Michael Robinson after his 1993 murder conviction was overturned in 2023 after he served more than two-and-a-half decades in prison.
Courtesy of The Legal Aid Society
A Jamaica man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Wednesday for the 1993 stabbing death of his estranged wife at a home in Bayside where she worked as a housekeeper.
Michael Robinson, 59, was convicted of murder in the second degree by a jury on June 10 for stabbing 29-year-old Gwendolyn Samuels Robinson to death. She was pregnant at the time of the attack.
In 2023, Robinson’s 1993 conviction was vacated, and he was granted a new trial following the discovery of new DNA evidence that the defendant alleged was exculpatory. The DNA evidence was presented at his second trial, and Robinson was convicted by a jury after deliberating less than a day before reaching the guilty verdict.
“More than 30 years ago, a jury convicted Michael Robinson of murdering his estranged pregnant wife,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The facts have not changed since that time.”
Michael Robinson in his Jamaica home prior to his 1993 murder conviction.Courtesy of The Legal Aid Society
According to the charges and trial testimony, on January 11, 1993, Samuels was working as a housekeeper for 88-year-old Alveina Marchon in Bayside. Robinson arrived at the home and then he and Samuels went grocery shopping for Marchon. When the defendant and Samuels returned to the home after grocery shopping, Robinson sat down with Marchon and spoke to her for a few minutes. Samuels went upstairs and was followed by Robinson. Marchon testified at the original trial that she heard Samuels screaming and rushed up the stairs to find Robinson standing over her with a knife. When Marchon attempted to stop the attack, Robinson stabbed her.
Robinson had a prior history of being physically abusive with Samuels and by the time of the attack the two had separated. Samuels was about two months pregnant and living with her new boyfriend. At the time of the first trial, Marchon was 89 years old. She has since passed away. Two of the testifying detectives from the original trial are also deceased. Their testimony from the first trial was read into the record during the new trial. Robinson’s original conviction was overturned in 2023 after newly discovered DNA evidence found on one of the victim’s fingernails did not match that of the defendant. It was never determined who the DNA belonged to.
“My office continued its pursuit of justice for Gwendolyn Samuels and her loved ones,” Katz said. “Gwendolyn’s two young children were forced to grow up without a mother because of the defendant’s actions and then were forced to re-live a second trial because of years and years of post-conviction litigation by the defendant.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michelle Johnson, who presided over the trial, sentenced him on July 1, 12,224 days after he committed the fatal stabbing in Bayside.
“A second jury has spoken, and justice was delivered today with the defendant’s sentence of 25 years to life in prison,” Katz said.