Viswa Vanapalli
In 2014, a whirlwind romance between Robin O’Neill and Steve Lott ended in a horrific tragedy. Steve and his son, Jamis, were found murdered at the house the former shared with Robin. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Deadly Women: Fatal Instincts: Murder Is Not Rocket Science’ features the story behind the double murder as one of the two cases highlighted on the show. Robin O’Neill was eventually convicted of the slayings, but if you’re wondering what led up to them, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Robin O’Neill?
Robin O’Neill lived in Townshend, Vermont, and worked as an elected property lister. She initially planned to move to Texas to live with her sister but soon hit it off with her colleague, Steve Lott. They began dating in early 2014 and moved in shortly after, eventually getting engaged in July 2014. It seemed all was well until an old friend and neighbor of Steve, Adair, returned to Vermont in September 2014.
Robin had an issue with Steve spending a lot of time with Adair. The relationship began to go downhill with constant arguments. According to court documents, Robin physically hurt and threatened Steve in October 2014. Furthermore, she stalked and followed his every move when he was with Adair. By early November 2014, Steve had called off the engagement with Robin and asked her to move out.
In the afternoon on November 18, Robin started drinking. That day, Steve had his son visit him to do laundry. Also present was one of Steve’s friends, Morgan. At one point that evening, Robin told Morgan that she wasn’t dating Steve anymore and made sexual advances toward him. Morgan turned her down, after which she went upstairs, and he could hear her breaking things. At around 8:48 pm on the same day, Robin called a friend, Mike, and told him that she shot Steve and Jamis.
Robin asked Mike to come to pick her dog up. He immediately called 911 to report it. Minutes later, Robin’s sister also heard a similar confession over the phone. When the authorities arrived, Robin, then 62, was intoxicated. They found 28-year-old Jamis under the kitchen table with three gunshot wounds to the head. On the other hand, 60-year-old Steve was on the kitchen floor with 12 gunshot wounds: seven to the head and upper neck, one to the chest, and four to the groin.
While in the police cruiser, Robin asked for wine and cigarettes, later talking to herself, saying, “you can go to prison for the rest of your life, ’cause you killed the (expletive).” At the police station, Robin told the police that she didn’t remember what happened but could only recollect standing over bodies and seeing a lot of blood. One acquaintance told the police about an alleged incident on November 15, 2014, when Steve believed that Robin was reaching for a gun from a drawer and immediately left home.
Where is Robin O’Neill Now?
Furthermore, Robin O’Neill alleged that Steve had hit her physically and told four people about it on the day of the murders. But an acquaintance denied seeing anything physical between the two and added that Robin was always jealous. In June 2017, Robin stood trial for killing Steve and his son. After about ten hours of deliberation, the jury found her guilty of one count of aggravated murder. In August 2017, Robin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. From what we can tell, she remains behind bars at a correctional facility in Vermont.
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