Wayne Cordell Mitchell

Case name

Wayne Cordell Mitchell

Background

Wayne Cordell Mitchell and Robin Little met and began dating while the two were students at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh. Their relationship included entries from Robin’s diary that were admitted at trial over Mitchell’s objections. The diary chronicled a volatile relationship and Mitchell’s violent behavior toward Robin.

Mitchell and Robin often argued. In September 1996, Mitchell threatened to kill Robin if she ever left him.

Their son, Malik, was born in January 1997. Mitchell and Robin married in April 1997, when Robin was eighteen and Mitchell was nineteen.

After the marriage, Robin continued to live apart from Mitchell with her mother, Debra King, on Hamilton Avenue in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh, until Mitchell came to stay with them in the late spring of 1997.

Debra King testified that she often heard Robin arguing with Mitchell on the phone about his drinking, smoking, and failure to get a job, as well as the lack of time he spent with the baby and her.

In June 1997, Debra King came home to discover holes in the wall of her living room. Robin told her that Mitchell and she had gotten into a fight and that he had punched the wall.

Fearing further violence, Robin ended the relationship in July 1997, telling Mitchell to leave. That same month, Robin took Malik and moved to her brother’s home in Lancaster.

During that time, Robin told her sister-in-law, Timberlin King, that she feared Mitchell and believed that one day he would kill her.

Robin returned to Pittsburgh in August 1997 because she was homesick, and moved back into her mother’s Hamilton Avenue home.

The offence

On September 1, 1997, Mitchell was working at the People’s Natural Gas Company near Robin’s home when he telephoned her. Robin asked to use Mitchell’s bus pass. Mitchell told her that she could use it but had to come to People’s to get it. After her arrival at People’s, Mitchell and Robin discussed a man named Brian, whom Robin was seeing. Robin told Mitchell that she and Brian had engaged in sexual relations.

Mitchell became angry and dragged Robin into a supervisor’s office and raped her. As Robin screamed and begged him to stop, Mitchell threatened that if she continued screaming or told anyone about the rape, he would “snap her neck.”

Mitchell finally let Robin go and returned to work.

Later that evening, Debra King drove Robin to the Pittsburgh Zone 5 Police Station where Robin reported the attack. Debra King then took Robin to Magee Women’s Hospital for an examination. Hospital personnel prepared a rape kit. When Robin returned home, her mother took pictures of the bruises on her arms and thighs.

While Robin was at Magee Women’s Hospital, police went to Mitchell’s address and arrested him. After waiving his Miranda rights, Mitchell agreed to have his statement taped and admitted to Wilkinsburg Police Detective Doug Yuhouse that he had raped Robin.

It was later determined that the incident occurred just outside the city-limits of Pittsburgh in neighboring Wilkinsburg, so the rape investigation was turned over to the Wilkinsburg Police.

A subsequent attack occurred during the night of September 9 into September 10, 1997.

During the afternoon of September 9, 1997, Robin reported to her mother that Mitchell was out of jail, that he was never admitted to St. Francis Hospital for alcohol treatment as required by an arrangement, and that he had called her several times. Mitchell continued to call until he convinced Robin to allow him to come to her home.

After his arrival at 4:15 p.m., the conversation turned to Brian. Mitchell became angry when Robin indicated that Brian was better than Mitchell. The couple argued until Mitchell left the home shortly after 6:00 p.m.

Mitchell later confessed to Detective Dennis Logan that he went out that evening with friends and had “a couple of drinks.” At some point during the evening, he called Robin and continued to argue with her over the phone.

When Mitchell returned home at 1:00 a.m. on September 10, 1997, he called Robin, apologized, and convinced her to let him come to her home again, so they could talk about their son.

Mitchell called Sheila Britton at approximately 1:00 a.m. and angrily told her several times that he was going to Robin’s house to kill her. He said Robin had “disrespected” him and repeated his threat several more times even though Britton told him that going after Robin would not resolve anything. Mitchell replied that he was going to dress in black, go to Robin’s home, and “do what he had to do.”

Britton told Mitchell just to go to bed. When Mitchell abruptly ended the conversation and hung up, Britton tried to call back, but Mitchell’s mother answered. Britton explained why she was calling, but Mitchell’s mother dismissed her concerns and told her that she did not have time to worry about it. Britton gave up.

Britton could not call Robin because she did not have her number.

