Robison family murders

Overview

The Robison family murders, also known as the Good Hart murders, occurred on June 25, 1968, at a secluded vacation cottage named Summerset in Good Hart, Michigan. The victims — Richard Carl Robison Sr. (42), his wife Shirley (40), and their four children Richard Jr. (19), Gary (16), Randall (12), and Susan (7) — were an upper-middle-class family from Lathrup Village. All six were shot; Richard Sr. and Susan were also bludgeoned with a hammer. The family's bodies remained undiscovered for nearly a month, until July 22, 1968, when resort caretaker Chauncey Bliss forced entry after a neighbor reported an odor from the cottage.

Circumstances of the murders

Investigators concluded the murders occurred in the early evening of June 25, shortly after the family's traveling companions last saw them. The attack began with rifle shots fired through a rear window at Richard Sr., followed by the shooting of the remaining family members inside the cottage with both a .22-caliber rifle and a .25-caliber pistol. A note reading "Be back by 7-10. Robison" was left affixed to the door, and the perpetrator had apparently closed curtains, covered bullet holes with cardboard, and turned on the heating before locking the cottage and leaving. Investigators determined robbery and sexual assault were not motives, despite a missing ring and Shirley Robison's body being found partially unclothed.

Investigation and prime suspect

Earlier that day, Richard Robison Sr. had discovered a large discrepancy in his company's bank account and made repeated attempts to reach Joseph Raymond Scolaro III, a senior employee with sole access to the accounts. Scolaro could not account for his whereabouts between 10:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. that day, and a pair of his boots matched a bloody footprint at the scene. Financial records later showed Scolaro had committed embezzlement and forgery. He had purchased .22-caliber rifles and .25-caliber pistols, along with a rare brand of .25-caliber ammunition, matching those used in the murders, though he claimed to have given the weapons away. Scolaro failed two of three polygraph tests. In November 1969, shell casings recovered from a firing range associated with Scolaro's father-in-law were forensically matched to the rifle used in the murders.

Prosecution decision and reopening

A 700-page police report naming Scolaro as the sole perpetrator was submitted to prosecutors on December 17, 1969. In January 1970, Emmet County prosecutor Donald C. Noggle and Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley determined there was insufficient physical evidence — including the absence of the recovered murder weapons or fingerprints at the scene — to charge Scolaro, who was never charged. In 1972, newly elected Oakland County prosecutor Lewis Brooks Patterson reopened the case, intending to pursue charges against Scolaro.

Suicide of the suspect and aftermath

On March 8, 1973, upon learning of a likely impending indictment, Scolaro died by suicide in his Southfield office. He left typewritten notes addressed to his mother acknowledging fraud and forgery but denying involvement in the Robison murders. His death effectively ended active pursuit of the case. Under Michigan law, an open murder case cannot be formally closed, and the case remains officially open, though investigators and researchers have continued to regard Scolaro as the person responsible.