Robinson found guilty of 2023 hatchet murder

A Shreveport man accused of hacking his elderly grandfather to death with a hatchet three years ago was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday, September 3, in Caddo District Court.

The six-man, six-woman jury in District Judge Ramona Emanuel's court determined that on January 12, 2023, Dalton C. Robinson, 28, walked up to the house of his 77-year-old grandfather, Sidney Francis Robinson, in the 400 block of Washington Street, armed with a hatchet. Inside the residence, the elder Robinson was later found lying in a pool of blood and brain matter by his daughter. Dalton Robinson was found later that day wearing the same clothes from earlier. The jury heard testimony from a DNA expert that the defendant's hand and pants had the victim’s blood on it. The hatchet, found in the home's shed, also had the DNA of both men on it.  They convicted the younger Robinson after deliberating less than an hour.

The jurors heard from a neighbor who testified he saw Dalton walk to the shed around the time of the murder. They also heard testimony from EMS personnel, a fire department 911 operator, a pathologist and four SPD officers at the time, along with prerecorded testimony from the defendant's now-deceased mother, which revealed that about an hour or so before the murder, she saw him outside the house with a hatchet, wearing the jacket, hoodie and mask he wore. The pathologist testified that in addition to defensive wounds, the victim suffered more than 15 chops and lacerations to the front, back and side of his head, as well as abrasions to his hands, arms and shoulder.

When Robinson returns to Judge Emanuel’s courtroom for sentencing October 13, 2026, he faces a mandatory life prison term at hard labor without the possibility of parole.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Senae D. Hall and Kodie Smith. Robinson was defended by Royal Alexander.

The case was docket No. 393252.

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