Background: Police vehicles stationed outside a residence on the 18700 Block of Holly Way in Harris County, Texas (KHOU/YouTube). Inset: Robert Babin (Harris County Sheriff’s Office).
A man who allegedly confessed to striking his mother with a hammer until she struggled to breathe has had his charges elevated following her death.
Robert Babin, 24, now faces a murder charge in connection with his mother, Lisa Babin, 61. Initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the charge was increased to murder on July 29, as per Harris County court records.
Lisa Babin died nine days after the June 11 attack, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
According to a bail order filed after Robert Babin’s arrest, he confessed to a friend on a gaming platform that he had assaulted his mother.
“I am in trouble and I need your help,” he reportedly started. “I just attacked my mother with a hammer, I lost my temper, I don’t know what to do, I can’t go to prison. I must dispose of the hammer and eliminate the evidence before the police arrive.”
“I don’t want to end up on Death Row,” Robert Babin continued, according to the court document. “I struck her several times on the head and side, and she’s barely breathing.”
As previously reported by Law&Crime, deputies from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the backyard of the house on the 18700 Block of Holly Way to find the mother “barely breathing with significant bodily injuries.” It was a gaming friend who contacted 911, but since he only saw Robert Babin’s alleged messages two hours after they were sent, the woman was left to suffer for a prolonged duration.
The suspect told authorities he had “left his mother napping at the residence unhurt” and “claimed he had no idea what was happening,” court documents state. But the victim was unable to give her side of the story “due to [the] extent of injuries sustained.” She was reportedly “severely impaired, unable to speak.”
Harris County Sheriff’s Office Major Ben Katrib said in early July that initial signs were that the assault followed an argument between the two family members.
“A preliminary investigation indicated that there was some sort of verbal argument between the victim and her son, who’s 24 years old, when he became enraged and struck her with a hammer several times,” Katrib said, per KHOU.
“We believe that based on the information we have – that the suspect was even making attempts to conceal the crime,” he added. “But luckily, his friend did the right thing and called 911, and we were able to respond in time.”
Robert Babin’s charge would need to be upgraded to capital murder for him to be put on death row. He is being held in the Harris County Jail on a $350,000 bond.
