Sentenced: 5YO Columbus Girl Killed Herself With Convicted Felon Father's Gun

[Sugar Cookie]

The parents of a 5-year-old Columbus girl who shot and killed herself in 2021 with an unsecured handgun were sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Serenity Robinson shot herself in the head on the morning of July 31, 2021 inside the family’s home on the city's Northeast Side, authorities say. The girl was rushed to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where she died about an hour later of her injuries.

The child's father, Antwan Robinson, 45, fell asleep next to the child with a handgun in his waistband, one of two guns that his partner and the girl's mother, 26-year-old Breana Mathews, had illegally purchased for him because he is a convicted felon, according to prosecutors.

Both parents previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Antwan Robinson, also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm illegally.

Robinson has a lengthy criminal record and has been to prison six times. Besides the involuntary manslaughter case, Robinson also had previously pleaded guilty in four cases to drug possession charges and in one case to theft.

Judge Jaiza Page sentenced him on all six cases to a total indefinite prison term of 18 years to 22 years.

Mathews, bought the gun and one other for Robinson, who could not legally own them due to a past felony conviction and multiple pending felony charges against him.

Page sentenced Mathews to four years of community control, or probation. The judge also ordered Mathews as part of her community control to have no contact with Robinson, get her GED and take a parenting class. If Mathews violates her probation, she could be sent to prison for three years.

Franklin County prosecutors said that leading up to the shooting, Mathews and Robinson used cocaine and possibly other drugs before falling asleep in bed with their two children. Robinson got up at around 3 a.m. and asked about his guns, according to prosecutors, and Mathews told him the firearms were locked in the safe.

Robinson said he was paranoid and took a gun out from the safe and went back to sleep, according to prosecutors.

At about 8 a.m., the couple’s son was lying under the covers at the foot of the bed and Serenity was playing with Mathews’ make-up brushes on the floor next to the bed, prosecutors say.

Then Mathews said she heard a gunshot and found Serenity lying next to the bed.

Mathews said she had to wake Robinson up. Robinson told Mathews he fell asleep with the gun in the waistband of his pants and to tell police the gun was in the ottoman so he would not get in trouble, according to prosecutors.

Robinson said Serenity would point toy guns at herself while playing with them, according to court records, and Robinson would tell his daughter to point the toy guns at others, like her brother.

Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor John Cornely said in court that Robinson has not taken responsibility for any of his crimes, including the five other cases for which he was sentenced Monday.

Robinson is awaiting sentencing in front of Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Sheryl Munson, on Aug. 10 in a seventh case related to smuggling methamphetamine into the county jail after his daughter’s death. In that case, Robinson pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and faces a maximum indefinite prison term of 11 years to 16 ½ years.

According to Cornely, Robinson has said the death of his daughter caused him to go to a dark place and conspire with others to smuggle drugs into the jail.

“I’m not sure this individual can be rehabilitated,” Cornely said. “He’s had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity.”

Robinson's defense attorney Thomas Hayes said he takes offense at the prosecution saying Robinson cannot be rehabilitated. He said Robinson has struggled with addiction from a very young age.

Robinson apologized to his family at his sentencing hearing, saying the memory of his daughter is always with him.

“(She) was my everything,” Robinson said. “If I could take anything back it would be getting a gun. I really didn’t need it for anything.”

Prosecutors said Robinson abused and manipulated Mathews, and she was a victim herself of Robinson.

Mathews also apologized in court to her family.

“I understand my actions have caused a traumatic event to happen,” Mathews said at her sentencing. “I forever will carry this in my heart.”

Columbus parents whose 5-year-old daughter killed herself with unsecured gun are sentenced

The 5-yr-old's father, Antwan Robinson, fell asleep with handgun in his waistband, ouaccording to Franklin County prosecutors.

www.dispatch.com

 

[DeeDee]

The way his female defense attorney looks at him tells me everything. She can't even pretend to believe his bullshit.

Both parents deserve serious prison terms. Maybe the other kid can have a shot at life if he isn't raised by his thug father and brain dead mother.

 

[Busy Bee]

She thought living with that was going to work, what kind of employment can a man who’s been to prison 6 times get or keep? Purchased two guns for that and allowed him to put it in the waistband of his draws and fall asleep with the children ! ! It’s just so sad and so negligent , so preventable! I hope the “mother” gets her life in order!