The Two Men Charged in the Death of Barbara Grams Were Already Violent Killers

When it comes to stories of exonerated prisoners, each is heartbreaking in its own distinct way. Sometimes it can take decades to free a falsely imprisoned individual, and in the case of Robert DuBoise, it took 37 years for him to walk out of prison. On Feb. 25, 1983, DuBoise's murder trial began. He was accused of killing 19-year-old Barbara Grams on Aug. 19, 1983. The evidence linking DuBoise to this crime was circumstantial, and he always maintained his innocence.

An exhaustive and thorough investigative piece written about DuBoise and the two gentlemen who were eventually charged with Grams's murder was done by the Tampa Bay Times. The outlet describes him as a Christian who is deeply sensitive to injustices in the world, and who can blame him? Eventually, he was awarded more than $15 million in two lawsuits. The men who might have killed Grams will never be free, which is a good thing. Where are Abron Scott and Amos Robinson now? Details explained.

Scott and Robinson are incarcerated in two separate Florida prisons. Robinson has been behind bars since June 1984, while Scott has been locked up since January 1985. The summer of 1983 in Tampa was nicknamed the "summer of hell" due to a string of murders, including Grams's, that remained unsolved for decades.

The two friends, who were 18 and 20 years old at the time, were arrested and in jail by Halloween 1983. They were charged with murdering a man named Carlos Orellana, for which they were both convicted. After DNA evidence helped clear DuBoise and linked Scott and Robinson to Grams's murder, law enforcement looked into other unsolved murders from around that time. Soon, the two men were "directly tied" to three other murders in the summer of 1983.

In August 2022, a Tampa grand jury indicted Scott and Robinson and charged them with killing Grams as well as a woman named Linda Lansing. Less than two years later, Scott agreed to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of sexual battery, per Fox 13. Scott was given two more life sentences. Robinson is still awaiting trial for the Grams and Lansing cases. If he's convicted, the state plans to seek the death penalty.

At around 9 p.m. on Aug. 18, 1983, Grams was closing up the Hot Potato Restaurant with a co-worker. She lived nearby and would often walk home along Buffalo Ave., which was a pretty busy street. A couple friends had driven by and offered Grams a ride, but she preferred to walk because she liked the exercise.

The following morning at 8 a.m., Grams's body was found behind a dentist's office. She had been severely beaten, and there were bloody boards near her body. Grams's empty wallet and purse were on the ground next to her. The young woman was naked apart from her pink tube top, which had been pulled over her breasts. It was later discovered that Grams had been raped. A small circular hole on her cheek turned out to be a bite mark. There were also bruises on her arms, left by her attacker.

It didn't take long for police to arrest DuBoise while Robinson and Scott would soon be taken into custody for another murder altogether. The three were even on death row for a while before Robinson and Scott's sentences were reduced to life sentences. Nearly 40 years later, the right men would be held responsible.