Eric Smith, the baby-faced teenager convicted in the fatal bludgeoning of a 4-year-old boy in western New York in 1993, was sentenced on Monday to a maximum prison term of nine years to life.
"We got what we came for," said Dale Robie after sentence was passed on the 14-year-old, who was convicted of killing Robie's son, Derrick, on Aug. 2, 1993, in Savona, about 11 miles northwest of Corning.The teenager will spend the first part of his sentence at a state institution for young offenders. At age 18 he could be transferred to a state prison for the rest of his term. He could be eligible for parole in eight years.
Robie, reading in court on Monday from a statement prepared with his wife, Doreen, struggled to control sobs as he recited a list of their son's achievements and interests.
Eric had confessed that he beat Derrick to death with heavy rocks after luring him into woods as the preschooler was walking alone less than two blocks from his home on his way to a park play program. The police investigation showed the boy had also been choked and a stick thrust in his anus.
"One reason we wanted to read the statment in court was because we were not allowed to talk about Derrick at the trial," Doreen Robie, 29, said later Monday by telephone. "The poor little kid had to go through this brutal beating and no one was able to hear what a good kid he was. All the attention has been on Eric, Eric, Eric."