Mitchell later told Detective Logan that instead of going to bed, he walked to Robin’s home. When he arrived at 1:30 a.m., Robin was sitting on the porch with a man who left after Mitchell said, “Who the f--k is this?”

Mitchell argued again with Robin about her seeing anyone else. He punched Robin in the face and stomach, causing her to fall against the door. When she tried to run, Mitchell grabbed her and said he would stop hitting her if she walked with him. When she resisted, Mitchell dragged her toward an empty lot near her home and continued to punch her as she tried to break free.

Robin screamed for help, yelling, “He’s going to kill me.” Mitchell put a hand over Robin’s mouth and continued to drag her. As they passed a house, Mitchell saw a knife lying on a porch. He walked past the house, then stopped and punched Robin several more times, temporarily disabling her while he returned to the porch to get the knife.

When Robin attempted to pull herself up off the ground, Mitchell pushed her down and stabbed her in the stomach. Mitchell removed Robin’s clothes, wrapped his hands around her neck, and raped her, first vaginally and then anally. When Robin vomited blood, Mitchell wiped her mouth with a rag and continued raping her.

After he finished, Mitchell turned her over and stabbed her multiple times in the neck.

Mitchell took Robin’s clothing, the knife, and the bloody rag and threw them into a sewer on nearby Kelly Street.

Mitchell later remarked to Detective Logan that because he had worked as a security guard, he knew not to leave behind any evidence. He also explained that he left her body naked because “if she wanted to f--k everybody, now everybody could see her f--king body.”

Mitchell called Britton again at 4:00 a.m. When Britton asked about Robin, Mitchell told her, “Robin Little is no more.” He also told Britton that he was going to his uncle’s home so he could establish an alibi and that he planned to appear at the PFA hearing as scheduled, knowing that she would not be there.

In his confession to Detective Logan, Mitchell did not mention the phone call with Britton and instead indicated that he immediately went to bed upon returning home. Mitchell admitted, however, that when he got up later that morning, he took the clothes he had been wearing, including a black Steelers’ football shirt, black pants, a black tank top and black boots, put them in a garbage bag, and threw them into an abandoned house.

Investigation and arrest

After the rape, Robin initially reported the attack to the Pittsburgh Police.

Detective Doug Yuhouse noted that Mitchell was cooperative and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol when he made his taped confession.

For the September 9-10, 1997 events, Robin went to court for a final PFA hearing after Mitchell. At 9:00 a.m., Mitchell appeared in court for the hearing, but when Robin did not appear, the court dismissed the temporary PFA order.

When Mitchell returned home, his mother told him that Robin was found dead. Mitchell later confessed to Detective Logan that he tried to act surprised and denied any involvement, but his mother was concerned and insisted that he go to St. Francis Hospital.

Debra King was worried when she discovered that Robin was not home. After searching outside and becoming even more upset, she contacted police and explained the situation between Robin and Mitchell. At approximately 10:00 a.m., an officer arrived at Debra King’s home to take a report. Debra King was still talking to police at 10:15 a.m., when the fire station located a block down the street from Debra King’s home received a call that a woman’s body was discovered in a nearby backyard. Several firefighters walked to the lot and saw the victim’s naked body lying face-up in the weeds. Debra King ran to the vacant lot to find her daughter’s body.

Police later discovered Robin’s clothes in a sewer a few blocks away. Mitchell’s clothing was recovered from a vacant house in a nearby neighborhood.

After searching for Mitchell and learning he was at St. Francis Hospital, homicide detectives went to the emergency room, where they were informed Mitchell was being evaluated and that they could wait. When Mitchell was released fifteen or twenty minutes later, detectives approached him in the waiting area and asked if he would accompany them to their office. Mitchell agreed.

Mitchell drove with detectives to the homicide offices where he made a full statement to Detective Dennis Logan admitting that he raped Robin Little on September 1, 1997, and that he raped her again and murdered her on September 10, 1997. Detective Logan noted that Mitchell appeared in full control of his faculties and provided a remarkably detailed account of his turbulent relationship with Robin and a full explanation of how and why he raped her twice and then murdered her.

Arrest and charges

Mitchell was charged with rape, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, and simple assault for the September 1 sexual assault of Robin Little.

He was arraigned and remained in jail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 9, 1997.

On September 4, 1997, while Mitchell was still in jail awaiting his preliminary hearing, Robin filed for a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order. The court granted a ten-day temporary order directing that Mitchell have no contact with Robin pending a full hearing scheduled for September 10, 1997.

