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The Case of Robert Roberson
📻 Episode #473
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Sep 05, 2024
About This Episode
On January 31, 2002, Robert Roberson was awakened at his home in Palestine, TX by a cry and went to find his two year old daughter, Nikki Curtis, on the floor at the foot of the bed with a small amount of blood on her mouth. He cleaned up her mouth and kept her up…
Case Record — verified as of November 6, 2026
Robert Leslie Roberson III — Anderson County, TX; TDCJ #999442, Polunsky Unit. Convicted Feb 14, 2003, capital murder; death sentence. Still on death row — execution stayed Oct 9, 2025 by the Texas CCA; Art. 11.073 changed-science claim remanded; no new execution date; not exonerated or pardoned. Live case — re-verify before relying.
The Case
On January 31, 2002, Robert Roberson was awakened at his home in Palestine, TX by a cry and went to find his two year old daughter, Nikki Curtis, on the floor at the foot of the bed with a small amount of blood on her mouth. He cleaned up her mouth and kept her up for a while, then they both fell back to sleep.
A few hours later, Robert awoke up to find Nikki unconscious and turning blue. He tried to revive her but she was unresponsive.
Robert brought his daughter to the emergency room and after extensive triage, including reviving her heart (but not her brain), Nikki was driven to Dallas for further treatment and eventually taken off of life support. She passed away on February 1, 2002.
Robert was eventually indicted and ultimately convicted for capital murder for Nikki’s death and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-robert-roberson/ https://justiceforroberson.com/
To write Robert: Robert Roberson TDCJ 999442 Polunsky Unit 3872 FM 350 South Livingston, TX 77351 https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/410-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-shaken-baby-syndrome/
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:05:25“Speaker 1: Robertson was that final caretaker and he was particularly vulnerable Speaker 1: to prosecution. Speaker 3: This is somebody who grew up dirt poor in East Texas. Speaker 3: He was in special ed classes. He was the one Speaker 3: who was bullied. There was a lot of violence in”
00:19:20“Speaker 3: as you know we were discussing earlier, it was it's Speaker 3: a total lie to suggest this was a totally well child. Speaker 3: This was a chronically ill child with infections that had Speaker 3: resisted I think five different kinds of antibiotics. She has Speaker 3: a viral infection. Nobody is getting it.”
00:32:17“Speaker 3: and instead just seemed to stand by this idea that Speaker 3: the blood in the subdural space was enough for her Speaker 3: to say, oh, well, whether it was shaking or not, Speaker 3: it was still abuse. This was something I asked the Speaker 3: medical examiner in court. You know, I said, Let's say”
Listen to the Episode
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Resources & links from the episode:
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← #472 Kevin Dykes #474 Andre Causey →
Also on the podcast: #28 Robert Jones · #116 False Confessions - Robert Davis · #263 Robert Foxworth