One Drawing From Murder

September 19, 1995 Laurel, Delaware, small farming community. 32 yr old Kaye Robinson lived in the Laurel Ridge Mobile Home Park with her 11 yr old son, NIck. She was a single mother who sold insurance. Her son’s father had not been involved with them since her or Nick since he was 4. But she had a nice home for them and she had recently become engaged to her long-time boyfriend. Sometime after midnight, Kaye awoke to someone banging on her front door. Thru the window in the door a man she didn’t recognize said his car had broken down and he wanted to use her phone. He said his name was Jack Wilson. Kaye was understandably skeptical, as it was just her and her son alone in the house. She refused to open the door, but offered to make the call for the man. When she did, the person she called claimed to not know anyone named Jack. Kaye went back to her door and asked the stranger to leave immediately. She then called 911 to report the incident. Delaware State Police drove out to the mobile park and checked things out, but didn’t see any sign of the man or his broken car or anything else out of the ordinary so they reported the scene as clear. Kaye eventually went back to bed. About 30 min later Kaye was startled awake by a noise in her house. She got up to look and found the man who had had been at her front door now in her kitchen, holding a butcher knife. He chased and caught her by the arm and forced her back into her bedroom. He threated to kill her son – still asleep in his room – if she didn’t cooperate. He tied her up and spent the next 3 hours sexually assaulting her. During the long, tortuous hours, he mentioned that he lived in the same mobile home park and had 2 children. Kaye understood that by sharing this information and not wearing a mask, he had no intention of letting her live. But she was determined to keep her son Nick safe. When he was done raping her, the man took the butcher knife stabbed her repeatedly her around the chest and neck. He said to her, “are you dead yet bitch?” So Kaye held her breath and pretended to be dead. It worked because he got up to leave, but not before walking to her son Nick’s room. He opened the door found the boy to still be asleep and left. But Nick had actually woken up at some point and when his door opened, he only pretended to be asleep. As soon as the man left, Nick rushed to check on his mom and then ran to the neighbor for help. The neighbor called 911 to report that Kaye had been raped and stabbed by an intruder. When help arrived, Kaye was near death. She had been stabbed 28 times, and her neck was slashed, but miraculously her attacker missed both her jugular vein and her carotid artery. Kaye was on life-support but did survive. And she told police she could identify her attacker. Kaye told investigators that in those 3 horrible hours, she made a point to remember every detail she could. He left her bedroom light on the whole time. She studied his face and gave the sketch artist a full description. He had shoulder length brown hair and full facial hair. Kaye also noted every single thing he touched. And she watched him wipe his prints off it all… except for one thing. He took a drink out of a plastic blue drinking glass. She watched as he used his sleeve to wipe his prints off the glass, but then still used his bare hand to set it back down. The forensics team examined the glass and saw the prints had been left with some kind of lubricant, like they were greasy. Fearing they could smear, they placed the cup in the freezer to harden the prints before they dusted and then successfully lifted them. You know how in an investigation police hold back something that only the person who committed the crime would know? Well, paramedics noted that Kaye’s attacker had drawn a smiley face on her back using Kaye’s blood. 2 weeks after the attack, Kaye’s neighbors called police to alert them to a man who had driven up to Kaye’s home, lit a candle and then kneeled down in front of her door and appeared to be praying. When police arrived, they found 38 year old Doug DeSilva in front of Kaye’s home as the neighbor’s described. He said he was very disturbed by what happened and wanted to help in any way possible. In his truck he had a newspaper article about the case and had taped the composite sketch of the suspect to his windshield. But here’s the thing, he looked just like that composite sketch. When questioned about that, he said it was so he could drive around looking for the suspect. Although Doug DeSilva lived more than 100 miles away from Laurel, his ex-wife and daughter lived in Laurel Ridge mobile home park. And, looking into his background, police discovered that he was a suspect in the murder of a 16 yr old girl who went to a HS nearby. A murder that had occurred