History of Witnesses from Post Gazette 2003

"Was the Wrong Man Convicted in 1994 murder case?"
Excerpt from Sunday, September 21, 2003

By Bill Moushey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

"...On the night of July 21, many Hazelwood residents were outside until past midnight, sitting, talking, drinking and watching their children play.

Verna Robinson was there, too, drinking beer from a Styrofoam cup. She had bought a 16-ounce can of Stroh's with some of the money the cops had given her.

As the night wore on, she walked up and down Almeda Street, listening to gospel music on a Walkman.
Shortly after 1 a.m., Barbara Robinson, who was upstairs closing a bedroom window, heard a shot.

"BANG! Oh my God! Before I could get to the door, I heard another shot," she said. "Somebody was banging on my door, 'Miss Barb, Verna's in the street, she's done been shot.' I came back through the house and went out the front and saw her lying there."

Her daughter was dead.

The faint sounds of gospel music from Verna's headset wafted through the air.

"I couldn't say nothing. I just picked up her hand ... the music was playing, then I went back into the house," Barbara Robinson said.

Shortly after the killing, a local resident described the assailants to police.

One, she said, was a man who looked like Harold Cabbagestalk. Another was Dorian Moorefield, another gang member. The third, she said, was a youth between 13 and 14 years old.

Despite that description, one other man -- Terrell Johnson -- became a suspect, mainly because Verna Robinson had filed assault charges against him.

Johnson found out he was a suspect by reading the newspaper. He went to police and said he had witnesses to prove he was in a house several blocks away at the time of the killing. Police released him, but told him not to leave town.

Johnson thought he had nothing to worry about. But soon, another woman would enter the case, and she would prove to be his undoing.

Dolly McBryde's story
Two and a half weeks after the shooting, Evelyn "Dolly" McBryde was caught shoplifting at Century III mall.
It wasn't the first time she had been arrested.

McBryde, 30, was another crack addict from Hazelwood. She already had several outstanding warrants for various theft cases and for failing to appear in court. She also faced more than 30 probation violations. Taken together, these charges would have allowed a judge to imprison her for up to 50 years.

After her arrest, McBryde told mall police she had information about Verna Robinson's murder. She wanted a deal."...