and was born in Auburn, New York. Eva graduated from Syracuse High School and went on to Goucher College in Maryland to further her studies. She started her long career as a teacher but took a break to study French at the Sorbonne and Spanish in Mexico City. Fuld worked at Westmoreland High School as a language teacher. She worked at Syracuse Library after a long teaching career. She was an avid reader who also liked traveling. Both of her parents died before her. At this moment, no service is scheduled.
A similar crime occurred in May of this year in Syracuse. Victoria Afet, 23, is accused of torturing and killing 93-year-old Concetta "Connie" Tuori. Judge Doran is also in charge of the case.
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