Justice Takes A Holiday At 1924 Trial

Baby-faced Bob Robinson went on trial for the murder of Mollie Dudley on July 14, 1924, in the suffocating heat of the Hardin County courthouse, but sweat-soaked spectators sat glued to their seat rather than miss a single syllable of the titillating testimony.

The college boy had saved the jury the trouble of deciding his guilt or innocence. Robinson confessed after shooting Dudley to death on January 2 in a Houston boardinghouse, and in the months since his indictment had not recanted the incriminating statement.

At issue was the motive. The youth claimed he killed the home-wrecker after she refused to end her romance with his elderly father, a prominent physician. Prosecutors contended the son wanted the attractive divorcee for himself and pulled the trigger when she spurned his advances.

Failing to find a dozen open minds in Houston, the judge moved the proceedings to the small town of Kountze north of Beaumont. A festive atmosphere prevailed on the opening day with soda stands on the square and housewives hawking homemade sandwiches in the lobby of the courthouse.

Four defense attorneys described the scandalous fall of Dr. C.H. Robinson, a pillar of the community of Cleveland until beautiful Mollie Dudley turned his gray head. The old fool showered the Jezebel with expensive gifts and neglected his medical practice to the point that he could no longer afford to pay Bob