Boy leaves ‘perfect outline’ on tree after being set on fire on 8th birthday

Don Collins was just 13 when he tied his neighbour Robbie Middleton to a tree, soaked him in petrol and set him alight on the youngster’s eighth birthday in Texas

Robbie Middleton was, like any young child, excited to celebrate his eighth birthday. But a run-in with a 13-year-old on that day would change his life forever.

Robbie was given a new tent and was eager to visit a friend before coming home to enjoy the rest of the day with family in Splendora, Texas, on June 28, 1998. However, while making his journey home, Robbie came across neighbour Don Collins, who had allegedly sexually assaulted him a fortnight prior.

Terrified of being exposed, Collins, carrying petrol, carried out an appalling crime. He tied young Robbie to a tie, doused him in petrol and set him on fire.

Robbie’s flesh burned away after being doused in flames but he incredibly managed to stagger home from the woodland and where his mum discovered him. According to his mother, there remained a “perfect outline” of her son’s body seared into the tree after the dreadful assault.

Sadly, Robbie was so burnt he would never go back to his original looks, despite all the skin replacement surgery. Upon reaching hospital, it was clear that only his foot soles had avoided the burns, with medics uncertain he would pull through.

Robbie withstood more than 150 operations and countless skin transplants. Despite his extreme scarring, Robbie remained optimistic despite the ordeal that he went through.

The courageous youngster once remarked: “The past is, well, the past. You must let it go.”

Yet, while his encouraging spirit brought comfort to his relatives, Robbie’s ordeal worsened. His development frequently required fresh skin grafts and remastering walking, and he was later found to have skin cancer caused by the severe burns.

Heartbreakingly, in April 2011, at merely 20-years-old, Robbie died. But merely 17 days prior to his passing and after undergoing five months of skin-replacement surgery, he filmed a recording naming Collins.

In the 27-minute clip, Robbie claimed that Collins had raped him weeks before the deadly attack. Collins, who had failed to register as a sex offender, was already behind bars for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy when Robbie’s death was ruled a homicide.

After the heartbreaking tragedy, he was hit with felony murder charges when the deathbed video became pivotal evidence. In the distressing footage, brave Robbie revealed: “Don grabbed me by the shoulder and threw gas in my face, after that I don’t really remember anything.”

Collins, who reportedly once crushed a kitten to death under his foot, had been detained days following the assault but was released without any charges.

When the bombshell video emerged years afterwards, he pleaded not guilty, and during the court proceedings additional witnesses stepped forward with sexual assault allegations. The witnesses alleged that Collins would burn them alive if they testified.

Collins was handed the maximum penalty of 40 years behind bars, and subsequently a relieved Colleen spoke to the press.

She declared: “I am sure Robert is with us and he is happy. He blamed Don, there was no doubt in his mind.

Speaking about the Collins’ outcome, she added: “I am just going to enjoy this day and not worry about anything else. I am enjoying the moment, I am very happy.”

Before the trial commenced, parents Colleen and Bobby were awarded $150billion in a civil lawsuit against Collins.

In response to the symbolic award, Colleen stated: “We’re never going to see any money. What we thought was please let these people realise Robert was previously, like everybody else’s child, and he didn’t deserve this. When they came back with the $150billion, I was like: ‘They get it.’ And that made me feel so good.”

The $150billion sum was the largest personal injury award in US history with the previous largest award given was a $145bn fine against tobacco companies.

Mr Sico told the AFP news agency at the time: “The jury told us afterwards the reason they made this the largest verdict [in US history] at $150bn was because they wanted to make sure their message was heard.”

Lawyer David Walker previously told the Los Angeles Times that Collins was not charged in either alleged attack because “the case was very, very difficult, with evidence that was not clear or necessarily compelling at that time”.

Mr Walker said that Robbie’s injures made it “extremely difficult” to tell officials what had happened.

“There will be people who will say that’s an excuse,” Mr Walker said, “but the professionals here worked very hard.”

Outside court Robbie’s mother, Colleen, shared that she had always sensed something profoundly disturbing about her son’s murderer.

“He just had the deadest looking expression on his face and eyes and they just looked cold,” she remembered. “Even as a little child I would look at him and he was expressionless. His eyes were just blank”.