Franklinton lost 42-year-old Robin Dillon on December 19, 2013, after a night of escalating violence that began when her 20-year-old son, Christopher Dillon, attempted to rob a neighbor. During that robbery attempt the neighbor was shot in the arm and later recovered. Christopher returned to the trailer he shared with his mother; police who arrived smelled gunpowder and were shot at when Christopher emerged, wounding Sergeant Chad Dorsett in the forearm. For about an hour Christopher told officers he was holding his mother hostage while, unknown to them, Robin lay shot on her bedroom floor.

The standoff ended when Christopher set his mother’s bedroom on fire, crawled out a window and was arrested. Firefighters found Robin Dillon’s body in the burned bedroom; an autopsy confirmed a single gunshot wound as the cause of death. Reports say the family had a history of domestic problems and police had been called to the residence on several prior occasions.

Christopher Rashad Dillon was evaluated for mental illness, pleaded guilty at trial to manslaughter in Robin’s death and to multiple counts related to the shootings and attempted robbery; a lengthy prison sentence was imposed. Does anyone have information about Robin’s life in Franklinton or memories of her that might add context to what happened that night?