Family of infant murdered in 1991 shocked that killer dad charged again (Louisville, Kentucky)

We've posted on this case recently, but this article provides additional information on dad ROBERT W. LONG JR, who was previously convicted of killing a 5-week-old son in 1991. He was released early from prison after serving just 15 years. Now he is charged with killing his 7-week-old son with a different woman. The baby from 1991 died from a skull fracture, while the recent infant died from blunt force trauma to the head, chest, and abdomen.

Sounds like this violent @$$hole makes a great show of being the nurturing dad, which probably makes him more dangerous than most criminals. Sickening.

And it's also sickening that the State of Kentucky doesn't take the murder of infants and children seriously.

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11910825

Family of infant murdered in 1991 shocked killer charged again
Posted: Jan 31, 2010 11:45 PM CST
Updated: Feb 01, 2010 9:24 AM CST

Marisela Burgos

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A family member of 5-week-old Robert Deon, who was murdered by his father in 1991, has spoken out about the father's recent arrest for murdering another infant. Deon's father, 44-year-old Robert W. Long Jr., was convicted of murdering Deon in 1991. He was sentenced to 35 years, but released in 2007 after serving only 15 years. Now he's charged with killing another infant son.

Long was eligible for early release because of a state law in effect during the early 90s that required him to only serve 12 years or half of his sentence, whichever came first.

Nearly three years after Long was released, on Jan. 27, 2010, LMPD officers arrested him again and charged him with murdering Lavion Gamble, his 7-week-old son. LMPD Spokesman Dwight Mitchell says Gamble was found dead inside an SUV outside a home in the 5500 block of Ridgecrest Road in the Newburg neighborhood.

When Deon's family heard about Long's arrest for allegedly murdering another infant, they were shocked.

Linda Hite, the aunt of Deon's mother, says she was caught off guard when she heard police arrested Long because she thought he was still in prison for Deon's 1991 murder.

"My reaction was: 'How did he get out?'" Hite said.

It has been 19 years since Long was convicted of murdering Deon, and Hite says she had not heard or seen Long since. In 1991, Hite lived on Kirby Avenue with her niece, Dionne, who was dating Long and had a son with him.

Long was living with Hite and Dionne on Feb. 7, 1991, when Hite received a call from police at work, telling her to come home immediately. She was told Long had dropped the 5-week-old infant from a bunk bed and that the child had fallen down some stairs.

"You could see the blood splatter on the steps," Hite said.

Long told police it happened as he tried to reach for a light switch. "The baby wasn't old enough to crawl or roll over yet," Hite recalled. "So, you know, he wasn't doing all that. It was kind of impossible to believe the story he was telling."

Deon suffered skull fractures, and died the next day.

"You know, he [Long] puts on a good show," Hite said. "You know - that he's trying to take care of the baby and feed the baby and does all that."

Hite says, at the time, neither Dionne nor anyone else in the family had reason to believe Long was capable of murdering his own child.

"She shouldn't have thought anything about [him]," Hite said. "It's just like this girl [Lavion Gamble's mother] didn't think anything about it either," Hite said.

Since the murder of her child, Dionne has moved on with her life and now lives in Texas. Hite says hearing about Lavion's murder hit close to home for the family.

"It brought it all back to her," Hite said. "And she's a little depressed ... but you know, she'll get over it in time."

While Dionne has never met Lavion's mom, she decided to email the mother to show her support.

"Our prayers go out to that family too," Hite said. "I hope they heal in the manner we did - and it'll take a long time. It's not an easy process."

In her heart, Hite believes Long is guilty of murdering Lavion.

"I'm surprised that he'd be able to go out and do it again," she said. "[I] hope he'll be in jail for a long time," Hite said.

Long has pleaded not guilty in Lavion's case. He is now charged with murder, menacing, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse.

The Medical Examiner ruled that Gamble died from blunt force trauma to the head, chest and abdomen.

Police say Long had the infant's dead body for more than 24 hours before officers found him.

Long was due back in court in a few weeks. He is currently being held on a $1 million dollar bond.