For Marshall's two eldest sons — who had pleaded with parole board members not to release their father from jail, where he had been since his conviction in the murder of their mother — Marshall's death closes a painful chapter in this family tragedy.
Marshall had been incarcerated in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, where he was pronounced dead at a. Saturday, said Matthew Schuman, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections. Trying to reconcile the two Robert Marshalls he knew left Chris Marshall feeling introspective and at times pensive over what was, what was lost and what will never be.
At the same time, there is this 'vindictive happiness' that he's gone now. Marshall said he does feel cheated that his father could not bring himself, in the face of his own mortality, to accept responsibility for what he had done to his family. In the summer of , Marshall had arranged the execution of his wife and the mother of his three sons, Maria Marshall, in an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme. At the time of the murder, the Marshalls were an all-American, upper, middle-class family who were pillars in Toms River society.
The case spawned a best-selling book, "Blind Faith," and a subsequent TV movie of the same name. The meaning of the title comes from the fact that Robert and Maria Marshall's three sons continued to believe in their father's innocence, even in the face of mounting evidence for his guilt and his increasingly bizarre behavior after their mother's death.
Ultimately, the eldest sons, Roby and Christopher Marshall, who were 19 and 18 respectively at the time of their mother's death, came to terms with their father's guilt. Their youngest brother John, who was 13 at the time, was never able to accept that truth.
Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said Monday that he too is troubled by the fact that Marshall was incapable of acknowledging his complicity in the case.
She had an exit wound to the front of her chest and another through her left breast. These bullet wounds were made at very close range. A bullet. When the shooting occurred Maria had been lying down with her left arm under her.
The cause of death was massive hemorrhaging due to the left lung and the main artery of the chest being lacerated.
Police investigators impounded the Cadillac Eldorado. Upon examination of the rear tire, investigators found that the tire had a clean 1 inch cut in the sidewall. It looked like it had been slit open by a knife. When it came time to move forward with proceedings Maria decided to try to save her marriage and to hold off on doing anything. This included three telephone numbers with a Louisiana area code. Police also brought in Sarann Kraushaar, even going so far as to handcuff and fingerprint her.
She invoked her right to counsel immediately. She did talk with police telling them that she and Rob had begun their affair in June They were planning on leaving both of their spouses in the near future. She also shared that Rob had asked her if she knew of anyone who could get rid of Maria. That would solve all of his problems.
If Rob was serious then she could not be with him. Police paid Cumber a visit and brought him to the local authorities for more questioning. Cumber stated that in May , he met both Rob and Maria Marshall at a birthday party of a family friend the family friend was the one with alleged ties to organized crime. Billy Wayne McKinnon was a former police detective. When police returned to NJ they went to the Marshall residence and spoke to Rob. Sarann was present. Rob was visibly shaken up but stated that on the advice of his attorney he was not to answer any questions.
Days later Roby took a phone message from Jimmy Davis asking that Rob contact him right away. Roby relayed that message to his dad who was with Sarann at her beach condo. Rob told Roby that he had met Davis a long time ago. The messages were primarily Rob asking McKinnon to call him.
Cumber was a former Air Force clerk and current hardware store clerk that had no criminal history up to this point. He would be convicted in as being an accomplice and would receive 30 years in prison with no chance for parole.
He took his chances at trial which did not turn out well for him. In , Cumber received clemency from Governor Richard Codey after serving 20 years. At the age of 68, he returned to Coushatta, La. This was allegedly done on the advice of counsel. One for each of his sons and one for his brother-in-law. He planned on committing suicide but fell asleep after mixing 50 Restoril sleeping pills in a can of Coca-Cola.
Ocean County detectives who had been assigned to watch Rob contacted a local rescue squad. They feared that when he failed to answer a call placed to his room at 1 am that he may take his own life. Rob was transported to a local hospital and was of course fine. His attorney, had him transported to a psychiatric facility near Philadelphia. Police confiscated the tapes. Rob wanted the hit to be carried out that night.
McKinnon did not carry out the hit and returned to La. Rob insisted that he wanted the job done that night when he and Maria would be out. While he was away from the car a hit would be carried out and made to look like a robbery. Once again McKinnon failed to complete the job mostly because the parking lot Marshall chose was well lit and busy. Robert O Marshall was desperate to have the murder completed. McKinnon did so on September 6, They scouted for a site where the murder could be carried out.
Again it was to be made to look like a robbery. Earlier that day, Rob and Maria had taken Roby out to lunch. They let him know that they would be going to Atlantic City later that night. Around pm he excused himself and met McKinnon outside the casino. While they were at dinner around 10 pm, Rob had a phone brought over to their table.
He called Chris at Lehigh and let him know that they missed him and checked up on how he was doing. Rob asked him to come home for a visit. Chris had last seen his parents when they dropped him off at Lehigh on August 24, McKinnon had already dropped off the shooter, Larry Thompson, at the picnic area.
Thompson was a mechanic by trade from Louisiana. McKinnon then drove southbound on the Garden State Parkway only to turn around and re-enter the northbound lane waiting for Rob to drive by. When Rob drove by, he waited for approximately two minutes and then followed him back to the picnic area. Maria was lying across the front seat when Rob exited the car on the pretense of looking at a flat tire.
He squatted down and was hit on the head as per their plan. Maria was shot twice in the back and died soon after. When McKinnon arrived he ran back to the Marshall vehicle and squatted down by the rear tire which he cut with a knife. Both were charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances. This was going to be a death penalty case. Judge Manuel H. I can't take it.
Christopher and Roby had first gone to the Parole Division in August to make their case, confident that the nature of their father's crime and their emotional appeal on behalf of their mother would be enough. But then, earlier this month, a preliminary, two-member parole board panel determined that Marshall was entitled to a hearing before the full board, said James T.
Plousis, state Parole Board chairman. The sons were shocked. Christopher was in California with Roby, when the news broke that Marshall would get his full hearing.
Over dinner, they discussed how they would cope with the real possibility their father could actually be set free. Was the initial two-member Parole Board panel merely a procedural step? Did one or both members of the panel think he should be released?
Did the panel punt the matter to the full board because of the high-profile nature of the case? They couldn't get any answers over the phone, Christopher said. Christopher said the Parole Board granted them an opportunity to address the full board, the same opportunity their father was given.
They seized the chance. When asked if the brothers wanted to come in February or March, Christopher took the first date offered, he said.
In , Roby and Christopher, were 19 and 18 respectively, when their dad Robert Marshall arranged to have their mother, Maria, executed in an elaborate murder-for-hire plot. Their youngest brother John was Although he was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to death in , his punishment was reduced in to 30 years to life in prison after he waged a long legal battle to be extricated from death row.
That 30 years is up. Indeed, Marshall has been eligible for parole since December. He is expected to appear before the state Parole Board sometime in March to make his case for his freedom. The elder Marshall brothers have had no contact with their father since they came to the realization that he was behind their mother's murder.
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