The Killers Who Bragged: Inside the Murder of Amy Robinson

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Amy Robinson was 19, working at a grocery store riding her bike to work, trying to figure

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out adulthood like the rest of us.

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Then two familiar faces offered her a ride.

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What happened next wasn't random.

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It wasn't some fluke of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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It was planned.

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It was targeted.

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And the people behind it, they were proud of it.

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This is the story of how trust was weaponized and how hate took the wheel.

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Before we jump in, if you like your true crime brief and bingeable, you're exactly where

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you need to be.

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Hit follow now for at least two new episodes every week.

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This is 10 Minute Murder.

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[Music]

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People like to believe the world is good.

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That most folks deep down are kind.

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But then a case comes along that wrecks that idea completely.

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Amy Robinson's story is one of those cases.

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Amy was 19, living in Arlington, Texas.

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Life hadn't exactly gone easy on her.

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She was raised mostly by a grandmother and she lived with both a mental and learning

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disability.

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She also had Turner syndrome, a genetic condition that made her smaller than average and delayed

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her development during puberty.

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Even with all of that working against her, Amy had plans.

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She graduated high school and started figuring out how to become independent.

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First on her list was getting a job.

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She found one at the local supermarket.

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The staff there knew her situation and supported her.

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It gave her structure, some freedom, and a chance to meet new people.

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The store was close enough that she could ride her bike to and from work by herself.

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It was a good start.

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Amy was doing everything she could to move forward.

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But on February 15, 1998, that momentum stopped.

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She left for work like normal, unaware that two familiar faces were waiting for her.

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Robert Neville, 23, and Michael Wayne Hall, 18, used to work at that same store.

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That's how they knew Amy.

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They were no longer employed there, but they still knew the area.

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And they knew Amy would feel safe around them.

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But trust would cost Amy everything.

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That afternoon, Robert and Michael pulled up beside Amy and offered her a ride to work.

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Amy didn't hesitate.

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She knew them.

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They knew the store.

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Nothing about it felt threatening.

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According to a few former co-workers, there might have even been something romantic between

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Amy and Robert.

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She got in the car.

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What Amy didn't know was that she had just stepped into a car with two young men whose

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lives were spiraling in the worst possible direction.

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Michael Hall had his own challenges.

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He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and was often described as slow by people who

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knew him.

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Some of that came from the intellectual limitations, and some of it came from a deeply unstable

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home life.

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Michael tended to be more at ease with people younger than him.

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He struggled around Pierce's own age and completely shut down around authority.

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He gravitated toward people who made him feel less lost.

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That's where Robert Neville came in.

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Robert had been in jail for burglary.

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He had more confidence, more presence, and for some reason he decided to bring Michael into

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his orbit.

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He gave Michael gifts, advice, a couch to sleep on, and Michael in return started mirroring

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him.

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He dressed like Robert.

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He talked like Robert.

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He quit his job at Roberts' request.

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Michael didn't want to be friends.

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He wanted to be Robert.

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As they spent more time together, their conversations grew darker.

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They talked about who they hated, blamed entire groups of people, and started making plans.

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There was no hesitation.

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They knew what they wanted to do.

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According to their own confessions, both of them wanted to become serial killers.

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They weren't vague about it.

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They had a target in mind.

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Racial minorities.

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Robert later told investigators we had a bet going to see who could shoot and kill the most

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people between the two of us, no matter if it was blacks or Mexicans.

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Anybody as long as they weren't our color.

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Amy Robinson was part Native American.

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Earlier that same day, before offering her a ride, Michael and Robert had stopped by the

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grocery store to check to see if Amy was scheduled.

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They were looking for her.

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When Amy got in the car, she thought she was catching a ride from people she trusted.

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She had no way of knowing she was stepping into a trap.

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They drove her to a remote area outside Fort Worth and told her to get out of the car.

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That's when they pulled out their weapons.

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Between the two of them, they had a pellet gun, a crossbow, and a 22 caliber rifle.

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Robert later described it in his own words.

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"Michael Hall, he had a pellet gun and he started popping pellets into her chest and face

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and stuff like that.

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My first two shots ran out.

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One hitter in the chest and the other hitter in the head.

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Then he, Michael, picked up his rifle and fired another set of shots into her.

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Then Robert said something else.

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We just busted out laughing.

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Amy cried out for help.

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She begged them to stop.

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The Robert and Michael kept shooting.

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They took her keys, grabbed the loose change from her pocket, and shot her again.

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Amy had already died, but that didn't matter to them.

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By then, Amy's disappearance was already public.

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She hadn't shown up for her shift at the store and her family contacted the police right away.

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Investigators moved fast.

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They interviewed her current co-workers and were starting to reach out to people who had

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worked there in the past.

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Robert spoke to detectives and played it cool.

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He said he knew Amy from the store.

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He called her a friend, said he hadn't seen her and he didn't know where she was.

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That cover didn't last very long.

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Not long after that conversation, Michael's mother reported him missing.

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He hadn't been home in days.

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Then his stepbrother stepped forward with something far more serious.

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Michael confessed to kidnapping and killing Amy before disappearing.

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Police acted immediately.

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Warrants were issued for both Roberts and Michael.

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They were found near Eagle Pass, close to the Mexican border.

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That's where they were headed when they were caught.

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Once in custody, they gave up Amy's location.

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They also gave reporters a line that made headlines.

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They said that they had used Amy for target practice.

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There was no denial, no remorse.

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They admitted everything and talked openly about the murder.

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They even said they had plans to kill again.

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Amy, to them, had been the beginning.

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Robert Neville, the older of the two, moved through the legal system quickly.

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His appeals ran out and the state scheduled his execution.

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In 2006, he was put to death by lethal injection.

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The Halls case was more complicated.

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Under the eighth amendment, a person who meets the criteria for intellectual disability

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cannot be sentenced to death.

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The legal benchmark based on IQ scores is generally considered to be 70.

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Scores below that line typically qualify as intellectually disabled.

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Michael's results weren't consistent.

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Some tests placed him at around 67.

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Others landed him at 71.

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His cognitive functioning became a legal great area.

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For the prosecution focused on intent, they argued that Michael had been aware enough

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to choose Amy specifically.

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He knew she had a mental disability.

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He knew she was physically smaller and less able to fight back.

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Most important, he knew she trusted him.

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That decision, they said, was calculated.

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It showed that he understood the consequences and that level of awareness disqualified him

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from protections under the law.

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The jury agreed Michael Hall was sentenced to death.

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In 2011, 13 years after Amy's murder, he was brought to the execution chamber.

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In his final statement, he said, "I would like to give my sincere apology to Amy's family.

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We caused a lot of heartache, grief, pain and suffering and I am sorry.

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I know it won't bring her back."

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Then, like the man he once looked up to, Michael was executed by lethal injection.

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Thanks for listening to 10 Minute Murder, binge a bull true crime stories.

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I'm Joe, the host and if this was your first time here, welcome.

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Subscribe to the podcast and go to 10minutemerder.com.

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And, I probably should not be telling you this, but usually I'm in such a weird headspace

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that I'm not in a good mood.

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This can become so I usually welcome it if it's possible.

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Okay, that's all for right now.

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Keep on binging if that's what you're up to.

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Thanks again for listening.

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See you next time.