Former firefighter acquitted of arson, homicide

KITTANING, Pa. (AP) — A jury acquitted a former volunteer firefighter of starting a duplex fire that killed a mother and her three children more than years ago.

Jurors found Frederick Anthony Robinson, 54, innocent of arson and four counts of homicide Friday evening, and he was released from Armstrong County jail later that night.

Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty, alleging that Robinson set the Sept. 2, 2005, blaze that killed a longtime friend, Crystal Johnson, 40, and her three children, who were 11, 5, and 2 years old.

“I feel sorry for Crystal’s family,” Robinson said after his release. “I hope they’ll be all right. “Me and Crystal was really good friends.”

Assistant District Attorney Chase McClister said he was “very surprised and disappointed” by the verdict.

“Unfortunately, they all agree that this was an arson, but they weren’t willing to convict him,” he said.

State troopers testified that Robinson implicated himself in the fire, and jurors listened to his recorded statement.

Three psychiatrists testified that Robinson had a mental disorder that combined schizophrenia and depression, had low intelligence and was unable to read or write beyond simple words.

One defense psychiatrist said he would have been “suggestible” and was not in the proper mental state to be questioned by police.

Antonio Robinson said he called his mother, Daisy, after the verdict was read.

“I said, ‘Mom, he’s coming home,’” Antonio Robinson said. “She started to cry and said, ‘I knew it. I knew he didn’t do it. My prayers are answered.’”