![\"Philip](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/RJPCYAAWCNGZTEU2PJTZWWXLQU.png\")
In this 1993 photo, Philip Robinson is led out of a police station on Staten Island after being charged in the murders of Theresa Jones and her 2-year-old son Tommy.(Advance\/SILive.com | Tony Carannante)<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 More than three decades after a mother and her toddler were bludgeoned to death inside their Tompkinsville home, the man imprisoned in the double murder is fighting to overturn his conviction.<\/p>\n
Philip Robinson, 57, is currently serving a prison sentence of 50 years to life in the 1993 slayings of 27-year-old Theresa Jones and her 2-year-old son, Tommy Moriarty Jr.<\/p>\n
But recent court filings on Robinson\u2019s behalf in state Supreme Court in St. George argue the case rested on deeply flawed police work, including suppressed evidence, inconsistent testimony, and alleged misconduct by investigators.<\/p>\n
In this 1993 photo, Philip Robinson is led out of a police station on Staten Island after being charged in the murders of Theresa Jones and her 2-year-old son Tommy.(Advance\/SILive.com | Tony Carannante)<\/p>\n
In 2022, defense attorney James Henning and his team filed a motion for a judge to vacate the conviction based on evidence they say absolves Robinson of the crime. <\/p>\n
A court appearance to discuss the case before Justice Marina Mundy is scheduled for Feb. 6.<\/p>\n
The motion to vacate comes after a two-year investigation by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon\u2019s Conviction Integrity Review Unit. <\/p>\n
The unit concluded the conviction was supported by the evidence.<\/p>\n
Grisly scene in Tompkinsville![\"Brook](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/XVKWZ3LIU5GIRJH6DF5MNT27VQ.png\")
A current view of Brook Street in Tompkinsville, where Theresa Jones and her 2-year-old son Tommy were discovered bludgeoned to death on the evening of Feb. 25, 1993.(Google Maps)<\/p>\n
The apartment where the murders occurred was inhabited by Jones, her two children and her common-law husband, Tom Moriarty. <\/p>\n
Robinson at the time was crashing on the family\u2019s couch. Jones\u2019 kids referred to him as \u201cUncle Phil.\u201d He worked two jobs as a cab driver and construction worker. Jones\u2019 family said recently that he was a close friend of Jones and their relationship was platonic.<\/p>\n
On the evening of Feb. 25, 1993, police responded to the residence on Brook Street, where they were met by Moriarty. He told them he discovered the victims bludgeoned to death on the bathroom floor.<\/p>\n
At the crime scene, Moriarty informed police that Robinson\u2019s construction bag had gone missing from the home, according to Robinson\u2019s court filings.<\/p>\n
Days into the investigation<\/p>\n
A day after the murders, Robinson\u2019s construction bag containing a bloody hammer was discovered in an abandoned hospital on Castleton Avenue. <\/p>\n
Robinson said previously that upon learning about what happened, he showed up to the 122nd Precinct stationhouse in New Dorp to clear his name. <\/p>\n
The lead detective claimed in police reports and testimony, later cited in court filings, that Robinson gave incriminating statements. Robinson, however, denies these statements, and the defense argues they were never properly recorded or signed.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors at trial cited a speck of blood on Robinson\u2019s sock. A DNA expert testified that genetic material found in the cells of the blood on Robinson\u2019s sock was consistent with the DNA of Thomas Moriarty Jr., according to Advance archives. There was no other physical evidence conclusively linking him to the crime scene, the defense argues. <\/p>\n
![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OD6PYEZCBNCAXNMO7NLZEJH3WU.JPEG\")
On the evening of Feb. 25, 1993, police responded to the residence on Brook Street, where they were met by Thomas Moriarty, above. He told them he discovered the victims bludgeoned to death on the bathroom floor.(Courtesy of Lizziey Bartlett)Family had their doubts<\/p>\n
In an outburst at his sentencing in 1995, Robinson inferred Moriarty Sr. may have committed the slayings, according to Advance\/SILive.com archives.<\/p>\n
His court filings allege police \u201cprematurely\u201d cleared Moriarty as a suspect and argue that evidence of anger, domestic conflict, and opportunity were never fully investigated.<\/p>\n
Dating back to the time of the slaying, Jones\u2019 family had doubts about whether Robinson was the killer. <\/p>\n
Jones\u2019 daughter, Lizziey Bartlett, now 41 and living in Florida, recalled Moriarty as a heavy drinker who fought often with her mother. In a recent interview, she said there \u201cwere broken bones\u201d and that there were \u201cescape plans\u201d if things got too out-of-hand.<\/p>\n
In the moments after the slaying, Jones\u2019 then 11-year-old sister, Franny Rozo, was walking toward the apartment, returning from a doctor\u2019s appointment. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Moriarty) swung the door open and said \u2018there\u2019s a woman and baby dead,\u201d Rozo said. \u201d(Robinson) didn\u2019t do it. I know he didn\u2019t do it.” <\/p>\n
According to Advance\/SILive.com archives, police at the time had determined Moriarty\u2019s alibi checked out.<\/p>\n
Moriarty interviewed in \u201893<\/p>\n
Moriarty was approached in the days following the murders at family member\u2019s house, according to Advance\/SILive.com archives. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have no family. They killed my family,\u201d Moriarty said from the front door of the home. He then politely declined to speak further with reporters. \u201cIn a couple of days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Moriarty died years ago. <\/p>\n
Robinson maintains his innocence<\/p>\n
Robinson, who currently is serving out his time at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, maintains that he was working at the time of the murders.<\/p>\n
Moments before he was sentenced by then Judge Charles A. Kuffner Jr., he said as much.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m sorry what happened, but I didn\u2019t do it… I would never in my life hurt any children,” Robinson said. \u201cGive me a lie-detector test and to the detective who railroaded me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also discussed the latest conclusion from the district attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t want to admit that they\u2019re wrong, or that those before them did wrong,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n
A wrongful conviction, defense argues<\/p>\n
There are holes in the investigation beginning from the first minutes officers arrived, according to the defense\u2019s court filings. <\/p>\n
For starters, police allowed Moriarty to walk through the crime scene before detectives arrived to see if anything was missing, court documents allege. <\/p>\n
Two days after the murders, the bag and bloody hammer were found in an abandoned hospital by men who lived nearby. The lead detective directed them to search the area for the bag, rather than conducting the search himself, according to Robinson\u2019s court filings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were multiple moves by the lead detective that don\u2019t make any sense in the grand scheme of how homicides are reliably investigated,\u201d said Henning.<\/p>\n
![\"District](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CJVFAQWNBJBI5CNOUOXUOMX6CM.jpg\")
In this Jan. 15, 2026 photo, Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon speaks at a press conference held outside of St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Dongan Hills. (Advance\/SILive.com | Jason Paderon)<\/p>\n