Robert White was a Hartford, Connecticut, man whose name appears in four deaths across more than three decades. A court convicted him of first-degree manslaughter in 1980, of murder in 2013, and, through guilty pleas entered under the Alford doctrine in 2018, of two further counts of murder. His date of birth is not on record. He was 56 when he was charged in September 2016 and 57 at the time of the 2018 plea.
In 1980 White was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Betty Robertson in Hartford. The charge, the court, the sentence and the length of time he served are not on record.
Shiraleen Crawford was 30. She died in Hartford in August 1997. The case stayed open for nineteen years. It was taken up by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, working with the Hartford Police Department.
Sonia Rivera was 48. She died in Hartford on October 3, 2012. In 2014 a Hartford man, D.N., was charged in her death. In 2016 a Superior Court judge dismissed that charge at the prosecution's request. D.N. was not convicted.
Sawarie Krichindath died in Hartford in March 2013. White was charged with murder and convicted. He received a sentence of 50 years. The date of the verdict or plea and the name of the sentencing judge are not on record.
On Monday, September 19, 2016, White, by then 56 and formerly of Hartford, was arrested on warrants in the Crawford and Rivera cases, following the Cold Case Unit investigation. He was arraigned the same day in Hartford Superior Court.
In the Crawford case he faced one count of capital felony and one count of murder. The capital felony count was brought because the offense predated the law that repealed that charge and reclassified the conduct as murder with special circumstances. In the Rivera case the charges were murder with special circumstances, felony murder, and murder. Capital felony and murder with special circumstances carry life without the possibility of release. Murder and felony murder carry a maximum of life, which Connecticut defines as 60 years. Bond was set at 1 million dollars in each case, and the cases were continued to September 26.
On Friday, June 22, 2018, White pleaded guilty in Hartford to the two cases. They were guilty pleas under the Alford doctrine to two counts of murder, one for Shiraleen Crawford and one for Sonia Rivera. An Alford plea is not an admission of the acts charged.
The sentence was 50 years on each count. The two terms run concurrently with each other and consecutively to the 50 years he was already serving for the death of Sawarie Krichindath, a total of 100 years. Sentencing was scheduled for August 3, 2018. The date on which the sentence was actually imposed is not on record.
When he was charged in 2016 and when he entered the pleas in 2018 White was an inmate in the Connecticut prison system, serving the 50-year term. Where he is held now, and whether his status has changed since 2018, is not on record.
The court and date of the 1980 conviction, the sentence in that case, the date and manner of disposition of the 2013 case, and the sentencing date in 2018 are not on record. No other death has been charged to White, and none has been attributed to him.
1980: convicted of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Betty Robertson, Hartford.
August 1997: Shiraleen Crawford, 30, dies in Hartford.
October 3, 2012: Sonia Rivera, 48, dies in Hartford.
March 2013: Sawarie Krichindath dies in Hartford; White is later convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years.
2014: D.N. is charged in the Rivera case.
2016: the charge against D.N. is dismissed.
September 19, 2016: White is arrested and arraigned on the Crawford and Rivera charges; bond is set at 1 million dollars in each case.
June 22, 2018: White pleads guilty under the Alford doctrine to two counts of murder.
August 3, 2018: sentencing scheduled; 50 years on each count, consecutive to the earlier 50 years.