Kriti Mehrotra
When Robin Lynn Baxter suddenly vanished from her New Albany, Indiana, home without a trace left behind, it honestly left not just her loved ones but also the entire nation shaken to its very core. That’s because, as explored in ID’s ‘Murder in the Heartland: Solving the Unsolvable,’ it took over two decades for this matter to come to a close and the way it did was unexpected in every sense of the term. With a focus on the events to have transpired, its ensuing investigations, and the overall aftermath, we’ve got the full details.
How Did Robin Baxter Die?
At the age of 32, Robin had honestly managed to build a good life for herself in New Albany and was a proud daughter, sister, and wife residing right in the 1800 block of Troy Street. She was social and very active in the community, which is why it comes as no surprise that when she suddenly disappeared following the evening of July 19, 1990, it left everyone utterly brokenhearted. Thus kickstarted an intense search for the young wife by her loved ones, but it wasn’t until Saturday, June 23, 1990, that the Louisville Police Department found her remains.
According to court documents, the authorities uncovered Robin’s remains in the Ohio River not far from the home she shared with her husband -she was wearing a black t-shirt and was naked from the waist down. However, as per her autopsy report, there weren’t any real signs of sexual assault but the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the head, meaning she’d been beaten to death before being thrown into the water. Further inquiries have also indicated the weapon used against her was a solid aluminum bar that was ¾ inches in diameter and 36 inches in length.
Who Killed Robin Baxter?
Although Robin’s case initially went cold within mere months owing to a serious lack of concrete evidence, detectives made it clear they did have a person of interest – her husband, Christopher Baxter. After all, during his first interrogation itself, he’d admitted he’d argued with his wife on the 19th during dinner, and it’d escalated to such an extent that he broke the windows out of the back door of their residence. He’d then conceded his wife had left home while he went to bed intoxicated, only to wake up at 3 or 4 am to search for her down the street before calling some of her friends and family.
Then, during Christopher’s second interview on the 25th, following some of Robin’s friends revealing to the officials that her marriage was far from stable — words like controlling and violent were used in regards to her husband — he said he’d blacked out so he doesn’t really know if he did anything. Nevertheless, the statements of the couple’s friends helped a lot as one mentioned that the aluminum pipe, aka “the Enforcer” or “the Equalizer,” Christopher kept at home for protection was missing from its usual spot, whereas another revealed how he’d kind of boasted of murder in fall 1991.
According to the latter, Christopher had shown up drunk at their house in the fall of 1991 and allegedly asserted, “You’ll never know the power you feel when you take someone’s life ’til you do it.” This obviously led many to believe he was responsible for Robin’s brutal homicide in a fit of rage, which even led to a few fights, yet it wasn’t until 2012 that the truth really came to light thanks to an informant. As per reports, a state inmate had come forward to claim that Christopher was once his friend, and he’d really indicated he’d murdered his wife not just while intoxicated but also sober.
Where is Christopher Baxter Now?
With all this new information, authorities arrested 54-year-old Christopher from his apartment in the 1600 block of Slate Run Road in February 2012, shortly following which he was charged with murder. He actually pleaded not guilty almost immediately and took the matter to trial in July, wherein three days of testimonies from the informant, friends, and officials alike led to his conviction. He was subsequently sentenced to 55 years behind bars, which he appealed on the grounds of different 1990 sentencing statutes alongside other points until his term was reduced to a mere 40 years. Moreover, from what we can tell, he was granted early release in August 2020, and he has preferred to keep his life well away from the limelight since then.
Read More: Robin Spielbauer’s Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