At the preliminary hearing on September 9, 1997, Mitchell waived the charges to court in exchange for a nominal bond with a condition that he seek immediate in-patient treatment for alcohol abuse at St. Francis Hospital. Mitchell signed a right-to-preliminary-hearing waiver form, and his next court appearance was scheduled for October 27, 1997. Robin and her mother were present and thus aware of this arrangement. Robin agreed believing hospitalization would protect her from Mitchell.

At trial, the defense claimed that Mitchell reported to St. Francis as required but was immediately released; the Commonwealth claimed he never reported to the hospital. Regardless, Mitchell was never admitted to the hospital for alcohol treatment on September 9, 1997 as required by the agreement. Instead, he returned home and began calling Robin.

On the September 10 attack, Mitchell was charged with rape, IDSI, and unlawful restraint for the September 10 attack of the same victim.

Mitchell was also charged with one count of criminal homicide for the September 10 strangulation and stabbing death of Robin Little.

The Commonwealth filed and served a timely notice of intention to seek imposition of the death penalty.

Pre-trial proceedings

Mitchell filed several pre-trial motions, including a motion to suppress his statements to police and a motion to sever the informations.

Hearings on these motions were held from September 27 to October 1, 1999. The only witness at the suppression hearing was Detective Logan.

After completion of the proceedings, the court denied Mitchell’s suppression motion and his motion for severance.

Trial

On October 1, 1999, Mitchell appeared before the trial court and pleaded guilty to the rape, IDSI and unlawful restraint counts arising from the September 10 sexual assault. The court deferred imposition of sentence until after trial on the remaining charges, which commenced before a jury on October 4, 1999.

At trial, the Commonwealth presented evidence from multiple witnesses. Robin’s mother testified about the couple’s tumultuous relationship and read excerpts from Robin’s diary. Robin’s sister-in-law from Lancaster testified that Robin lived with her temporarily to get away from Mitchell.

Sheila Britton testified about her conversations with Mitchell before and after the killing and offered a timeline of events of September 9 to 10. At trial, the court allowed Britton’s testimony concerning her conversations with both Robin and Mitchell over the defense’s objection that they were privileged communications.

The Commonwealth presented testimony from the doctor who examined Robin after the first rape, the nurse who prepared the rape kit, the police officer who took the initial report after the first rape, the police officer who took Mitchell’s first confession to the September 1 rape, and court personnel explaining that the PFA order was in effect when Robin was attacked and murdered.

The Commonwealth also presented testimony from a firefighter who initially found Robin’s body, police who investigated the murder scene, and Detective Logan, who took Mitchell’s confession to both rapes and the murder.

The Commonwealth presented testimony from Dr. Leon Rozin, the Chief Forensic Pathologist from the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office. Dr. Rozin concluded that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the neck, as well as compression of the neck, more commonly referred to as strangulation, and the manner of death was criminal homicide.

At the close of trial, the jury found Mitchell guilty of first-degree murder and the remaining charges of rape, unlawful restraint, and simple assault.

Sentencing

As the Commonwealth was seeking the death penalty, the jury remained empanelled for a separate penalty phase hearing.

On October 13, 1999, after hearing additional testimony, argument from both defense counsel and prosecutor, and instructions from the trial court, the same jury unanimously found two aggravating circumstances:

• Mitchell committed the killing while in the perpetration of a felony (rape)
• Mitchell was subject to a PFA order restricting his contact with the victim when he killed her

The jury found no mitigating circumstances.

Consequently, the jury sentenced Mitchell to death.

On December 8, 1999, the trial court imposed a sentence of death for the first-degree murder conviction and consecutive terms of eight and one-half to twenty years of imprisonment for the September 1 rape, two and one-half to five years for unlawful restraint, and one to two years for simple assault.

Other details

Mitchell had several conversations with Sheila Britton after graduation, and Britton was aware of the couple’s problems. Mitchell called Britton from jail after he was arrested for raping Robin on September 1, 1997. Robin called Britton prior to the preliminary hearing to ask whether she should drop the charges. Robin told Britton she feared Mitchell would retaliate if she pursued a PFA order against him.

Mitchell threatened Britton that he was going to Robin’s house to kill her and said Robin had “disrespected” him.

During the September 10 events, Mitchell told Britton that he planned to dress in black and “do what he had to do.”

At the September 10 sentencing-related timeline, the court dismissed the temporary PFA order at 9:00 a.m. when Robin did not appear at the final PFA hearing.