just 6 months before Kaye’s attack. Doug DeSilva was brought in for questioning. He was very cooperative with police. Almost overly cooperative. He kept saying he was sorry for what happened to her. He had no alibi for the night of the attack. Then in the middle of their interrogation, he asked for a job application saying he wanted to become a state trooper. Thinking Doug was playing games with them, they gave him an application. In the meantime, they put his picture in a photo lineup for Kaye. She immediately identified him as her attacker. Kaye’s son, Nick, was also shown the photo lineup. He had snuck a peek at the man who opened the door to his room before pretending to be asleep. Nick also identified Doug DeSilva. As if that wasn’t enough, when Doug finished filling out the job application, on the bottom of the last page, he drew a smiley face. Doug DeSilva as he was arrested and charged for the attempted murder of Kaye Robinson, he said “Tell her I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do it. I remember going there but I don’t remember stabbing her.” Case closed right? Well, after he was arrested and printed, it was discovered that Doug DeSilva’s prints did not match the ones lifted off the blue plastic glass. Ok, well that not’s not that big a deal, there aren’t always prints to be found at a scene, Kaye was traumatized, right? But then Doug DeSilva’s DNA didn’t match the profile of the attacker from Kaye’s rape kit. He was ruled out entirely. They even ran the test again… but again he wasn’t a match. Imagine Kaye’s reaction. She was completely sure Doug DeSilva was the man who raped and attempted to leave her for dead. And he was back on the street. She bought a gun and learned how to use it. She found out where Doug lived and one day sat outside his house, gun in hand, thinking she wanted to knock on his door and confront him. But then she thought of her son Nick and that he needed her. She couldn’t go to jail. Police had no other leads. No other tips came in. Kaye began to move on with her life. Then, 9 years later, detectives in Maryland found themselves with a case that was eerily similar to Kaye’s. A single mother, living in a mobile home, awoke to a man in her bedroom. He was holding a knife and a rolling pin. He said he would not hurt her or her child if she didn’t fight him. He tied her up and assaulted her. When she pleaded for him to leave and not hurt her son, it was like a switch. His demeanor changed and he began asking for her forgiveness. But rather than stab her, he told her not to get up right away. Then she could get up and shower and go to work. She was not to call police. But once she was certain he was gone she called 911. Police discovered that he had entered her home by breaking a window, then lifting it out and setting it on the ground leaning on the mobile home. And he had done it bare-handed, leaving his prints on the glass. And those prints were in the system, belonging to 42-yr old Mark Eskridge – who was married with a young child – and he was quickly arrested. The Maryland police contacted detectives in Delaware. Mark Eskridge closely resembled Kaye’s composite sketch. And they discovered that 9 years prior Mark was living in the Laurel Ridge Moblie home park, just a few streets away from Kaye and her son. So it seems as though he was single when he attacked Kaye, but then at the time of this 2nd attack, he was married with a kid, and his victim mentioning her son kept him from killing her. Now for the bad news, Mark’s prints were not a match for the Kaye’s blue plastic glass. And when she saw a picture of him, Kaye did not recognize him as her attacker. It had been 9 years. She was convinced Doug DeSalva was her attacker. He was in the news. Also, Mark Eskridge had not aged well in those 9 years and he looked pretty different. So it came down to DNA. And that was a match. Kaye was shocked. And very relieved that she had not knocked on Doug DeSilva’s door all those years ago. Looking at photos of both men in 1995, they did look incredibly similar. Mark Eskridge was tried and convicted for his crime in Maryland and received a life sentence. In 1995 Kaye finally got her turn. Mark went on trial for sexual assault and attempted murder. He was convicted and had an additional 20 years added to his life sentence. He is rotting away in the North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland. This is why eyewitness ID - especially when the victim is under extreme duress – is not always reliable. No one knows why Doug DeSilva inserted himself into the case and confessed to a crime he didn’t commit. Or why of all things he drew a smiley face at the bottom of his police application. Sources: Forensic Files Season 13, Episode 21 “smiley face” The cinemaholic .com Gizmo story .com